Police and misogyny

Has the police service always been misogynistic or is this just a contemporary problem? The short answer is it depends on what is meant by misogyny. This chapter will delineate the various definitions offered to describe misogyny and suggests a three-tiered matrix comprising micro (individual); meso (organizational) and macro (societal) levels intersecting with motives, manifestations of behaviour and consequential harms. It is argued that there is a periodicity to and potentially different motivations for adverse manifest behaviours towards women by male officers related to phases of entry of women in policing, their progression and currently. Additionally, the chapter will examine in what ways misogyny can affect internal relationships within policing as well as look at policing practices especially those relating to the investigation of violence against women and girls. The evidence reviewed will focus on police in England and Wales but examples will also be drawn from other policing jurisdictions.