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Sexual and gender-based harassment is a work environment concern, especially in hierarchical and male-dominant organisations such as the police. This scoping review aims to examine the existing literature on such harassment against police employees in Europe to identify the available knowledge and highlight the gaps for future studies. Following the Arksey and O’Malley framework, 16 relevant articles were analysed. Most of the studies were focused on sexual harassment, and gender-based harassment was mostly absent or mixed with other discriminations. The analysis resulted in six main themes: existence of sexual and gender-based harassment; perpetrators; associated factors; consequences; individual response; and impact of organisational policies. The findings demonstrate that such harassment remains prevalent among police employees, emphasising the need for continuous and rigorous supervision, evaluation, and comprehensive revision of policies by police authorities. This study recommends further research to address the identified gaps in this field.

Following the #MeToo movement and a Facebook campaign known as #Nödvärn (selfdefense), sexual and gender-based harassment in the context of Swedish police work has received increased attention. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of sexual and gender-based harassment, the common types of harassment, and the organizational factors that officers perceive to be enabling the occurrence of such harassment. The current study employed a mixed methods explanatory sequential design. The quantitative phase involved 151 police officers to assess the prevalence and the more common types of sexual and gender-based harassment. The qualitative study, with a focus group and 12 individual interviews with police officers, aimed to explain the quantitative findings and explore how officers perceived such harassment and the enabling organizational factors in police work. The results showed that female officers reported significantly higher gender-based harassment than male officers. However, there was no significant gender difference in sexual harassment, and male officers also reported a high occurrence of sexual harassment from their colleagues and supervisors, who were mainly men. Verbal sexual harassment was reported as the more common type of harassment. The findings showed a prevailing toxic jargon among officers in the police work environment. Moreover, they stated a degree of silence against such harassment that makes identifying and addressing the problem complicated. Furthermore, there is a lack of skills and competence among police managers regarding handling such harassment. The findings underscore the need for ongoing organizational efforts to tackle cultural and managerial issues within the police organization.

Police officers encounter challenging and stressful situations at work, which negatively impact their health, job performance, and aspects of their lives. Regarding the gendered structure and competitive work environment of police organizations, women are under extra pressure from the pervasive gendered norms within the police organization. 

The aim of this dissertation is to study sexual and gender-based harassment and work-related stress as important work environment elements from a gender perspective, and to explore if and how these elements can affect police officers’ job satisfaction in the context of Swedish police work.

This thesis is based on three studies: a scoping review, a quantitative study, and a qualitative study, resulting in four articles. In the scoping review study on sexual and gender-based harassment in police work in the European context 16 articles on sexual and gender-based harassment against police employees were studied. Thematic analysis was applied to obtain the main patterns across and within the included studies. In the qualitative study, data collection included one group interview and 12 individual interviews with male and female police officers. Thematic and content analysis were conducted to analyze the interviews. During the quantitative study, data were collected from 152 male and female police officers applying a set of questionnaires including sociodemographic questions, the Police Stress Identification Questionnaire (PSIQ), Sexual and gender-based harassment questions, and Job Descriptive Index (JDI).  

The scoping review showed that most of the European studies were focused on sexual harassment, while gender-based harassment was often overlooked or mixed with other types of harassment and discrimination. Six main themes were found in the studies; the existence of sexual and gender-based harassment, perpetrators, associated factors, consequences, individual response, and impact of organizational policies. In the mixed methods article, results from the quantitative and qualitative studies on sexual and gender-based harassment indicated that female police officers experienced a statistically significant higher percentage of gender-based harassment compared to male officers. However, there was not any significant gender difference in sexual harassment. “Sexual comments and jokes” and “mocking or telling jokes about the #MeToo campaign” by colleagues were reported as the most frequent sexual harassment and gender-based harassment items. Additionally, police officers identified the presence of toxic jargon and a culture of silence, along with ineffective or negative management styles, as organizational factors that can contribute to the perpetuation of such harassment. Also, the quantitative results on police work stress showed that police officers rated higher on the “impact on significant others” stress and “operational stress” subscales. In addition, female officers reported higher stress in these subscales compared to their male counterparts. The police officers who had experienced sexual harassment reported higher “self-image stress” and “operational stress”. Moreover, in studying job satisfaction among Swedish police officers, both male and female officers reported the highest satisfaction with “people on present job” and the lowest satisfaction with “opportunity for promotion” and then “pay”. No significant gender gap was found in job satisfaction subscales, nor was there a significant association between these subscales and experiences of harassment. However, organizational stress was negatively related to three domains of job satisfaction; “job in general”, “pay” and “supervision”. 

The research findings revealed that despite substantial changes in the Swedish police organization and work culture during recent decades, the issue of sexual and gender-based harassment remains persistent. This finding highlights the need for more attention to organizational factors (cultural and managerial issues) enabling sexual and gender-based harassment. The findings also underscore the higher levels of work pressure and challenges faced by female officers and the importance of challenging prevailing gender norms affecting both female and male police officers. Moreover, addressing organizational sources of stress can improve the working conditions and job satisfaction of police officers. Finally, the thesis highlights the importance of considering sexual and gender-based harassment along with work stress to create a safer and more productive police work environment.

In this cross-sectional study, we investigated work-related stress, gender-based and sexual harassment among police officers working in vulnerable areas in Stockholm. Data were collected from 152 police officers using a set of questionnaires. The results indicated that job stress in “impact on significant others” and “operational stress” were reported as the two most highly rated work-related stress in police officers. Female police officers rated higher stress in “impact on significant others” and “operational stress” compared to their male counterparts. Job experience was correlated with two stress subscales only in female officers. Working as patrol officers and more than one shift were negatively associated with some stress subscales among male officers. The male officers who had experience of sexual harassment reported higher “self-image” stress and “operational stress”, whereas the female officers had higher “self-image” and “confrontation with death” stress. After controlling for gender and job experience, sexual harassment had a significant relationship with “operational stress” and “self-image stress” in police officers.

The aim of this cross-sectional study is to increase our understanding of job satisfaction in Swedish police officers by taking into account work-related stress, and sexual and gender-based harassment. Data were collected from 152 police officers working in vulnerable areas in Stockholm using sociodemographic questions, the Police Stress Identification Questionnaire (PSIQ), Sexual and gender-based harassment questions, and Job Descriptive Index (JDI). The obtained results indicated that male and female police officers reported the highest satisfaction in “people on your present job.” The lowest score of job satisfaction in both male and female police officers was related to “opportunity for promotion” and then “pay.” There were no significant differences in the subscales of job satisfaction between male and female police officers. The older and more experienced officers, the less satisfaction was reported in “job in general” and more satisfaction reported in “pay.” Comparing job satisfaction between patrol officers and those officers who worked in internal services showed police patrol officers had higher job satisfaction in “job in general,” “work in the present job,” “opportunity for promotion” and “supervision” compared to their counterparts in internal services. There were not any significant differences between the subscales of job satisfaction between male and female police officers. There was not any significant association between job satisfaction subscales and having experience of sexual or gender-based harassment. Among various subscales of police stressors, organizational stress was in negative relation with three domains of job satisfaction; “job in general,” “pay” and “supervision.” Also, hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed organizational stress was most often of predictive impact related to various job satisfaction domains in police officers.

The Swedish National Board of Institutional Care (SNBIC) is an independent governmental agency that provides compulsory care for minors with psychosocial problems, criminal behavior, and substance abuse. During recent years, a noticeable number of the youth placed at compulsory care institutions have been asylum-seeking minors who have arrived in Sweden without parents or guardians. This steady increase in placements has raised questions and concerns among the involved actors regarding the motives and needs underlying these placements. This qualitative study investigates the main motives that lead unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors to be placed at SNBIC residential homes and the problems that are to be solved during their placement, according to social workers and SNBIC staff. The study is based on 28 in-depth interviews with social workers and SNBIC staff. Findings indicate clear disagreement between social workers and SNBIC staff with regard to the motives for placing unaccompanied minors at SNBIC homes. Although the social workers and SNBIC staff explain that most of the unaccompanied youth placed at SNBIC homes have some form of criminal behavior or substance abuse, SNBIC staff believe, in some cases, the problem is not sufficiently serious to warrant compulsory care. As these disagreements and misunderstandings between the actors have an impact on their collaboration and, consequently, the situation of the unaccompanied minors, all attempts to reach a consensus on the leading causes for placement and the problems that need to be solved with SNBIC placement would increase security for both the young people and the relevant staff.

Research shows that police work is one of the most stressful professions in the world, and police officers typically suffer a variety of physiological, psychological, and behavioral effects and symptoms. Thus, constant exposure to stressful situations requires resilient police officers. Legislation, social support, organizational factors, and individual resources all play different roles in maintaining resilience among police officers. The aim of this chapter is to contribute to a multisystemic ecological theory of police resilience. By applying this analytical approach, the authors illustrate how systems on different levels interact with each other reciprocally. They conclude that resilience is necessary for officers to have the capacity to act authoritatively in uncertain situations. The use of multisystemic social-ecological theory provides a deeper understanding of the processes that contribute to positive development in professionally stressful contexts.

Stress significantly influences marital satisfaction. Women tend to be more emotionally involved in problems than men. Furthermore, employed women encounter more stressors especially when their job is stressful which it is often the case in medical professionals. In the present cross-sectional study, relationships were analyzed between marital satisfaction (ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Inventory), ways of coping (Ways of Coping questionnaire) with marital stress and social support (Social Support Questionnaire) in 100 female medical staff members in Tehran university hospitals. The results revealed a significant negative relationship between subscales of marital satisfaction and using “seeking social support”, “confrontive coping”, “escape avoidance”, “distancing”, and “self-controlling” as ways of coping related to marriage related problems. Furthermore, the analyses showed that job satisfaction, social support, and ways of coping explain between 24% and 38% of the variance in subscales of marital satisfaction. Therefore focusing on these factors could be an effective approach to promote marital satisfaction in female medical staff members.

The family is a fundamental component of society, and marital satisfaction is the main characteristic of a healthy family. The aim of this cross-sectional research was to assess marital satisfaction in medical staff in Tehran, with a special focus on gender differences. Data were collected from 653 medical staff using sociodemographic questions and the ENRICH marital satisfaction questionnaire. The results indicated that marital satisfaction was significantly higher in men than in women. There was a negative correlation between age and marital satisfaction in women. Educational level was associated with marital satisfaction in both genders. Number of children was correlated with marital satisfaction in both men and women. Gender differences in marital satisfaction were revealed, and all sociodemographic factors showed significant relationships, with at least one subscale of marital satisfaction. This study provides a general view of marital satisfaction in Iranian medical professionals as a group with a stressful job

Quality of life is a subjective and multidimensional concept that includes all aspects of an individual’s life. Many investigations indicate that marital satisfaction is an important determinant of quality of life and social support affects both marital satisfaction and quality of life. Since medical staff face job stressors in their everyday life, in the present cross-sectional study, the relationships between quality of life, marital satisfaction, and social support in medical staff in Tehran were analyzed. Data collection was performed in 653 medical staff using socio-demographic questions, the SF-36 questionnaire, the ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Inventory, and the Social Support Questionnaire. The results revealed that men reported significantly higher quality of life and marital satisfaction than women, but there was no gender difference in social support. The quality of life and marital satisfaction domains were found to be differentially correlated among male and female participants. All domains of marital satisfaction were found to be significantly associated with the “vitality” and “mental health” domains among females and “physical functioning” domain in the male. Also, social support was associated with almost all quality of life domains in both sexes. The multiple regression analyses indicated that all the study variables combined with socio-demographic factors can explain between 12 % and 28 % of the variance in quality of life domains. Therefore, focusing on these factors could be an effective approach to improve quality of life in medical staff as a group with a stressful job.