Sex Discrimination Lawsuits in Law Enforcement

Abstract

This case study offers a detailed description of the experiences of 13 women who sued their law enforcement agencies for sexual harassment or another form of sex discrimination, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. These women experienced a wide range of negative workplace behaviors with deleterious impact on their psychological, physical, and professional well-being. Outcomes were worse for those experiencing more serious and/or frequent types of mistreatment. When the women reported the behaviors, they experienced myriad forms of retaliation. Only 5 of the 13 women stated that changes were implemented in their agencies as a result of their lawsuit. As a result, they exhibited considerable ambivalence when offering advice to women who are currently considering such a lawsuit. Nonetheless, most of the women (8 of 13) stated that they were personally glad that they had done so.