Developing and implementing evidence-based methods to prevent sexual harassment and sexual corruption within the police and law enforcement

Research funded by Forte (project nr. 2022-00128) about sexual harassment within the police, shows that sworn police officers’ duty to report potential legal offences contributes to silence, retaliations and an inability to act when sexual harassment occurs within the police (Lundgren & Wieslander 2024b), and that the methods that are currently used to handle sexual harassment imply additional risks for the harassed (Wieslander och Lundgren 2024).

The same project shows that sexual corruption (i.e. conditioning benefits in exchange for sexual favours) occurs within the Swedish police, but there is a lack of tools to identify and prevent this form of corruption (Lundgren & Wieslander 2024a).This impact initiative contributes to developing and implementing evidence-based methods to work against and prevent sexual harassment within the police, and to develop and implement an intervention that offers law enforcement agencies tools to identify and prevent sexual corruption.

The initiative is carried out in close collaboration with a local police district in order to develop new methods to handle and prevent sexual harassment that re-orient this work from a criminal logic towards an issue of collegial concern and avoid exposing those harassed to additional risks; and through adjusting, implementing, developing and evaluating an evidence-based workshop methodology that has been developed to help organisations identify, counteract and prevent sexual corruption.

The impact initiative is implemented in collaboration with the Police Authority, Police Union, police training programmes, and law enforcement agencies.This impact initiative takes at its point of departure needs identified by the police organisation, and has been adjusted to enable anchoring, implementation and long-term effects of the initiative.

It contributes to a safe, secure, and sustainable work environment and promotes decent work conditions within the largest government agency in Sweden.