Gender & Policing
Introduction
The topic of gender is increasingly being explored in relation to peacekeeping, policing, security sector reform, and other security issues. A diverse set of countries such as Mexico, Peru, Liberia, and India have made efforts to increase the ratio of female officers in their police forces, as a means to create more representative and inclusive security organizations. These initiatives may have implications for the structure and cohesion of police agencies, for relations between the police and the community, for the prevalence of use of force by police, as well as for ways in which sexual and gender-based violence is handled. Studies carried out so far on these topics have shown mixed results. While evidence from Liberia shows that adding women does not negatively impact group cohesion, it also did not increase awareness of sexual and gender-based violence or reduce discrimination. However, research from India shows that all-female units can help increase reporting of such crimes. Furthermore, research has shown that female police officers can increase the legitimacy and citizen’s trust in the police in certain contexts (such as in informal settlements in Liberia) but in other cases the police officer identity appears to be more important or recognizable than the officer’s sex. More important than the police officer’s sex, however, are the gender norms prevalent in the organization, which can dictate the ways in which officers of both sexes behave.
Resources
Papers
Are there studies we are missing? Share them with us by writing to maxmendezbeck@berkeley.edu!
“International Gender Balancing Reforms in Postconflict Countries: Lab-in-the-field Evidence from the Liberian National Police” by Sabrina Karim, Michael J Gilligan, Robert Blair, and Kyle Beardsley (Replication data)
“Relational State Building in Areas of Limited Statehood: Experimental Evidence on the Attitudes of the Police” by Sabrina Karim (Replication data)
“Gender, Law Enforcement, and Access to Justice: Evidence from All-Women Police Stations in India” by Nirvikar Jassal (Replication data)
“State Capacity and Gender Inequality: Experimental evidence from Papua New Guinea” by Jasper Cooper (Pre-analysis plan)
“Gender Violence, Enforcement, and Human Capital : Evidence from Women’s Justice Centers in Peru” by Maria Micaela Sviatschi and Iva Trako
“Gender, Crime and Punishment: Evidence from Women Police Stations in India” by Sofia Amaral, Sonia Bhalotra, and Nishith Prakash
“Women’s Police Stations and Intimate Partner Violence: Evidence from Brazil” by Elizaveta Perova and Sarah Anne Reynolds