Saxony: Study finds sexist discrimination among the police

A study has found structural sexist discrimination and deficits in dealing with misconduct in the Saxon police. “This is not a problem exclusive to the police,” said Thomas Schmidt-Lux, head of the “Sexism in Service” study at the University of Leipzig, when presenting the results. It is a phenomenon that affects society as a whole, but always exists in specific places and institutions. The study shows this specifically for the Saxony police.

Sexist discrimination occurs in three different forms, explained Sophia Weißer, co-author of the study. Physical-spatial forms included grabbing under the skirt, unwanted touching or sexually explicit images in common areas and patrol cars.

On a verbal-communicative level, there are insults, for example being called a whore, comments about the bodies of policewomen or unwanted contact with explicit invitations. At a structural level, the study finds, among other things, that women are more often assigned tasks such as cleaning or breaking bad news.

Weißer also described a strongly stereotypical ideal image of a “good policewoman” that exists within the police force. For example, policewomen shouldn't be too muscular or tall, but they should look pretty and cute. At the same time, they would be discredited for weaker physical performance or their “beepy voice”. The “good policewoman” also has to tolerate the sexualization of her body so that she is treated as an equal by colleagues. “For example, if she points out sexist comments or doesn’t allow herself to be touched, she is described as sensitive or not having fun,” said Weißer.

Schmidt-Lux describes how the police deal with sexist behavior as ambivalent. On the one hand, there are extensive opportunities to protect people. In practice, however, these would not always reach those affected. “Especially when women need support when they defend themselves against sexism and racism, clear institutional weaknesses become visible,” says Schmidt-Lux.

“I thought we were further along,” said state police chief Jörg Kubiessa, commenting on the results. He was very happy that his colleagues agreed to take part in the interviews. The cases described have an emotional momentum. “It still hurts me when I hear that, but you have to work on it.”

Kubiessa announced a working group under the leadership of the head of the police college in Leipzig, Nadine Finke, which will take the first steps based on these findings - parallel to the evaluation of the quantitative survey. Finke announced that he wanted to strengthen trust within the organization. “The goal is for us to now take the first steps towards cultural change within the Saxony police,” she said. “We can do many things better.”

The study was carried out as part of the “Gender and Police” research project of the Saxon Institute for Police and Security Research (SIPS). It was carried out by the University of Leipzig in order to ensure the necessary distance from the police and independence.

The basis is 23 interviews with police officers of different ranks, locations, functions and experiences that were conducted between November 2023 and April 2024.

The evaluation does not provide a representative overall picture, but rather deeper insights into typical manifestations and individual experiences. On this basis, in a second step, SIPS conducted an employee survey with 3,500 participants, which is currently being evaluated. The results are expected to be presented in the second quarter. In the third and final step of the research project, recommendations for action are to be developed.