Female police staff suffer
 bullying at work

Two-thirds (67%) of female police staff say that bullying is a problem at work and almost three-quarters (72%) are not confident that their employer will deal fairly with complaints, according to a new survey by public services union UNISON of 1,000 police staff. 


The research revealed that women police staff, including call handlers, police community support officers and crime scene investigators, are 28% more likely to be bullied than their male counterparts in the service. 


Women in the survey reported being humiliated, belittled and embarrassed as the main form of bullying (43%), followed by excessive criticism (37%), and being excluded, victimised or the subject of excessive work monitoring (29%). 


Both men and women said that poor management was the most common cause of bullying (73%), with almost half (47%) citing workplace culture and 36% blaming staff cuts for the problem.


Former UNISON president Maureen Le Marinel, who works for Lancashire Police and became involved with the union after she was bullied at work, said: “If you’re not in a union — join a union. If you are in a union, talk to your rep, ring the branch office.”

https://www.unison.org.uk/news/press-release/2016/02/female-police-staff-more-likely-to-be-bullied-at-work-than-male-colleagues-says-unison