CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses sexual assault.
The NSW Police force will undergo a major independent review into serial sex pests within the force, following multiple reports of how an insidious “boys club” protects abusers and prompts victims to stay quiet.
The review was announced by Police Commissioner Karen Webb in October last year, but has now kicked off with Kristen Hilton, the former Victorian equal opportunity and human rights commissioner, at the helm.
“[Research shows] in organisations which have tended to be quite hierarchical and have had a large number of men in senior leadership positions, there have been historically high levels of sexual harassment,” Hilton told the Sydney Morning Herald.
The review comes after multiple occasions where police have not acted appropriately, such as instances where officers were found to have texted each other rape jokes and allegedly ranked their female colleagues. There have also been multiple times where officers have quit after their internal complaints were not taken seriously.
The 12-month investigation won’t look into specific instances of harassment and sexual assault allegations. Instead, it will be led by anonymous interviews with people within the force, whilst internal policies and procedures are reviewed.
Hilton says she hopes that 15 per cent of the police force will take part in these interviews.
The independent review has been on the agenda since 2020 when a Law Enforcement Conduct Commission report discovered an “entrenched culture of misbehaviour, including sexual harassment, led by senior officers and emulated by junior staff”.
“Part of the impetus of this review is understanding the impacts the changes that have already been made have had and what needs to be done differently,” Hilton said.
“[To] invite independent people in to look under the bonnet is quite courageous.”
The investigation will be made public at the end of the year.
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