A female officer with the West Midlands Police in the United Kingdom has won a legal battle against her unit alleging discrimination and harassment from male colleagues, including being stripped to her underwear during a training exercise.
“[Si elle n’avait pas été] “Because she was injured as a result of police abuse, she had a very good chance of being promoted to the rank of chief inspector,” lamented employment judge Christopher Camp, who found West Midlands Police guilty of sexual discrimination, The Telegraph reported ” on Thursday.
Detective Inspector Rebecca Kalam, one of seven women in a unit of 250 men, will receive compensation of £30,000, the equivalent of more than $50,000, because she was the victim of discrimination and abuse in her team based on his gender.
In particular, the 40-year-old woman, who joined the firearms unit in March 2012, was forced to serve as a patient during a simulated exercise, during which her clothing was allegedly cut off and she was allegedly left in her underwear to administer first aid.
That same month, one of the trainers allegedly pinned her neck to the floor with his foot while she was doing push-ups and told her, “Just because you have breasts doesn’t mean you can’t do push-ups.” “Push-ups,” claimed she.
The woman was also reportedly forced to pose in a photoshoot to become the unit’s “poster child” while she was five months pregnant, under the threat that she would fail her training if he did not accept.” continued The Telegraph.
In his decision, the judge pointed to a “toxic and discriminatory” culture within the unit, the police officer said, noting in passing that women were forced to wear bulletproof vests designed for men, even if that meant using a compression bra able to carry it.
For all of these reasons, the judge decided to award £30,000 to the woman, who had retired on medical grounds after her time in the unit, on the grounds that in other circumstances she would have had a chance of “receiving the rank of “Superintendent”.