Machismo in modernity: An ethnography exploring misogyny in the West Yorkshire Police following the VAWG framework

Introduction

This proposal occurs amongst an ongoing legitimacy crisis for British policing regarding its failure toeffectively respond to Violence Against Women (VAWG), and is preceded by the Casey Report (2023), an investigation conducted into the Metropolitan Police Service. Principally, this report outlines a prevalence of misogyny in policing which has shattered women's trust in the police.

Baroness Casey, alongside various academics (e.g., Silvestri, 2017) contends this misogyny stems from a highly masculine police culture.

Therefore, it is imperative to investigate police culture when aspiring to reform police misogyny. This proposal seeks to do this by exploring, through the performance of ethnographic research, the behaviour of officers in a developing climate of gender reform. Particularly, whether this culminates in meaningful cultural change in police protection of women.

Background

Most tragically exemplified by officers Wayne Couzens and David Carrick, the Casey Report (2023) and various organisations, such as End Violence Against Women (EVAW, 2021), document police misconduct ranging from exploiting victims or witnesses into sexual relationships, photographing murdered women, and playfully nicknaming 'rapist' colleagues. Furthermore, victims of sexual misconduct and violence are routinely disregarded, condemned, and refused justice by the police.

In response, the police have implemented various mechanisms to rebuild legitimacy and regain women's trust, particularly, the VAWG framework. However, the prospects of meaningful gender reform are challenged by decades of research which has established the police institution as highly masculine (Reiner, 1985; Loftus, 2012; Silvestri, 2017; Casey Report, 2023).

This has manifested a culture wherein a heightened masculinity, or machismo (Reiner, 1985), dominates and is celebrated, serving to marginalise women.

Importantly, this proposal accepts the critique from scholars (e.g., Silvestri, 2017) that the nature of police culture has changed significantly since Reiner's (1985) and others' seminal works. However, it remains acutely aware of contemporary literature which states that the masculine and misogynistic nature of police culture remains pervasive - a contention no more plainly exemplified by the findings of misogyny within the Casey Report (2023). In this context, the need for further research is clear.

Contribution

This research seeks to explore the prevalence of misogyny in a developing climate of gender reform. A significant period in British policing, optimistic discourse reflects a 'watershed moment' for gender reform. However, the police have a history of performative reform - or 'initiative-itis' (Casey, 2023) - and EVAW (2021) warn that, to be successful, these reforms must reflect substantive cultural change.

Police culture is frequently cited as an enduring obstacle to reform, and a central aspect of officer behaviour(e.g., Loftus, 2012). While the connection between beliefs and actions is not uncomplicated, misogyny is well-documented in both police culture and practice, constituting a significant aspect of

the police's ongoing legitimacy crisis (Casey, 2023) and its subsequent reforms. This research seeks to explore whether this ongoing gender reform is reflected in meaningful cultural change in the protection of women.

VAWG and police gender reform is in its adolescence and there is little empirical evidence around police behaviour and misogyny 'post-VAWG'. So, while ethnographies have previously investigated culture and misogyny (Loftus, 2012), this research will do so in a developing context of VAWG and gender reform.