VANCOUVER – A prominent B.C. RCMP officer’s allegations of having suffered years of sexual harassment in the force has highlighted the need for a better complaints process, says a police psychologist.
Catherine Galliford, a former Mountie spokesperson who was involved with the Air India bombing probe and the arrest of serial killer Robert Pickton, said in a televised interview she faced sexual advances from senior officers during the 16 years she was with the force. She went off duty sick in 2007 and said she is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Galliford said she has filed an internal RCMP complaint, but police psychologist Mike Webster said that may not be enough to induce change in a “man’s world.”
“(Sexual harassment) is as frequent in a municipal police department or fire services as it is in the RCMP,” he said. “The difference being, in a municipal police service or fire service, the female victim has a union she can take her complaint forward, sit down with management, they iron it out . . . and she can go back to work. In the RCMP, that doesn’t exist.”
Without an independent union to represent them, female officers who experience sexual harassment have no one to turn to, said Webster. The masculine culture and command-and-control structure discourages them from speaking up.
“Usually, who are they going to complain to? They are going to complain to the guy who is harassing them – their supervisors,” Webster said. “Or they’re going to complain to somebody who has some influence over their career and they don’t want to appear like they’re not one of the boys. They want to be tough.”
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Galliford said that one of her bosses tried to have sex with her and she has been asked by her bosses to sit on their knees. “It just got to the point that after I had about 16 years of service, I broke. I completely broke,” she said.
Webster said he believes training female officers to protect themselves is not a solution, but unionizing can bring forth a more effective complaints process and enshrine officers’ rights in a collective agreement.
“The question should not be, how do we equip women to deal with this crap, it’s how do we get rid of this crap,” he said. “And the way to get rid of this crap is by transformative change in the RCMP and part of it includes unionizing.”
The RCMP did not comment on Galliford, who told the CBC she will file a lawsuit against the Mounties. It is the second case in recent months in which a female RCMP officer alleges she was sexually harassed. In October, Cst. Susan Gastaldo claimed her boss coerced her into having sexual relations.
Sgt. Jennifer Pound, spokesperson for the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, said the claim that policing is “a man’s world” is not true. She said she believes harassment incidents in the RCMP are rare.
“I’m offended on behalf of my father, brother and husband who are dedicated police officers and yet have managed to treat women with respect and equality,” she wrote in an email. “For someone to claim that the policing world is a man’s world speaks to the lack of respect that person has for women and the extremely important role women play within policing. We’ve come a long way and that comment sets us back immensely.”
In a written statement, RCMP Supt. Kevin DeBruyckere said harassment is not tolerated. He noted that of 225 members off duty sick, 48 are off for psychological reasons related to workplace conflict.
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