A leading senior constable in Victoria Police has told how cruel, homophobic bullying and threats to taser her drove her out of the force.
Nicki Lewis also claims she heard reports of male police acting in a “predatory” way towards other female police and women in the community.
She told 7.30 she suffered intimidation and threats of violence at the hands of some staff during her time working in regional Victoria for the police force and has raised allegations of male police blackmailing female drivers for sex.
“I heard from five or six people that [a] male officer would pull women over in traffic and give them tickets and then go to [their] house later and say they would cancel the ticket in return for sexual favours,” Ms Lewis said in a submission to the Victoria Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC).
Her revelations come on the eve of a landmark inquiry by VEOHRC into bullying and harassment within Victoria Police.
VEOHRC surveyed 5,000 current and former police about sexual harassment and bullying within the force, and conducted 150 interviews.
Former chief commissioner Ken Lay announced the review into predatory behaviour and sex discrimination within Victoria Police in 2014.
Bullying and intimidation dismissed as a ‘lesbian drama‘
Ms Lewis claims she complained to a male colleague about the bullying she suffered, but it was explained away.
“When I talked about this with a male colleague he said, ‘oh, that other lesbian’,” she told 7.30.
“He minimised what was happening by treating it like it was just some ‘lesbian drama’.
“That sort of homophobic attitude is common.”
Ms Lewis said the VEOHRC review should have come sooner, and if it had, she might still have a career within the police force.
She is currently on a disability pension awaiting finalisation of her case.
“I did live for the job,” Ms Lewis said.
“So to be stripped of what is most important to you has been devastating.
“It’s really hard to set up a new life.
“I’ve lost everything as a consequence of this workplace bullying.”
Co-worker spread rumours Lewis had STDs
Ms Lewis said at the height of her bullying experience she was shunned by many co-workers, one of whom spread false rumours about her having a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and warned others not to touch her belongings.
“I had left my wallet at work and I had a person go into the station to collect it,” she said.
“In the foyer of the station, the bullying member said that I had four-five sexual partners on the go and that I potentially had STDs and that she would not go and get the wallet personally because she didn’t know what she would catch.”
She also claims the individual offered to another person to “taser, baton or shoot” Ms Lewis.
“It shatters your self-belief about yourself, you second question yourself, you wonder whether you are actually all the things they are trying to paint you to be,” she said.
“In the end it just escalates to the point where you … go into work and your heart rate is through the roof and there is nothing you can do to calm yourself down.”
VEOHRC Commissioner Kate Jenkins declined to comment ahead of the report’s release on Wednesday.
This post originally appeared on ABC Online.
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Top Comments
The police is one of the last bastions of Anglo non tertiary educated males. Hence the bullying of women a, gays and ethnic minorities. Fire fighting seems much the same. Donn't see too many Indians or Africans on fire trucks or driving police cars.
Sadly, I think you might be right.
It's worth mentioning that this woman has never given any particulars in her testimony. Is she is going to make these allegations they should be easy to corroborate. ( As oppose the friend of the friend or hearing something on the grapevine.) I find that a police officer was going to threaten someone with a sex act, parking ticket doesn't seem to be very good leverage. I could see if you were caught shoplifting an item of value, or drunk driving. I cannot believe anyone woman doing this. Or any officer willing to engage is such high risk behavior, over a parking ticket.
Likewise these acts of extreme violence. Bullying is a serious problem but threatening to shoot, taser, or assault someone frequently even in gest to be acceptable to the majority of men to be tolerated makes these claims highly supicious
What is most amazing is that this claims have been put through no critical scrutiny.
No fact checking, not names of the officers, no reports to the police. Just a survey through gay and lesbian equity commission in victoria. Who picked the most salacious of 5000 people to front a media campaign.
I cannot believe anyone believing this to factually true.
These days you do have to have at least 2 semesters of a Diploma degree to enter the force.
This is current behaviour from Police in Australia in 2015. And you expect them to take Domestic Violence seriously? Seriously?
Besides her hair, what was Christine Nixon doing during her time as head of vicpol??
Your sexism really knows no bounds, does it?
It's worth pointing out this inquiry was is into the State Police in Victoria specifically, not Police in Australia generally.
That is not sexism. She took time out from leading her department during the lethal bush fires in Victoria to have a haircut. That comment was a dig at that incident, it has nothing to do with her gender.