In the midst of a national reckoning around the violence of policing, and a national conversation about sexual assault prompted by #MeToo and the ‘me, too.’ movement launched by Tarana Burke, sexual violence by law enforcement officers - including local and state police, ICE agents and Border Patrol, school “resource” officers, federal law enforcement agents, probation and parole officers - remains shrouded in silence. Survivors of police sexual violence are rarely heard from or discussed in either conversation, and their experiences generally do not drive organizing and advocacy in either context.
This report, in conjunction with an accompanying curriculum for sexual assault service providers, Breaking the Silence: Supporting Survivors of Police Sexual Violence, is intended to contribute to breaking this silence, to summarize what we know about sexual violence by law enforcement officers, and to offer concrete steps toward prevention of police sexual violence and increased safety, support, and opportunities for healing for survivors.
