About the Project
The five-year research programme, Sex, Power and Professionals: the nature, extent and administrative justice responses to sexual misconduct and abuse perpetrated by professionals, is funded by the European Research Council and UKRI.
Known as Powerful Perpetrators, the study focuses on six high-trust professions:
- Police
- Doctors and psychiatrists
- Religious leaders/clergy
- Military personnel
- Judges and barristers
- Politicians
The project is led by Dr Natasha Mulvihill, Associate Professor in Criminology at the University of Bristol, and is the first to take a cross-sector approach in understanding sexual misconduct involving adults. It aims to generate evidence that supports regulators, professional bodies, and employers in identifying risk factors, improving disciplinary systems, and promoting cultures of safety and accountability.
You can read more about our project here: About the project.
Why This Matters to Policing
Policing plays a critical societal role in setting standards for ethical conduct and accountability. As a high-trust profession with robust disciplinary frameworks, policing offers valuable insights into how misconduct is identified, investigated, and addressed.
This research provides an opportunity to showcase the strengths of policing practice as well as to learn and improve from other sectors. By examining common challenges and solutions across professions, the project aims to identify best practice that can be adapted to policing contexts, whether this be in case handling, support for victims, or organisational culture.
Our aim is not to single out one profession, but rather to bring together a group of high status and high trust professionals, who are subject to a professional code, as a collective focus for analysis.
How You Can Get Involved
We are currently inviting police professionals to participate in the research in three key ways:
- Research Interviews
We are conducting confidential interviews with individuals who have experience working on cases of sexual misconduct involving police professionals. This includes:
- Professional Standards and Anti-Corruption investigators and staff
- Senior officers involved in disciplinary decision-making
- Legal counsel
- Union representatives
Interviews can range from 20-60 minutes and can be conducted online or in person. We are interested in your reflections on the nature of cases, case handling, organisational culture, barriers to reporting, and lessons learned.
- Anonymous Survey
We are also inviting individuals who have experienced or witnessed sexual misconduct or abuse by police professionals to complete an anonymous online survey. This includes:
- Victims/survivors
- Witnesses
- Colleagues with relevant knowledge
The survey asks about the nature of the misconduct, decisions around reporting, and any outcomes or impacts. It is trauma-informed and includes signposting to support services.
- Share the Project
Even if you are not able to participate directly, we would be grateful if you could share details of the project with colleagues, networks, and relevant organisations: Get Involved – Powerful Perpetrators
Ethics and Confidentiality
The project has received full ethical approval from the University of Bristol. We take confidentiality, anonymity, and informed consent extremely seriously. All data is securely stored and anonymised, and no identifying details will be published unless referring to completed cases already in the public domain.
Our team (Meet the team) is trained in trauma-informed research methods and offers flexible participation options to suit your needs.
Contact and Further Information
We’d be grateful to hear your suggestions or feedback at any time to either Natasha’s email ([email protected]) or via our website (Comments and suggestions).
Whether you’re an officer, professional standards staff, or someone with lived experience, your contribution is valued and important. Thank you
