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Bridging Boundaries: United States Policewomen's Efforts to Form an International Network

NCJ Number
176595
Journal
International Journal of Police Science and Management Volume: 1 Issue: 1 Dated: March 1998 Pages: 70-80
Author(s)
D M Schulz
Date Published
1998
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This paper focuses on the history and evolution of the International Association of Policewomen and its successor group, the International Association of Women Police (IAWP), in their continuing efforts to form an international network of policewomen, beginning in 1915.
Abstract
Both groups sought to reinforce the specialist role that women initially had in policing. These attempts to form an international network are intertwined with the changing role of policewomen from social work to a more purely police orientation, particularly in the United States. With the 1996 conference, attended by 600 delegates from 42 nations, the IAWP has achieved true international status, but may now be obliged to recognize that complete integration of women into the police chain of command may not be the aim of women from countries that retain a more traditional view of the woman's sphere as centering around crimes that involve women, children, and domestic matters. More voices raised to address the challenges that face women police around the world have reinforced that, despite differences, the women have many common concerns, including entry standards, affirmative action, harassment and other signs of being unwanted, integration into tactical units, and achieving leadership positions in historically male chains of command. 1 reference and 19 suggestions for further reading