The Treatment of Homosexual Police Officers’ Workplace in Taiwan

• Main Authors: PAN, KUAN-YU, 潘冠宇
• Other Authors: LIN, LI-SHAN
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2019
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/6by82d

碩士 === 中央警察大學 === 行政管理研究所 === 107 === 　　In the wake of the legalization of same-sex marriage, gender diversity issues have received increasing attention and extensive discussion in Taiwan. However, there haven’t been any in-depth researches on homosexual police officers yet. This thesis attempts to initiate the research and discussion on the treatment of homosexual police officers’ workplace in Taiwan for the purpose of filling in the gaps in this research field. A review of western literature reveals that homosexual officers are discriminated against and stigmatized by the society, and their workplace due to the traditional and conservative values held in those environments. The fact that they are scrutinized beneath the heterosexual hegemony and the patriarchal system shows that police culture is built on a masculine and heterosexual-based foundation. It also demonstrates that the machismo subculture of police organizations makes it difficult for police officers to accept nonconforming orientations, which often leads to homophobia or unfair treatment of lesbian and gay officers. The conclusion drawn from the intensive interviews with eight homosexual police officers is consistent with the findings from reviewing the western literature. The paper uses qualitative snowball sampling and semi-structured interviews to gather data. There are two major findings from the research. First, the internal factors (self-identity, family, and relationships) are more influential than the external factors (opportunity for promotion and workplace friendliness) when homosexual police officers decide whether to come out or not. Secondly, it is more difficult for homosexual police officers to come out compared to homosexual police lieutenant. In addition, the study compares the differences between a gay police officers’ and lesbian police officers’ situation in the workplace. It was also found that the lack of education and training on the LGBT issues may be one of the causes for the police organizations’ unfriendly attitude towards homosexuality. Finally, the paper proposes some actions the police organization can take to promote the rights of homosexual police officers. The thesis concludes by providing suggestions in the direction that the discussion on the treatment of homosexual police officers can be developed in the future.