B.C. police forces face claims of systemic harassment, bullying in female officers' proposed class action

Six current and former female police officers have launched a proposed class-action lawsuit against B.C.'s municipal police services alleging discrimination, harassment and bullying on the basis of gender or sexual orientation.

All of the province's 13 municipal forces including the Vancouver and Victoria police departments are named as defendants, along with the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner, the Attorney General and the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General.

Responses to the claim have not yet been filed in court.

"I personally chose to be a part of this because I left policing 14 years ago myself and it was either you quit, or you kill yourself," said plaintiff Cary Ryan, a former officer with the West Vancouver Police Department.

"Those are very serious things to say, but that's how we collectively feel," she told CBC.

WATCH | Former officers speak about proposed class action:

Female officers file proposed class-action lawsuit against B.C. police departments

11 months ago

Duration 1:01

Plaintiffs Cary Ryan and Helen Irvine talk about the class-action on behalf of female police officers

Documents filed in B.C. Supreme Court list instances that the plaintiffs claim are representative of systemic issues faced by female police officers.

Plaintiff Anne Piper said in the claim she was "exposed to routine jokes about oral sex ... frequently was touched on her buttocks by fellow officers and was threatened to be penetrated with a service rifle" by a male colleague on the Central Saanich Police Service.

Theclaim says a plaintiff who worked for the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) said after she was sexually assaulted by a fellow VPD officer, the force rallied around the perpetrator, while intimidating and harassing her. The male officer was later convicted of assault, according to the claim. The woman's name is protected by a publication ban.

Helen Irvine, who worked with the Delta Police Department, said a colleague drew a penis on her police notebook with the caption "next time it won't be a sticky note." Irvine also says in the claim the force's superiors and management neglected her complaints and she was subjected to retaliation.

The women say in the claim their complaints were not sufficiently addressed, if at all, and they were "ostracized, belittled and humiliated and their career advancement prospects limited."

A number of the plaintiffs claim they suffered depression or post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of their treatment.

'Decades of harm toward women': plaintiff

"This has been going on long enough we're looking at decades of harm toward women," said Ryan in her interview with CBC.

"Some of the stories are horrific, and really, if the public knew what goes on between what we've been calling the four walls of policing, I want to think they'd be shocked. I want to think that our political leaders would be shocked. And so we need change. We need a safe workplace," she said.

In a statement, the VPD told CBC News it has zero tolerance toward harassment, bullying, racism and discrimination.

"All VPD employees deserve to feel valued and respected within their workplace. All of our employees are expected to uphold our core values, and if they fail to uphold these values, the VPD is fully committed to investigating.

"In recent years, we have made strides forward to become a more equitable, diverse and inclusive organization, but we know there is more work to do."

Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said changes to the Police Act are in the works to ensure the province has the tools to deal with issues of harassment and how complaints are dealt with.

"We want to ensure that police in British Columbia whether it's a municipal police force or the RCMP are working in a safe and respectful environment," he said.

In 2016, the RCMP settled a $100 million sexual harassment and discrimination class-action lawsuit with female officers. A second $100 million settlement was reached in 2019 for women who worked for the force in non-policing roles.

If the B.C. lawsuit is to move forward, a judge would first have to certify the class, which is described as all current and former female municipal police officers in the province.

Ryan said the women are also considering filing a complaint with the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal if the lawsuit doesn't go ahead.