Abstract

The policing of black and minority ethnic communities have a chequered history, with institutional racism, over policing and under protection being rife. While there have been several studies completed on policing and race, very little has looked at the intersectionality of race, gender and policing. Taking into account relevant literature which suggests that aspects of community policing may still suffer from institutional racism and based on original empirical research, this article attempts to contribute to a small literature base by concentrating on the low level of sexual abuse reporting from South Asian women and in particular on how four British police force areas currently respond to sexual abuse incidents where the victim is a member of the British South Asian community. In addition to evaluating these police responses we explore what more can be done by the police and other organisations to help increase the sexual abuse reporting rates from this and other ethnic groupings.