“Ops, I did it again” – Understanding moral disengagement and its role in sexual abuse in the #MeToo era: Professor Rosalind Searle, University of Glasgow

Event Date: 22 January 2020

Work, Employment & Organisation Research Seminar Series 2019-20

Time: 2-3pm

Location: Room CW507b, Cathedral Wing, Strathclyde Business School

Speaker: Professor Rosalind Searle, Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow

The #MeToo movement has drawn attention to the experiences of women in organisations. Sexual harassment and abuse of service users and colleagues are concerns for any organisation – be it an international aid organisation or a health provider. However, in both of the aforementioned contexts the service user is potentially more vulnerable to exploitation by perpetrators. Misconduct by professionals, particularly sexual violations, destroys trust in them but also damages current and future trust in their employing organisations and in wider institutions (O’Donohue, Downs et al. 1998). This study is unusual as it explores the mindsets of sexual perpetrators in order to identify better the means to reduce the vulnerability of service users and employing organisations (Searle 2019). Building on a prior study within a health context (Searle, Rice et al. 2017), this paper explores sexual abuse, a form of professional misconduct that transgresses not only professional codes, but also deviates from accepted societal behavioural norms. The focus of analysis are the moral mindsets of 232 health professionals charged with sexual misconduct. The paper will highlight the value of studying perpetrators and their understanding about what has occurred, as well as the evidence relating to these events. I will highlight important differences between professions and also genders about this form of misconduct and from this the steps that organisations can take to protect service users, but also to empower co-workers to more successfully intervene and challenge perpetrators.

Published: 9 January 2020