Account and Accountability: Patrol Constables' Perceptions of Wife Assault Sensitivity Training, A Qualitative Evaluation

Abstract

<p>This study is a qualitative evaluation of in-service wife assault sensitivity training provided to patrol constables. The stakeholder group from which the perspective is sought is patrol constables. In applying a contextual constructionist analysis to the study, I demonstrate that constables' rejection of the training largely stemmed from organizational factors (in particular, workplace accountability concerns) as well as constables' claims to define their own account of the violence. In addition, the feminist account of wife assault (which informs the training) is revealed to contain inconsistencies, contradictions, dramatizations, and oversimplifications. Overall, this study challenges the popular view of sensitivity training as a panacea for attitude change in the workplace.</p>