Abstract:

This article investigates the pedagogical potential of forum plays as a method for addressing, preventing, and intervening against sexual harassment in professional environments. Drawing on a multiple case study design, the analysis is based on participant observation and in-depth interviews conducted within the Swedish police education system, including both police trainees and instructors. The study examines how forum plays—an interactive form of scenario-based training rooted in Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed—can facilitate collective engagement with sexual harassment in a male-dominated and hierarchically structured profession.

Forum plays enable participants to rehearse real-life scenarios involving harassment, allowing for iterative exploration of alternative responses. While originally developed as a bystander intervention tool, the method also provides insight into the positions of the harassed and the harasser, challenging binary victim/offender categorizations. By situationally inhabiting multiple roles, participants develop a broader repertoire of actions and enhance their preparedness to intervene in future incidents. The method’s embodied and dialogical nature fosters ethical reflection and situational awareness, particularly in relation to grey-zone behaviors that are often overlooked in formal training.

Within the police context, forum plays align with existing scenario-based pedagogies and leverage strong collegial cultures to redefine sexual harassment as a shared professional concern. The use of participants’ real-life experiences further enhances relevance and emotional resonance, contributing to a collective sense of responsibility and solidarity. However, the study also identifies ethical challenges, particularly regarding consent and vulnerability in hierarchical settings.

The findings suggest that forum plays offer a low-threshold, context-sensitive approach to sexual harassment prevention that may be transferable to other professional domains characterized by resistance to formal interventions, strong peer cultures, or complex power dynamics. By fostering shared awareness and legitimizing the issue through participatory practice, forum plays hold promise as a transformative pedagogical tool across diverse organizational settings.

Keywords:

Police training, power plays, scenario training, sexual harassment, professional education.