Police violence against women during protest gatherings in eight countries

This article focuses on the gender-specific forms of police violence against women during protests and the institutional and discursive mechanisms that legitimize such violence. Drawing on a qualitative narrative review of academic literature and human rights documentation from seven protest contexts, and on a more detailed analysis of the protest wave in Serbia since November 2024, the analysis identifies four recurring patterns, namely sexualized verbal abuse and threats of sexual violence, invasive searches and forced stripping in custody, physical and sexual violence during protests, arrest, and detention, and the moral and media delegitimization, legal regulation, and institutional impunity that sustain these practices. The reviewed cases suggest that police violence may function not only as a means of public-order control but also as a mechanism for disciplining, delegitimizing, and intimidating women whose political participation challenges established gender norms and political authority. The article underscores the need for systematic and institutionally independent documentation to clarify the forms, scope, and distribution of police violence and gender-based repression and to challenge the institutional impunity that permits such practices to persist.