Occupational Health Concerns of Women Police Personnel: The Need for Optimum Health and Wellness

Abstract

In India, police department has traditionally been considered a male dominating profession. However, in tandem with a changing socio-cultural environment and an increase in educational opportunities, women have started recognizing their inherent potential and strength. Now days increasing number of women are joining the police department. However, in the existing familial and societal setup, women serving the police force are overtaxed and find it difficult to balance their work and family. This paper is an attempt is to investigate the health and nutritional status of women police a high-risk vulnerable group who are prone to a myriad of health and nutritional status due to their occupation and gender. This paper highlights the need for promoting and investing in the safety, health, and wellness of women police in the light of the problems they face. Maintaining physical health, encouraging healthy eating and sleeping patterns, and advocating good lifestyle practices are important for promoting optimum health and wellness.

Introduction

The status of women in India has evolved significantly—from holding equal roles in ancient times to facing setbacks during the medieval period, and now contributing strongly to nation-building. Women have increasingly entered fields like policing, where their representation, though still low, is improving (e.g., 10.57% in Tamil Nadu). Despite their vital roles, women police officers face serious challenges, including long hours, high stress, health risks, and difficulty balancing work and family responsibilities.

A study of 200 women police officers in Chennai revealed that:

• 72% work more than 15 hours daily, often without regular holidays.

• 54% experience severe stress, mainly due to inadequate rest, excessive workload, and personal issues.

• Physical health issues are common: fatigue (82.5%), back pain (78.5%), insomnia (42.5%), anemia (29%), and hypertension (11%).

• Poor lifestyle habits were noted: 92.9% lead sedentary lives, 52% skip meals (especially breakfast), and many consume junk food regularly.

• Obesity and related risks: 41.5% are overweight or obese, and 42.5% have high waist circumference, increasing risk for heart disease and diabetes.

The study underscores the urgent need for health and wellness interventions, better work-life balance, and awareness of proper nutrition and physical activity among women police personnel to safeguard their well-being.

Conclusion

A police department has an obligation to recruit and maintain officers who are properly trained and physically capable of responding to the needs of all citizens. Implementation of a physical fitness programme, following a regular balanced diet, and stress management can extend the career and improve the quality of life of the officers. In addition the department will also benefit in the public’s eyes by producing more professional and efficient officers that will help to combat the negative stereotype associated with a police officer. This paper calls for the need to preserve and support the well-being of the law enforcement officer especially women officers and suggests that promoting the health of the women police should be accorded top priority.

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Shajini Judith Diana, Sheila John. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.