Judges do not report harassment for fear of exposing themselves – 03/08/2023 – Panel

A survey conducted with 1,451 Brazilian judges reveals that not even they escape the fear of exposing themselves when they suffer harassment. Most claim not to have sought help or just asked for removal to another unit.

The survey was coordinated by the national justice inspector of the CNJ (National Council of Justice), Minister Luís Felipe Salomão, and carried out by the CPJ (Center for Judicial Research) of the AMB (Association of Brazilian Magistrates). It will be released on the occasion of International Women’s Day, this Wednesday (8).

A questionnaire with 103 questions was sent to 6,853 judges, who were able to respond between June 22 and August 1, 2022.

Of the total number of respondents, 16% said they had suffered moral harassment from a man; 7.9% for men and women; 3.4% practiced by women and 3.4% preferred not to answer. Already 68% said they had not suffered moral harassment.

Of those who suffered, 69.9% said they had been silent so as not to expose themselves and 3.6% were silent and sought removal to another unit. The rest sought measures such as registering an occurrence, reporting the ombudsman of the court or the CNJ.

The situation is repeated with sexual harassment: 88.9% did not suffer, 9.6% suffered practiced by a man and 1.5% preferred not to respond. Of those who suffered, 84.2% were silent so as not to expose themselves and 3.6% were silent and sought removal; the rest just sought action.

When the situation is taken to the hypothetical field, however, the judges affirm that they would seek help: 47% affirm that they would denounce it; 29% would report to the abuse and harassment prevention committee of the courts; and 16% would file a report at the police station.

“Women judges are in a position of power because of their role. The fact of having to go to court or the police station causes exposure and can generate some kind of fragility that could harm them at work. It’s like exposing a vulnerability take away their authority”, analyzes judge Caroline Tauk, deputy secretary of the AMB CPJ.

The survey has a confidence level of 99% and a margin of error of plus or minus 5%. It will be released this Wednesday (8) by AMB.

PRESENT LINK: Did you like this text? Subscriber can release five free hits of any link per day. Just click the blue F below.