University files complaint against trans student who accused professor of being transphobic

The Federal University of Bahia (UFBA) filed a complaint from a professor who claims to have been a victim of moral harassment, slander, defamation and destruction of reputation. “I was accused of being ‘racist’ and ‘transphobic’ for addressing a trans student using a masculine noun because I didn’t know her,” says Jan Alyne Barbos Prado, PhD in Communication and Contemporary Culture.

In the complaint sent to the UFBA Ombudsman’s Office, the professor reported that she was “punished and humiliated by the university collective, under the guidance of the aforementioned student”, without evidence, and that this destroyed her reputation when it was spread through the local and national press. “I was bombarded by criticism and insults on social media, on posters at college and even in petitions,” she says.

“I also had to cancel an Extension Project and handed over my position as coordinator of the Collegiate for fear of the exposure that the position entails”, she informs, while also citing damage to her mental health and the absence from the classroom due to medical leave, which required the hiring of a substitute teacher.

According to the complaint, the professor was teaching a class at the Faculty of Communication (Facom), on September 12, 2023, when she was insistently interrupted by a person who was attending the class for the first time in the semester, a month after the activities began. .

“The student intervened in the class repeatedly with comments that were completely disconnected and offensive to my honor”, ​​reports the educator in the complaint, stating that, at some point, she referred to the student with an expression inflected in the masculine gender. This “was the trigger for his total lack of emotional control, not enough that I apologized for the mistake I made”, reports the teacher.

The entire discussion was recorded, and the audio shows Jan Alyne trying to resume her line of reasoning by explaining that the student had not read the text from the previous class and, therefore, was straying from the topic. However, the comment made the student raise her voice and make fun of the teacher’s statements. “I read the text, my dear,” said the trans student in the middle of the discussion, moments before the teacher, apparently nervous, referred to her with the term “upset”.

“Your curation is so different that you can’t even see me as a woman, but I’m sorry if my academic speech is not compatible with yours, even though we are on the same parameter”, replied the trans student, who interrupted the teacher again moments later, insulting her teaching methodology and stating that he would sue her.

“I put up with the fact that you did that derisory, unbearable dynamic with me, from getting my pronoun wrong to making my existence, as a student here in this room, not exist. I’m going to open a case against you”, she stated, excited, as is possible to check in the audio of the discussion.

The teacher did not know the trans student, who was in class for the first time

In an interview with Gazeta do Povo, the educator explains that she did not know the student and that she had not identified as a trans woman during the class. Therefore, the teacher apologized for the mistake, but was accused of transphobia and racism by the student. “And, because I felt threatened, I decided to leave the room to ask an employee for help, as the situation was getting out of control and I was being disrespected”, reports the teacher.

The case had repercussions in the media and on social networks, and the student – ​​along with other colleagues – repeated these accusations at other times within the university, including at an event attended by the faculty, dean and local authorities.

“It was a lynching of my reputation for something I didn’t do and for which I didn’t have the opportunity to defend myself”, laments the teacher, who fears seeing other people in the same situation. “For this reason, the opening of an Administrative Process regarding the case is not only aimed at my honor, but the integrity of the entire teaching staff, students and other members of the educational institution”, says Jan Alyne. “If the case is not investigated, it will set a precedent for events like this to happen again”, she warns.

The Federal University of Bahia (UFBA) filed the complaint

The teacher’s complaint was registered on the Fala.BR portal on November 9, 2023, and an internal investigation committee was appointed to investigate the facts “about a possible practice of moral harassment and slander against the teacher”. However, the case was closed on February 23rd.

“Within the internal regulations, the investigation is the first instance that evaluates the authorship of the irregularities mentioned and decides to open the administrative disciplinary process”, explains the professor, stating that this was not carried out, as the commission did not contact her. “If they had listened to the parties, they would have found that the student committed crimes such as moral harassment, slander, defamation, insult and destruction of reputation”, she points out.

However, the report presented by the investigation on February 23, which Gazeta do Povo had access to, recommended that the complaint be archived. “We consider that there is no material correspondence between the facts described and the respective requests formulated therein”, states the document.

In response, Jan Alyne filed an appeal to request reconsideration of the decision, as the student’s actions violate the university’s Code of Ethics, “which requires maintaining a safe, inclusive and respectful academic environment for all members of the university community.” .

The professor also pointed out that the administrative investigation aims to investigate the complaint in order to identify the perpetrator of an irregularity committed in the public service and penalize the infraction, but that “the final report began to comment on the facts narrated by the complainant”, without investigating what occurred. As a result, “it appears to be useless for the proposed purpose”, said the teacher in her appeal.

The appeal sent by the teacher was not accepted

However, the doctor in Communication reports that her appeal was not accepted on the grounds that article 142 of the Regulations of the Federal University of Bahia gives this right only to “interested parties” in the process. “In this case, they claim that it would only be the Public Administration and the accused, although I argue in my appeal that I am also an interested party”, she explains.

With the response, the teacher remains away from work, on medical leave, worried about her safety and the repetition of events like this. After all, “the decision to close the complaint due to ‘lack of material evidence’ creates a dangerous and harmful precedent for other members of the university community who, perhaps, face similar situations in the future”, she stated in the appeal presented.

Gazeta do Povo contacted UFBA, the Faculty of Communication (Facom) and the Union of Teachers of Federal Educational Institutions (Apub), but did not receive official positions until the publication of this report. The space remains open.