Women’s Day: Actions on sexual harassment grow 200% – 07/03/2023 – Market

The number of labor claims whose initial claims mention the term “sexual harassment” has tripled in Brazil in the last four years, currently totaling 48,000 cases.

According to a survey by the jurimetry consultancy Data Lawyer, carried out at the request of Sheet, from 2018 to 2022, the increase was 208%. The number considers only public processes – that is, all those that are processed or processed under secrecy of justice, a common procedure in actions that deal with sexual harassment, are not included in this account.

The total number of labor claims that include sexual harassment claims, therefore, may be even higher. It is in the initial petition that the worker presents, through his lawyer, the reasons why he is suing that company.

Last year alone, 6,440 lawsuits against employers addressed the issue.

Altogether, these 47,600 lawsuits in progress discuss R$ 6.25 billion in compensation payments and other labor sums, such as unpaid overtime and rights that are no longer fulfilled.

The survey (which performs a sort of sweep in the official justice journals) does not differentiate processes initiated by men or women.

In the opinion of lawyer Tainã Góis, from the Women’s Network of Jurists, the increase in the number of actions comes from an increase in complaints, but not necessarily cases. This high may signal, according to her, more confidence in acting on the part of those who denounce.

“In recent years, we have seen progress in the discussion of a feminist right, an increase in public discussion of what cannot happen,” she says.

“If you are sure that you are going to be stigmatized, that you are going to be discredited, you don’t report it. When you allow the woman to speak, when you publicly discuss this violence, she becomes more courageous”, she says.

She recalls that, for women, although the fight against sexual harassment is one of the oldest guidelines for women workers, it has never been contemplated in labor legislation or in the Constitution.

“Didn’t enter in 1988 [ano da promulgação da Constituição], neither in the recent labor reform nor in the previous ones. There was never anything specified about sexual harassment at work.”

Labor legislation does not specifically deal with sexual harassment, there is no specific punishment or set of conducts that can be classified as such.

Article 483 of the CLT (Consolidation of Labor Laws), for example, lists the situations in which a worker may consider terminating the employment contract and claim compensation. There are issues such as offenses to physical appearance and injuries to honor.

In large part, punishments in the labor sphere come from jurisprudence, that is, from consolidated understandings by judges, judges and ministers in the sense of recognizing harassment as a violation of the employment contract, subject to punishment.

The crime of sexual harassment is provided for in Article 216 of the Penal Code, which provides for penalties of one to two years in prison. The text of the law also defines harassment as an attempt to obtain sexual advantage or favor perpetrated by a hierarchical superior.

For lawyers, this delimitation regarding the hierarchical issue is problematic, as it ignores sexual harassment committed by colleagues, people at the same functional level in a company.

Tainã Góis, from the Women’s Network of Jurists, also points out that companies are directly responsible for cases of harassment and that vigilance in relation to these behaviors should extend to all dynamics between colleagues and superiors, such as parties, happy hour and even at work. transport.

“It’s up to her to maintain a work environment that is free from harassment and oppression. It’s super important that companies feel accountable to take action.”