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Moral and Sexual Harassment in Study and Work Contexts

Ciências is committed to preventing and combating all behaviour that affects the dignity of its members.

Defining guidelines for a zero-tolerance policy towards such conduct, in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Conduct for the Prevention and Combating of Harassment at the University of Lisbon.

As the university environment is a fundamental space for primary prevention, and it is the duty of the public employer to provide decent working conditions, it promotes an organisational culture of mutual respect at all levels and encourages the identification of and intervention against practices of harassment, whether moral or sexual.

Article 8(2)(a)(i) of the Code of Conduct and Good Practice of ULisboa, published as an annex to Order No. 6441/2015 of 9 June, repudiates any form of harassment practised by individuals inside or outside the University against members of the academic community, understood as teachers and researchers, non-teaching and non-research staff, research fellows, students and visitors.

Furthermore, harassment in the workplace is prohibited, in accordance with Article 29 of the Labour Code, approved in the annex to Law No. 7/2009, of 12 February, in its updated wording, applicable to the public sector by express reference in Articles 4(1)(e) and 71(1) k) of the General Law on Public Service Employment, Law No. 35/2014, of 20 June, in its consolidated version.

What is harassment?

Harassment is behaviour that is repeated to some degree and that aims to or has the effect of affecting a person's dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or destabilising environment. It involves an abuse of power or the reproduction of structural gender inequalities capable of creating an environment of social vulnerability due to the relationships of dependency that are created and maintained by those who benefit and/or take advantage of them. Harassment can occur inside or outside the workplace or place of study, for reasons related to these.

Moral harassment consists of unwanted and persistent behaviour, particularly that based on discriminatory factors, and may include physical and/or psychological violence, social isolation, social persecution, intimidation or personal humiliation. It aims to disturb, embarrass or diminish a person's self-esteem and, ultimately, to make them resign from their job or academic course. It can even be practised when accessing employment or study programmes and can be directed at an individual or group of people (a particular professional team or minority group in a position of greater vulnerability, for example).

Sexual harassment, in turn, consists of unwanted and persistent behaviour of a sexual nature, whether verbal, non-verbal or physical. It can be expressed in attempts at intrusive and disturbing physical contact; embarrassing sexual insinuations; unwanted sexual attention; sexual solicitation or coercion, through bribery or blackmail, explicitly or subtly, related to sexual cooperation in order to obtain benefits. Exceptionally, a single episode may constitute sexual harassment when it involves explicit and threatening violence or aggression.

How to report a case of harassment?

Any member of the Science academic community who believes they have been a victim of or has directly witnessed an act of harassment should report the situation, with supporting evidence, through the ULisboa Science Reporting Channel. Reports may be submitted anonymously.

The complaint received is reviewed jointly by the Ombudsman, the Administrator and the Coordinator of the Internal Audit and Quality Office, and is then forwarded to the Director of Sciences. The only exception is reports concerning the Director himself/herself, which, following the aforementioned screening, are sent to the Rector of the University of Lisbon.

The management of complaint processes complies with the rules defined for the procedure for reporting irregularities and is based on the principles of truthfulness, transparency, impartiality and objectivity, safeguarding confidentiality in the processing of complaints and ensuring that there are no reprisals against complainants and/or witnesses.

Rules of operation of the Complaints Channel

What happens next?

Ciências is firmly committed to preventing all types of harassment and, should it occur, to ensuring that appropriate measures are taken to prevent its recurrence, safeguarding human dignity, equality and non-discrimination, considering harassment in the context of study or work to be a violation of the purpose of a safe and healthy academic and working environment.

In addition to granting the victim the right to compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage, under the general terms of the law, the practice of harassment constitutes a very serious administrative offence, without prejudice to any criminal liability. Disciplinary proceedings must be initiated whenever possible situations of harassment by students, teachers and researchers or non-teaching and non-research staff become known, regardless of the functions performed by the alleged perpetrator.

The complainant and any witnesses they name who have reported or prevented acts of harassment or abusive pressure are specially protected against all forms of retaliation. They cannot be disciplined on the basis of statements or facts contained in the case files, judicial or administrative, triggered by harassment or violence, until a final decision has been handed down, without prejudice to the exercise of the right to a fair hearing, unless they act with the intention of making a false accusation or with defamatory material.

Dismissal or other sanctions applied within one year of the complaint or other form of exercising rights relating to harassment are presumed to be abusive, and the practice of harassment, duly reported, perpetrated by the employer or their representative, constitutes just cause for termination of the contract by the employee in public office.

The clinical intervention of GAPsi - Psychological Support Office of Sciences may be called upon for psychotherapeutic follow-up.