Government survey reveals 38 complaints of sexual harassment at universities

The Minister for Science, Technology and Higher Education said this Thursday that an audit of facilities launched following complaints of harassment had uncovered 38 complaints of sexual harassment in the past five years, four of which had resulted in sanctions.

The balance was struck by the institutions themselves as part of an investigation launched by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education following the release of various news about cases of sexual and moral harassment at the Center for Social Research two weeks ago. University of Coimbra.

According to Elvira Fortunato, who is being heard by Parliament in a plenary debate on sectoral policy, there have been 38 complaints of sexual harassment in the last five years.

Following the allegations, 31 disciplinary proceedings have been launched, four of which have resulted in sanctions, while the rest have been shelved or are still ongoing, he said in response to SDP MP Sonia Ramos.

Faced with the insistence of MP Rita Matias from Chega on the same topic, the minister said she did not know exactly what sanctions had been applied, saying they could range from removal from office to dismissal.

In addition to sexual harassment complaints, 78 moral harassment complaints were also received, resulting in 52 disciplinary proceedings resulting in five disciplinary actions.

Elvira Fortunato said her ministry, in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security, is working on a training plan, about which she did not provide details, in order to prevent situations of harassment.

“The government is very concerned about this issue, but we should be based on the evidence and figures that we have,” the minister said, noting that these numbers should be even lower, “because it is enough to have one case to worry.” us”.

Regarding the survey conducted with universities and polytechnics, the minister also said that most of them have adopted codes of conduct (81% of universities, 65% of polytechnics and 87% of private institutions).

On the other hand, 70% of public universities have accountability channels replicated in 68% of polytechnics and 95% of private institutions.

During the debate, Elvira Fortunato also insisted that higher education institutions have autonomy within the legal regime and that this must be respected.

“Institutions have disciplinary competence and, given their autonomy, they can act. There have already been sanctions, which shows that the system is working,” he said, admitting, however, that “it may not be 100% working yet.” “.