The University of Coimbra has received 42 complaints since the creation of the reporting channel

The University of Coimbra has received 42 complaints of various kinds since it opened a channel for this purpose about a year ago, the university told Lusa on Tuesday.

The reporting channel (available at denuncia.uc.pt) was introduced to the academic community on June 17, 2022, allowing any member of the University of Coimbra (UC) to report possible cases of abuse of power, moral and sexual harassment, corruption, discrimination, fraud and others.

A year later, the agency has recorded 42 complaints received through the channel, eight of which are under review or investigation, a UC communications source said in a written response to Lusa.

According to the same source, the cases have not yet been filed, although a significant number of complaints have not been prosecuted because “factual data that can be properly examined” has not been presented.

In addition, none of the eight investigations launched “after using the whistleblowing channel” was completed, the UC communications source added.

Of the 42 complaints, 11 report misconduct, followed by six on the typology of moral harassment and another six on non-compliance with ethical behavior (UC uses the typology indicated in the complaint at the time of the complaint). complaint).

According to the University of Coimbra, there were five complaints of discrimination and four of abuse of power.

Types of sexual harassment, corruption, breaches of privacy or information security, and misuse of UC resources also resulted in two complaints, with two messages not fitting into any of the areas predefined by the platform.

According to him, out of 42 complaints submitted, 21 were against professors at the University of Coimbra.

The platform began to be developed in 2021 as part of compliance with the current legislation, namely the General Corruption Prevention Regime (CPR) and the General Whistleblower Protection Regime (CWGPR), as well as to “combine various pre-existing channels”.

In a channel consulted by Lusa, UC emphasized that “filing factually detailed and objective complaints is an important means of preventing, detecting and punishing misconduct.”

In this sense, the institution requires that the complaint be presented “in detail and objectively, describing the facts, the dates or time periods covered, the places where they occurred, the people and/or organizations involved, and other elements considered.” corresponding”.

A complaint can be filed either by members of the academic community or by outsiders, with two types of complaints available.