Women’s group says deadline for filing harassment complaints at CES de Coimbra is short

This Wednesday, a group of women criticized the short deadline for filing complaints of harassment at the Center for Social Studies (CES) in Coimbra after it took four months to set up an independent commission.

In a press release sent to the Lusa agency, the women’s team was surprised that an independent commission set up by the CES of the University of Coimbra, which took office on 1 August, stipulated that complaints of alleged harassment situations must be filed by September. thirty.

“Team Surprise” [de mulheres] in confirmation that after a long time of establishing the commission [independente]The ESC has set such a short deadline for filing complaints,” he said.

Three University of Coimbra CES researchers denounced cases of harassment in a chapter of a book titled “Sexual Misconduct at the Academy – For the Ethics of Nursing at the University”, which led researchers Boaventura Sousa Santos and Bruno Sena Martins was eventually removed from all positions they held at CES.

According to the women’s group, victims of harassment will have only one business month to prepare and file a complaint, as the independent commission was set up “at the very beginning of the holiday period.”

“This fact is evidence of an undermining of the commitment to the rights of victims, which should guide these procedures from the very beginning. Taking into account the right of the victims to be convicted, the team considers it necessary that the commission ensure the extension of the deadline for filing denunciations, ”the message says.

In addition to extending the deadline for filing complaints, the women’s group also requires the publication of the rules for the work and organization of the work of the independent commission.

“The team of victims considers it important to know in advance the terms of reference that will guide the work of the commission, in particular the rules that will guide the process of investigating and analyzing the reported and exposed facts, the specifics of care, and the safety of victims and victims will be guaranteed, the secrecy of information,” he stressed.

The press release also said that on August 11, the women’s group requested preliminary information from the independent commission on the procedures that will be adopted to receive complaints of cases of moral and sexual harassment in response to “legitimate concerns about whistleblowers who will reveal their stories.”

“Before any formal denunciation, it is necessary that the commission check and inform the current situation, and in fact the main accused investigators: Boaventura de Souza Santos and Bruno Sen Martins,” he added.

The Women’s Group emphasized that it was concerned that “the idea of ​​self-dismissing provides an opportunity for these investigators to selectively reactivate their activities, being able to use their influence to undue interference or create an intimidating environment for victims who want to make claims.”

“An important precondition is that the Commission conduct an investigation and state publicly whether the investigators are strictly observing the suspension of activities and whether the Social Research Center provides it, as this is fundamental to the safety of the victims and the relationship of trust and cooperation with the Commission,” he concluded.