Students of higher education institutions will hold a protest this Tuesday in several cities across the country against moral and sexual harassment in educational institutions and demand the creation of a “safe and inclusive academy.”
The demonstrations were organized by the Academia Não Assedia movement and are planned for 18:00 in Lisbon, in front of the Rectorate of the University of Lisbon, in Coimbra, in Praça de Dinis Square and in Braga, at the Gualtara Campus. Universidad da Minho.
“The persecution in academia has gone on for too long and with the complacency of the academic community. We came together to say, “Enough is enough. Harassment has no place in our universities,” says the movement’s manifesto.
Recalling cases known since last year at the Faculty of Law and the Instituto Superior Técnico of the University of Lisbon or at the Center for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra, students say that “harassment in academia is widespread.”
To tackle the problem, they advocate for the creation of independent psychological and legal support units at all universities, the development of codes of conduct to ensure “an effective response to incidents of harassment” and the promotion of effective penalties.
They are also asking for an anonymous institutional survey to determine the updated number of harassment situations, disseminate information about support mechanisms and ensure that victims are not judged by teachers against whom they have filed complaints.
“The Ministry of (Science, Technology and) Higher Education is responsible for ensuring mandatory training for all teaching staff on issues of pedagogy, sexual and moral harassment, and racism, xenophobia or sexual orientation, including training on harassment in the workplace,” the manifesto adds.
In April, the ministry launched an investigation following the publication of several news reports about cases of sexual and moral harassment at the Center for Social Research of the University of Coimbra. The investigation then revealed 38 complaints of sexual harassment over the past five years, four of which resulted in sanctions.
Meanwhile, the government has announced the establishment of a commission responsible for defining a strategy for the prevention of harassment in universities and polytechnics, which will include representatives of institutions, federations and student associations, the Citizenship and Gender Equality Commission and the Equality at Work Commission .
The team is responsible for developing a strategy to prevent and combat harassment in higher education, targeting faculty, researchers, non-teaching staff and students.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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