LICKS ATTORNEYS' COMPLIANCE BLOG

                   Moral Harassment                

                   Moral    harassment entails the violation of another                    person's dignity or psychological    and physical integrity                    through abusive conduct, which may occur within or                    outside of working hours, including in virtual environments.                    It manifests    through gestures, words (whether spoken or                    written), behaviors, or attitudes    that subject the                    server, employee, intern, or outsourced worker, either                    individually or as part of a group, to humiliating and                    embarrassing    situations, thereby degrading the work                    environment and often has a    detrimental impact on the                    emotional and physical well-being of the victim.    The                    harassed individual is often a member of a group that                    already faces    social discrimination, such as women,                    people with disabilities, the elderly,    black individuals,                    ethnic minorities, members of the LGBTQIAP+ community,                    among others.                

                   Sexual harassment                

                   Sexual    harassment is unequivocally a crime and should                    never be tolerated. Legally    defined as the act of                    subjecting someone to embarrassment with the aim of                    gaining sexual advantage or favoritism, it occurs when the                    perpetrator    exploits their hierarchical superiority or                    inherent authority derived from    their employment,                    position, or function (Penal Code, Article 216-A). Sexual                    harassment can take many forms, including written messages,                    gestures, songs,    jokes, insinuations, blackmail, or                    threats, either subtly or explicitly.    Furthermore,                    physical contact is not a prerequisite for sexual                    harassment;    unwanted advances or pursuit alone suffice.                

                   Discrimination                

                   Discrimination    encompasses any form of distinction,                    exclusion, restriction, or preference    based on various                    factors such as sex, gender, age, sexual orientation,                    disability, religious belief, philosophical or political                    conviction, race,    color, descent, national or ethnic                    origin, having the objective to nullify or    curtail the                    acknowledgment, enjoyment, or exercise of human rights and                    fundamental freedoms under equal conditions, across                    political, economic,    social, cultural, or any other                    spheres of public or private life (Article 1,    I, of Law                    #12,288/2010). Moreover, Convention #111 of the                    International    Labour Organization (ILO) defines                    discrimination as any differentiation,    exclusion, or                    preference based on race, color, sex, religion, political                    opinion, national descent, or social origin, which has the                    effect of    undermining or altering equality of opportunity                    or treatment in matters    concerning employment or                    profession.                

Moral Harassment

– Denying access to necessary tools for performing work duties;

– Withholding essential information required for completing tasks or providing misleading information leading to errors;

– Failing to assign tasks to an individual, leaving them idle, which can foster feelings of uselessness, incompetence, or humiliation in front of colleagues;

– Systematically challenging all decisions made by the individual and unfairly criticizing their work, particularly in public settings;

– Consistently burdening the individual with a greater workload compared to their colleagues;

– Requiring the individual to perform urgent tasks unnecessarily and consistently;

– Deliberately assigning tasks that are either inferior or superior to their assigned duties on a frequent basis;

– Controlling the individual's bathroom breaks, monitoring their frequency and duration;

– Pressuring the individual not to exercise their statutory or labor rights;

– Creating obstacles or preventing the individual from receiving promotions or undertaking different roles within the organization;

– Segregating the harassed individual in the workplace, either physically or through refusal of communication;

– Verbally attacking, shouting, making gestures of contempt, or issuing threats of physical and/or emotional violence;

– Criticizing the individual's private life, preferences, or personal and political convictions;

– Spreading rumors or gossip about the harassed individual, or making jokes aimed at belittling or embarrassing them in front of their superiors, colleagues, or subordinates;

– Disregarding health problems or medical recommendations when assigning tasks;

– Exercising excessive and disproportionate control solely over the harassed individual;

– Avoiding direct communication with the harassed individual, typically occurring when communication is limited to email, messages, or intermediaries and other indirect forms of communication;

– Isolating the harassed individual from gatherings, lunches, and shared activities with other colleagues;

– Making indiscreet comments about the individual when they are absent from work;

– Threatening the individual with physical violence or physically attacking them, even in mild forms;

– Invading an individual's privacy by listening to telephone calls, reading correspondence, messages on applications, or emails;

– Ignoring the individual's presence;

– Assigning embarrassing or humiliating tasks to the individual;

– Making insinuations or statements about the individual’s incompetence or incapacity based on their gender, particularly if they are a woman;

– Questioning the individual’s mental health solely because they are a woman;

– Appropriating women’s ideas without giving them due credit and recognition;

– Constantly interrupting women in the workplace and/or during work-related activities;

– Treating women in a patronizing or condescending manner, offering unsolicited explanations and/or opinions;

– Creating obstacles or preventing pregnant women from attending medical appointments outside the work environment;

– Interfering with women’s family planning by suggesting they avoid pregnancy;

– Criticizing a woman for becoming pregnant;

– Disregarding medical recommendations for pregnant women when assigning tasks;

– Routinely and repeatedly disregarding a woman’s technical expertise in her field of knowledge; and

– Making sexist jokes.

Sexual harassment

– Unwanted conversations about sex;

– Telling jokes or using expressions related to sexual content;

– Unwanted physical contact;

– Requesting sexual favors;

– Naughty invitations;

– Pressuring the individual to participate in “dates” and outings;

– Exhibitionism;

– Creating a pornographic environment;

– Innuendos, whether explicit or veiled, of a sexual nature;

– Gestures or words, whether written or spoken, of a sexual nature;

– Promises of differentiated treatment;

– Blackmailing for job retention or promotion;

– Threats, whether veiled or explicit, of reprisals, such as losing one's job;

– Disturbance and offenses;

– Innuendo and compromising comments and observations about the physical appearance or personality of the harassed individual;

– Unsolicited physical contact beyond the formal, involving uninvited intimacy, such as touching, kissing, caressing, slapping, and hugging; and

– Insistence on any of the aforementioned behaviors, particularly if there exists a hierarchical or gender difference.

Discrimination

– Pay a lower salary to a woman who performs the same functions as a man;

– Refusing to hire or to promote individuals based on their race, disability, age, sexual orientation, or gender;

– Insulting or attacking individuals based on their sexual orientation or gender identity (homophobia and transphobia);

– Isolating or excluding individuals with disabilities from spaces lacking accessibility;

– Refusing to hire, promote, or dismiss women from managerial positions due to pregnancy or maternity leave; and

– Overlooking qualified individuals for job opportunities based on their age.

                   Vertical Moral Harassment                

                   Occurs    within a hierarchical structure, whether in a                    descending or ascending manner,    when the aggressor holds                    a superior or subordinate position relative to the                    harassed individual.                

                   Horizontal Moral Harassment                

                   Transpires    between individuals occupying the same                    hierarchical level.                

                   Descending Moral Harassment                

                   transpires    when harassment is perpetrated by an                    individual occupying a higher    hierarchical position.                

                   Ascending Moral Harassment                

                   Occurs    when harassment is inflicted by an individual in a                    lower hierarchical    position.                

                   Mixed    Moral Harassment or “Mixed Bullying”                

                   Transpires    when an individual is subjected to harassment                    by both hierarchical superiors    and coworkers,                    irrespective of their hierarchical relationship.                

                   Organizational Moral Harassment                

                   Transpires    when an organization either fosters or                    tolerates harassment. It involves    employing                    organizational constraints, whether explicit or subtle, to                    target    workers with the objective of enhancing                    productivity, strengthening control,    or asserting power.                    This type of harassment also entails a sustained pattern                    of hostility, often structured through organizational or                    managerial policies,    aimed at increasing productivity,                    reducing costs, strengthening control, or    excluding                    undesirable employees. It may target the entire workforce or                    specific groups based on certain characteristics (for                    instance, pregnant    women).                

                   Demand commitment and engagement    from senior management                

                   – Distributing the information    contained in this Guide to                    all civil servants, employees, interns, and    outsourced                    workers, and propose awareness-raising, training,                    prevention, and    intervention actions against harassment,                    ensuring the necessary resources for    these activities;                    and                

                   – Promptly investigating reports    of harassment.                

                   Foster positive working    relationships in organizations                

                   – Cultivating a supportive and    collaborative work                    environment;                

                   – Establishing mechanisms for evaluating    the                    organizational climate and social interactions within the                    institution;    and                

                   – Seek ways to provide support to    civil servants,                    employees, interns, and outsourced workers who exhibit                    changes in behavior.                

                   Promote    education and training                

                   – Providing constant training to    employees and managers                    on gender-based violence, racism, and other forms of                    discrimination;                

                   – Conducting systematic awareness    campaigns addressing                    stereotypes, microaggressions, everyday sexist    attitudes,                    racist and LGBTphobic behaviors, offensive language, and                    other    related issues;                

                   – Training human resources teams    on the empathetic and                    confidential handling of individuals who are victims of                    harassment and discrimination; and                

                   – Training ombudsman teams on the    protocol for receiving                    complaints and appropriate referrals.