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.