Sexual harassment in the workplace: a comparative study of brazilian and portuguese public policies

• Grant number: 25/06782-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2025
• End date: August 14, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Law - Private Law
• Principal Investigator: Victor Hugo de Almeida
• Grantee: Beatriz Ferraz Gorgatti
• Supervisor: Sandra Margarida Lopes Luis
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais (FCHS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Franca. Franca , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
• Associated to the scholarship: 24/16059-9 - Female representation in the CIPA (Internal Commission for the Prevention of Accidents and Harassment) of the footwear industry in Franca/SP and its possible impacts on public policies to combat sexual harassment in organizations, BP.IC

Abstract

Sexual harassment is characterized by unwanted or rejected libidinous advances, whether persistent or episodic, capable of violating the victim's sexual freedom and depriving them of dignity. The workplace has proven to be a prevalent setting for this practice, which is why mechanisms to combat sexual harassment have emerged in various countries to minimize this cycle of violence. Given this, there is a pressing need for the development of transversal and effective public policies, guided by the principle of participation, a gender perspective, and the complexity of the issue.The Brazilian and Portuguese experiences, due to their historical, cultural, and linguistic ties, converge on several points, particularly regarding gaps in their legal frameworks and the inefficiency of public policies adopted to combat sexual harassment. Thus, this research aims to analyze the legal systems of Brazil and Portugal, as well as the existence of Portuguese public policies addressing sexual harassment in the workplace, with the goal of outlining points of convergence and divergence in relation to Brazilian public policies. Ultimately, it seeks to develop efficient recommendations for combating sexual harassment in Brazil and Portugal, drawing on the experiences of both countries.To this end, the investigation will be grounded in the theoretical framework of the Labor-Environmental Perspective, the principle of participation, and gender roles. Finally, this exploratory and descriptive study will employ, as procedural methods, a literature review and documentary research, while adopting, respectively, deductive and inductive approaches.