Attorney General's Office supports dismissal for sexual harassment

A recent legal advice from the Federal Attorney General's Office establishes the dismissal of civil servants found guilty of sexual harassment. This stance was officially endorsed on Monday (Sep. 4), by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Federal Attorney General Jorge Messias.

The meeting that sealed the new rule, held at the Planalto presidential palace, was also attended by the Minister for Women, Cida Gonçalves, and the Minister for Management and Innovation in Public Services, Esther Dweck. 

The legal advice clearly states that sexual harassment is now considered grounds for dismissal, the most severe penalty available under the existing law governing federal civil servants. Previously, as sexual harassment was not explicitly categorized as professional misconduct, it could lead to varying degrees of punishment, ranging from violations of civil servant duties to more lenient penalties. With this new advice in effect, cases of sexual harassment, once properly investigated, will be categorized as one of the prohibited behaviors for public servants, with the prescribed penalty being dismissal.

"The purpose of this legal advice is to establish uniformity in the application of penalties and provide greater legal clarity to federal public administration bodies and entities when dealing with incidents of sexual harassment involving federal public servants in their official capacities. Cases of sexual harassment within the public administration will be investigated through disciplinary administrative procedures," explained the Federal Attorney General's Office.

In April of this year, a federal law was enacted to create the Program to Prevent and Combat Sexual Harassment and other Crimes against Sexual Dignity and Sexual Violence throughout all levels of the public administration—federal, state, district, and municipal. Under this law, government bodies and entities are required to develop initiatives and strategies for the prevention and intervention of sexual harassment, as well as other crimes against sexual dignity and all forms of sexual violence. The Special Advisory Services for Diversity and Inclusion at the Federal Attorney General's Office based its opinion on the principles established in this law.