SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT WORK: A documentary study of the main Brazilian federal government agencies on the subject

Abstract

In adult life, we can cite the sexual division of labor as one of the ways of traditionally separating the male and female place. In organizational spaces, there is the normative attribution of productive work to men and reproductive work to women, the former being accompanied not only by greater social prestige, but also by higher remuneration. This phenomenon appears strongly in the literature as one of the possible justifications for the existence of work environments hostile to the female presence, using discrimination, moral and sexual harassment, as ways of demonstrating that they are not welcome in those spaces or that their value is estimated to be lower than that of men. Considering that sexual harassment is a psychosocial risk factor for workers' mental health and that it especially affects women, resulting in absence from work and, sometimes, their exit from the labor market, the objective of this study was to carry out a documentary research in the main Brazilian federal government agencies, in order to find and classify the official documents released under the theme "sexual harassment at work", between the years 2010 and 2021. based on the Content Analysis technique. It was found that, in most publications on the subject, the responsibilities of the employing organization, as well as the harasser, become secondary; Emphasis is given to victims who “did not do their part” by failing to report, which can contribute to their blame, stigmatization and illness.