- CSIC approves a new protocol against sexual harassment that is more agile and effective, and creates a unit to supervise its implementation
The president of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Eloísa del Pino, presented this Monday the new Protocol for Prevention and Intervention against Sexual and Gender-based Harassment of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), which aims to prevent possible situations of sexual harassment in the CSIC and to deal with them in the most effective way in the event that they do occur.
The document introduces improvements and streamlines the procedures and tools for training, prevention, detection, denunciation, sanction, attention to victims and follow-up of cases of sexual harassment and gender-based harassment that may occur in the institution, which has almost 15,000 workers distributed in 124 institutes and centres.
Its approval has the consensus and support of all the social partners represented on the Delegate Commission for Equality and on the CSIC’s General State Administration’s Delegate Board, as well as the CSIC’s Women and Science Commission.
“This new protocol reflects the firm commitment of Spain’s largest public research institution to exercise a zero tolerance policy towards sexual harassment, and allows us to continue working towards the goal of eradicating such conduct from our working environment,” said Eloísa del Pino.
“The measures included in the document we are presenting today will help us to make the CSIC a safe and active institution in preventing, immediately detecting and resolving possible situations of sexual or gender-based harassment, in any of its forms and modalities, in all institutes and work centres, and to deal with them effectively,” added the president of the organisation.
Commissioner’s Unit
One of the main features of the new protocol, which updates the previous one from 2020, is the creation of the Commissioner’s Unit for Promoting a Healthy and Safe Working Environment. Reporting to the CSIC presidency, this resource will be the unit of reference for issues related to sexual or gender-based harassment in the organisation, and will also be responsible for overseeing the implementation of the measures and procedures included in the protocol.
The Commissioner’s Unit will be immediately informed when the protocol is activated, will be at the service of the victims to provide any guidance or advice they may require, and will be responsible for monitoring cases during their processing and after their conclusion.
Administrative sanction
On the other hand, the new protocol will allow the administrative sanctioning procedure to continue regardless of whether the criminal court case for a sexual harassment offence is closed.
Moreover, if the facts reported are not considered sexual harassment but other types of punishable behaviour, the competent unit will exercise the corresponding disciplinary power.
Other measures
The new document incorporates new measures that simplify procedures and improve attention to the victim. Thus, in order to activate the protocol, it will be sufficient to notify the facts or receive information showing signs of sexual harassment, beyond the need to subsequently formalise the complaint.
Among the improvements related to victim care, the CSIC will activate a psychological support service that will be active 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and measures will be introduced to avoid secondary victimisation, such as having to repeatedly report the case in different instances.
Beyond the employees of the institution, the protocol covers all persons who, even if they do not have an employment relationship with the CSIC, provide services or collaborate with the institution, provided that the case takes place on CSIC premises. This includes volunteers, students, staff of subcontracted companies or people from any other public or private organisation. The document includes the obligation of public employees to report cases of possible sexual or gender-based harassment, for which a simple and confidential mechanism is established.
In addition, the new protocol incorporates more demanding measures in relation to the monitoring of equality plans and harassment protocols of external companies that have an employment relationship with the institution, which will have to inform the CSIC of the equality measures they develop and communicate the activation of the protocol immediately.
Source: CSIC Comunicación (comunicacion@csic.es)
Download the Protocol (in Spanish)
Download the Protocol (in English)