Santo Domingo -Anyone who practices sexual harassment in the workplace, you can go to prison for up to a year, as established by Law 24-97 on Domestic Violence.
The legislation in its article 333 establishes that fines between five thousand and ten thousand pesos can also be imposed; as well as justified resignation as established by the Labor Code.
The legal details were exposed by the director of Gender Violence of the Attorney General’s Office, Ana Andrea Villa Camacho, and the specialist lawyer Katherine Matos in the Enterados program that is broadcast on CDNRadio.
However, the magistrate established that the greatest difficulty in bringing this type of crime to justice is “the practical difficulty that the Public Ministry has is that the harassing boss has the evidence. It is important to present evidence to the judge, the stalker is careful not to leave traces.
Still, Villa Camacho said technology has helped prosecutors gather evidence. This is because the harasser is daring and uses these mechanisms to ask the victim for sexual favors.
“The stalker is bold. Technology helps the investigation, WhatsApp messages are proof. They ask for sexual favors through that social network. That they help the Public Ministry to demonstrate that this man or woman is responsible for the crime that is being denounced”, narrated Villa Camacho.
He insists that sexual harassment in the workplace is not a common crime, it is framed within the sexual crimes punishable by law and that there are not many prison sentences, but there are moral sentences.
“There are not many convictions, due to the evidentiary difficulty. But, if the moral condemnation, the disrepute, the exposure to its abuse. Sexual harassment in public or private companies is real and is a crime that is reported. Victims who are not afraid ”, cries the magistrate when making a call to denounce workplace harassment.
Identify sexual harassment in the workplace
On her side, the lawyer Katherine Matos, a specialist in civil law, details that one of the characteristics of the harasser is that they are actors and with a superior rank.
He specifies that “it is not so easy to investigate because many times it occurs in the work environment, where there are only the accuser and the victim. There are people who record when they are being blackmailed, through mail, they tell their co-workers”.
Identifies that one of the difficulties for the complaint is the economic factor. The victim says “I am going to lose my job, they are strategies used by the harasser. The retaliation is you lose your job”.
Likewise, Villa Camacho established that “we have had cases where the harasser throws the payroll in his eyes and tells him what position you want to occupy. If you go out with me, you’re going to have that job. Going from subtle to factual, it first begins with a crush.”
Where to report workplace harassment
Sexual harassment in the workplace, like any gender-based violence assault, is reported in the care units for victims of violence. These units work in Greater Santo Domingo and in 22 provinces.
In those provinces that do not have units per se, victims can go to their local prosecutor’s office. In addition, they can call the Life Line (809-220-1202)
On her side, the lawyer specializing in gender-based violence and civil rights, Katherine Matos, called on women and men who feel harassed to file a complaint.
“It is good that they know that they have to report, that they can report. If I have not given my consent for you to seduce me, make me fall in love, you are abusing me. Women must be aware of their rights,” Matos pointed out.
The president of the Chamber of Accounts is being accused by employees of the agency of sexual harassment. The ladies interjected a complaint to the Attorney General’s Office. The Public Ministry appointed two deputy prosecutors for the investigation.
