Petrobras vows to address slew of sexual harassment allegations

Brazilian state-controlled oil and gas major Petrobras announced the creation of a working group to thoroughly investigate sexual harassment allegations made by dozens of female employees. The cases occurred over the past four years and came to light after survivors shared their stories in a WhatsApp group.

Newspaper O Globo first revealed the allegations on Monday. Clarice Coppeti, Petrobras’s executive director of institutional relations and sustainability, was quoted as saying there are at least 81 complaints of sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct between 2019 and 2022.

The objective of the new Petrobras working group announced today, composed of eight women and two men, is to thoroughly investigate the complaints already made and encourage victims to make their allegations official. Cases will be forwarded to the relevant authorities.

The Labor Public Prosecutor’s Office has already opened an investigation into the labor complaints.

A recent survey by hiring platform Infojobs shows that 74 percent of Brazilian women workers have experienced some form of sexual harassment or gender-based discrimination in their professional lives. About 73 percent of the harassment comes from bosses, and 13 percent from colleagues.

Half of the women who say they have been harassed say they never reported it for fear of retaliation. Another 17 percent quit their jobs because of inappropriate behavior in the workplace.

A Datafolha poll shows that 19 percent of Brazilian women say they have been harassed at work in the past 12 months — up from 13 percent in 2017. However, experts disagree on whether the figures show a worsening scenario or whether women are becoming more likely to report sexual misconduct.

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