Politics

Sexual harassment complaints within Brazil’s government at over one per day

There were 35 sexual harassment complaints filed by workers in the Justice Ministry, more than in any other department in federal government. Photo: R.M. Nunes/Shutterstock

The number of complaints of sexual harassment in federal government agencies has been increasing annually since 2016, when the Federal Comptroller General’s Office began to tally the records.

In 2022 alone, there were 238 cases by the end of June – more than one every day. Compared to the same period last year, there was a 126-percent increase.

This week, the head of Caixa, Brazil’s largest public bank, resigned after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment. Federal prosecutors are looking into allegations made by women denouncing inappropriate advances, unwanted physical contact, and offensive and...

Amanda Audi

Amanda Audi is a journalist specializing in politics and human rights. She is the former executive director of Congresso em Foco and worked as a reporter for The Intercept Brasil, Folha de S. Paulo, O Globo, Gazeta do Povo, Poder360, among others. In 2019, she won the Comunique-se Award for best-written media reporter and won the Mulher Imprensa award for web journalism in 2020