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Photo: Cerro Santa Lucia Welén (Santa Lucia Welén Hill) / Santiago / Chile
Protocols to respond to sexual harassment
On 20 August, Chile’s Senate approved a bill requiring state-supported institutions of higher education to create detailed protocols to respond to sexual harassment. Under the law, universities would have to adopt a concrete definition of harassment and establish consistent punishments for harassers, or risk losing state accreditation and funding. The bill will now move to the Chamber of Deputies, the second half of Chile’s legislature, where the bill’s creators hope it will become law as early as next year.
Chilean Network of Women Researchers (RedI)
The bill was originally a brainchild of the Chilean Network of Women Researchers (RedI), an advocacy group that promotes gender equality in science and research in Chile.
The new proposal lays out specific steps needed for higher education institutions to keep their accreditation and state funding, including shielding victims’ identities, helping them avoid direct contact with harassers, and providing appropriate legal and psychological resources. The proposed law was written with universities and research institutions in mind but would extend to other forms of state-supported higher education, including professional institutes and training programs for Chile’s police force.
Proponents of the bill have been encouraged by other recent steps to crack down on sexual harassment in Chile, including a law criminalizing street harassment, which passed earlier this year. They are hopeful that the proposal will be well received in the Chamber of Deputies.
Full article in Science
Related Links:
Chile’s Higher Education Sytem
Women in Science and True Empowerment
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