On December 11 last year, journalist Giselle Barceló Cunha denounced through her social accounts that for approximately 20 days she had been harassed by a man who identifies himself as @sotodavilajeremias.
Barceló said that this man sent her, on a daily basis, quite racy messages and even explicit videos: “The video was very mechanical, sitting, taking off his clothes, touching himself, what he said, how he acted. Until I said ‘I’m going to put an end to this, because like me there are many women who, daily, are suffering the scourge of sexual harassment through social media’”.
Giselle decided to first make the complaint through her accounts to expose, publicly, the alleged harasser to then formally file a complaint for sexual harassment.
“I hope that the legal part starts moving as soon as possible and that this gentleman can, truly, reflect on the damage he could cause in me, but also imagine what it can cause in a teenager or any other woman,” says the journalist.
In an interview with journalist Álex Lewis, director of the program ‘Magazín Espectacular’, Barceló affirms that a sister of the alleged harasser contacted her and thanked her for exposing Jeremías Soto. Soto’s sister stated that her family has also denounced him in the Public Prosecutor’s Office for indecent acts, but they do not accept the complaint because they are not the ones affected.
Giselle hopes that this complaint is not filed away like so many others and that the authorities take the appropriate measures to prevent other women and men from being sexually harassed through social media.
In Colombia, this crime is typified in Law 1257 of 2008, which dictates rules for awareness and prevention as a response to forms of violence and discrimination against women.
Although, in general, it operates against women, nothing prevents it from materializing against another gender or sexual identity, regardless of whether the aggressor is a man or a woman.
The legislator warns that the protected legal right, freedom, integrity and sexual education may be affected by a single act, manifestation or physical touching, and indicates as punishable only repeated or significant-over-time acts, and so it is reflected in the rule with the delimitation of such governing verbs, compatible with the notion of harassment.
Inappropriate conduct is understood as: unwanted insinuations, requests for sexual favors, physical or verbal conduct that is perceived as offensive, hostile and intimidating.
Unwelcome conduct does not mean that it is unintentional. The victim may consent to and engage in a conduct even if it is offensive or objectionable. Sexual conduct is considered unwelcome when the person being subjected does not want it. Sexual harassment is considered sexual harassment when a display of affection is not expected, or is not condoned. It can be verbal, nonverbal and physical.
Verbal behaviors such as addressing a person with certain words or adjectives without being close enough to do so, making sexual comments about their clothing, telling sexual stories or jokes, classifying people by their physical attributes, making sounds or sexual gestures that suggest sucking noises, or related to sexual acts, offensive winks or pelvic movements, inquiring about their intimate life or behaviors.
Nonverbal harassment behaviors: Staring at a person in an excessive or offensive way, especially if the gaze is directed at certain parts of the body, staring at someone for a long time, showing sexual images, sexually explicit photos or drawings, making sexual gestures, giving unwanted intimate gifts, among others.
Physical harassment behaviors: Physical approaches to a person in an unwanted or offensive way such as touching the body, hair, clothing, standing or sitting too close, brushing against the person or seeking contact with the other when it is unwanted, and touching oneself sexually to be seen by others.
Sexual harassment can occur anywhere, whether private or public, even in your own home, at work, school, college, university, the street, nightclubs, public transportation, etc.
It is very complicated to determine the profile of a harasser, because anyone can be one, a boss, a co-worker, a friend or a family member; sadly, it can be someone you trust a lot.
It is important to know that, in order to talk about sexual harassment, the following must be present:
- A request for favors or requirements of a sexual nature from one person to another, in a work, teaching or service-provision environment, among others.
- This request must put the victim in a position of intimidation and humiliation.
- The situation occurs in a habitual and continuous relationship between the perpetrator and the victim.
- The perpetrator acts with malice on the victim. There is no reckless conduct. Willfulness and conscience are required in their behavior to be aware of the victim’s discomfort.
- The conduct is improper, unaccepted and unwelcome and causes the victim to be humiliated or threatened.
- In case of sexual harassment, you are not obliged to report it, it is your decision; if someone tells you to do it so that it does not happen to someone else, it is not your fault. The aggressor’s actions are not your responsibility.
If you decide to report the crime, you can go to the nearest URI (Unidad de Reacción Inmediata de la Fiscalía). These units provide permanent service and are made up of prosecutors, investigators and technicians attached to the CTI of the Prosecutor’s Office, Legal Medicine, the Public Prosecutor’s Office; you can also do it at the police stations.
It is important to keep in mind that when it comes to any type of flirting or approach of a physical or emotional nature you must have trust, consent and desire. If these three elements do not exist and the other person insists on this approach and makes you feel uncomfortable: it is sexual harassment.
Traducción del español: Catalina Oviedo Brugés
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