Put: Leonardo Neri
Last week, national sports, especially football, came to a standstill due to President Jair Bolsonaro's confirmation on June 1 that Brazil will host the Copa América amid high coronavirus cases in the country, generating a high level of disapproval among analysts, employees, delegations, etc., with threats of boycott by the national team and public statements by leaders such as Captain Casemiro and Coach Tite.
However, on June 4th, complaints from an employee who did not want her name revealed brought to light problems that are deeply rooted in society and are currently prevalent in the digital world: harassment, sexual and moral abuse. The then President Rogério Caboclo had alleged audios leaked in which he had embarrassed his secretary by offering her a meeting in his office, drinking wine and using sexually suggestive phrases. It is worth noting that, according to the reports presented by the employee, similar events had already been repeated on several other occasions, involving insults and humiliation in front of other directors of the authority.
In 2019, the Federal Chamber of Deputies approved Bill 4,742/2001, which classifies workplace harassment as a crime, defined by the text as any action that repeatedly offends someone's human dignity through physical or mental suffering. Furthermore, the text amends Decree-Law No. 2,848/1940 of the Criminal Code to classify workplace harassment. According to the proposal presented by the Chamber, which occurred in the situation in question, the case will only be initiated if the victim comes forward against the offender. Finally, the bill defines a prison sentence of one to two years. The law interprets four situations of workplace harassment, namely: Vertical downward moral harassment: when the employee at the highest hierarchical level commits violence against subordinates; Vertical upward moral harassment: when a subordinate harasses his superior; Horizontal moral harassment: practiced by employees at the same hierarchical level, with no subordination relationships; Mixed moral harassment: when there is a vertical and horizontal harasser. The harassed person is affected by everyone, from coworkers to the manager.
Regarding digital crimes, Solano de Camargo, who holds a PhD in International Law and specializes in Digital Law, says that cybercrime in this specific case can be considered a “traditional crime”, which is the case of abuse and defamation, because in digital life, whether a message is in text, audio or video, it will always be recorded. However, according to Camargo, extra care must be taken to ensure that it does not exceed the accepted level of freedom of expression.
Furthermore, article 65 of law 3.688/41 on Criminal Misdemeanors prohibits any action that causes harm or disturbs the peace, due to an accident or reprehensible motive, with a simple penalty of fifteen to two months, or payment of a fine of two hundred thousand réis to two thousand réis.
Source: https://www.lgpdbrasil.com.br/crime-digital-o-que-e-e-como-se-proteger/