BETWEEN THE INADEQUATE AND THE ILLICIT: THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONDUCT OF SEXUAL CONNOTATION AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE FEDERAL PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Resumen

More than acknowledging that sexual violence and harassment have always existed, it is imperative to understand, prevent, and confront them—especially within Public Administration, which should constitute a space of ethics, safety, and professionalism. Harassment manifests itself in multiple forms, leaves deep marks on victims, and reproduces systemically in institutions, with emphasis on public institutions, the central object of this study. This is an integrative qualitative study whose main objective is to analyze the conceptual differentiation and the method of quantifying conduct of sexual connotation and sexual harassment within Brazil’s Federal Public Administration. To this end, the study examined the Program for the Prevention and Confrontation of Sexual Harassment and Other Crimes against Sexual Dignity and Sexual Violence (Law No. 14,504/2023), the Sectoral Plan for Combating Harassment of the Office of the Comptroller General (CGU, 2024), as well as data extracted from the CGU’s “Resolveu?” and “Correição em Dados” dashboards regarding sexual harassment complaints recorded in agencies of the Federal Executive Branch from January 2015 to August 2025. The data were submitted to critical analysis, with the aim of identifying thematic patterns and comparing results. The findings show that, although the topic has been gaining institutional and normative relevance, its complexity requires intentional and structural change in institutional practices, since such conduct constitutes an urgent and multidimensional problem in public institutions, with significant negative impacts on mental health, quality of life, and professional performance.