CONHECIMENTO E EXPERIÊNCIAS VIVIDAS POR CIRURGIÕES-DENTISTAS QUANTO À IMPORTUNAÇÃO SEXUAL E PERSEGUIÇÃO EM PERNAMBUCO, BRASIL

Abstract

Sexual Harassment and persecution are configured as a crime by the Brazilian Penal Code - CPB. As the subject is little explored in the health area, this work aimed to verify the level of knowledge of the dentists working in the state of Pernambuco, about these two criminal types, their experiences in professional practice and attitudes taken to resolve the issue. For this, a descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out, with the application of a semi-structured online questionnaire, through the google forms platform, using the “snowball” methodology, collecting sociodemographic data, questions related to the knowledge of sexual harassment and persecution, and by finally, questions related to the experiences suffered in the exercise of their profession. 69 questionnaires were included in this study, 22% answered by men and 78% by women. Most participants answered that they had already heard about sexual harassment and persecution, however, most of them showed difficulty in recognizing the definition of harassment, established by the CPB. Those who reported having had experience with one of these criminal types, reported that they told the fact to a friend, to a family member or did nothing about it. It concludes on the existence of situations within professional dental practice that can configure, above all, the crime of sexual harassment. And telling a friend, a family member or even doing nothing about it were the attitudes most commonly performed by these professionals.