Workplace Sexual Harassment Protocol in Colombia | Law 2365 of 2024
A Workplace Sexual Harassment Prevention and Response Protocol establishes the measures, responsibilities and internal procedures that a company must follow to prevent such conduct, receive complaints, protect the individuals involved and manage each case in a confidential, timely and legally appropriate manner.
Law 2365 of 2024 strengthened employers’ obligations in Colombia regarding the prevention, protection, response, investigation and sanctioning of sexual harassment in the workplace. Organizations should therefore have a clearly defined procedure in place before they become aware of a complaint or potential act of sexual harassment.
The first complaint leaves no time to improvise a procedure: the company must already have designated responsible persons, reporting channels, protective measures, confidentiality rules and case-management criteria.
What is sexual harassment in the workplace?
Law 2365 of 2024 defines sexual harassment as any act of persecution, harassment or intimidation of a sexual, lewd or libidinous nature or connotation, arising within vertical or horizontal power relationships and occurring on one or more occasions against another person in the workplace.
Such conduct may occur between managers and subordinates, among coworkers or between individuals engaged under different contractual arrangements. Its assessment does not depend solely on the formal positions held by the persons involved, but also on the specific circumstances, the relevant power relationships and the environment in which the events occurred.
What is a Workplace Sexual Harassment Prevention and Response Protocol?
It is the internal document through which a company organizes the measures and procedures applicable to preventing, receiving, addressing and managing complaints of alleged workplace sexual harassment.
A properly structured protocol should enable the organization to determine, before the first case arises:
- Which types of conduct may constitute sexual harassment in the workplace
- Which channels are available for submitting a complaint
- Who is responsible for receiving and managing reports
- Which protective measures may be adopted
- How the confidentiality of information must be preserved
- How the actions taken will be documented
- Which internal and external reporting and response channels are available
Is implementation of the protocol mandatory?
Law 2365 of 2024 imposes specific obligations on employers to prevent, investigate and sanction sexual harassment, protect victims, establish response mechanisms and adopt measures that ensure a workplace free from violence.
Accordingly, a documented protocol constitutes an appropriate legal and organizational instrument for implementing these obligations, defining internal responsibilities and demonstrating that the company has adopted genuine prevention and response measures.
The document should not be limited to a general declaration rejecting harassment. It must include an operational, understandable and enforceable procedure tailored to the size, structure, business activities and specific characteristics of the organization.
Employers’ obligations regarding workplace sexual harassment
Measures that employers must adopt include:
- Preventing sexual harassment in the workplace
- Establishing mechanisms for receiving and addressing complaints
- Protecting the rights of victims and other individuals involved
- Preventing retaliation and revictimization
- Managing information subject to appropriate confidentiality and privacy safeguards
- Conducting the corresponding internal proceedings in compliance with due process
- Providing information on institutional procedures and competent authorities
- Promoting an organizational culture based on respect, equality and non-discrimination
The Workplace Coexistence Committee does not handle sexual harassment cases
Cases of alleged sexual harassment require a procedure separate from that used for ordinary workplace coexistence matters. Such conduct is not subject to conciliation and, therefore, must not be referred to a conciliation hearing before the Workplace Coexistence Committee.
The company must establish a special procedure that allows it to receive the complaint, assess whether protective measures are required, preserve the available evidence and initiate the relevant internal or external proceedings without requiring the complainant to participate in mandatory meetings with the person accused.
What should the protocol include?
Although its contents must be tailored to each organization, a comprehensive protocol may include the following components:
- Purpose and scope of the protocol, identifying the persons and workplace relationships covered
- Applicable definitions, including sexual harassment, revictimization, retaliation and confidentiality
- Guiding principles, such as dignity, equality, impartiality, promptness, confidentiality and due process
- Reporting channels, whether in person, in writing or electronically, that are accessible and secure
- Internal responsible persons for receiving, initially assessing, managing and monitoring cases
- Response procedure with clearly defined stages, actions and criteria
- Protective measures applicable in light of the specific circumstances of each case
- Information handling and rules for preserving the confidentiality of documents
- Non-retaliation safeguards for complainants, victims, witnesses and other persons involved
- External reporting channels before the competent administrative, judicial or criminal authorities
- Prevention, communication and training measures for persons associated with the organization
Procedure for addressing a workplace sexual harassment complaint
The internal procedure should be straightforward, accessible and known throughout the organization. It may generally include the following stages:
- Receipt of the complaint through one of the channels established by the company
- Initial assessment of the reported facts and any immediate protection needs
- Adoption of preventive or protective measures where justified by the circumstances
- Preservation of information and available evidence relating to the reported events
- Activation of the corresponding internal procedure, subject to confidentiality, impartiality and due process
- Information regarding external reporting channels and the authorities available to the affected person
- Case monitoring and verification of the effectiveness of the measures adopted
The protocol should avoid unnecessary requirements that make it more difficult to submit a complaint. It should also prevent revictimizing questioning, mandatory confrontation or unjustified disclosure of sensitive information.
Risks of not having a protocol
The absence of a predefined procedure may expose a company to, among others, the following risks:
- Non-compliance with the employer’s legal duties to prevent and address workplace sexual harassment
- Inspection, oversight and enforcement proceedings by the Colombian Ministry of Labor
- Delayed, inconsistent or inadequate handling of complaints
- Employment claims, court proceedings or administrative investigations
- Risks arising from retaliation, revictimization or breaches of confidentiality
- Loss or improper handling of documents and evidence relating to a complaint
- Adverse effects on the workplace environment and employees’ trust
- Reputational harm to the organization
Implementing the protocol before the first complaint arises will always be simpler and safer than dealing with the consequences of an improvised response.
Benefits for the company
Implementing an appropriate protocol helps the company:
- Achieve greater legal certainty when managing complaints
- Clearly define internal responsibilities
- Reduce improvisation and procedural errors
- Facilitate the timely adoption of protective measures
- Strengthen its culture of compliance and prevention
- Protect employee trust and the workplace environment
- Demonstrate that organizational measures were adopted in the event of administrative or judicial proceedings
Preparation and implementation of the protocol
Cárdenas Vega Asesores provides legal assistance to companies in designing and implementing a documented procedure tailored to their structure, business activities and specific requirements.
Our services include:
- Preparation of the Workplace Sexual Harassment Prevention and Response Protocol
- Design of the internal response procedure applicable to complaints of alleged workplace sexual harassment
- Preparation of forms and supporting documents for receiving, documenting, managing and monitoring cases
- Designation of responsible persons and internal reporting channels for receiving complaints
The objective is to provide the company with a document that is clear, practical, confidential and legally appropriate and that can be applied effectively whenever required.