Unesp (Universidade Estadual Paulista) has fired a professor accused of harassing and embarrassing students. As published in the Official Gazette, Rafael Salatini was dismissed last Tuesday (11th).
In May last year, 44 students filed complaints against him. The Center for Academic and International Relations submitted a document containing the report to the institution’s ombudsman, which led to an internal investigation.
The incidents obtained by the report involve the behavior of a professor at the Faculty of Philosophy and Science’s Department of Political Science and Economics in Marilia during classes. He is accused of making offensive comments of a sexual, misogynistic and racist nature.
The sheet I contacted Salatini’s attorney this Wednesday afternoon to request his opinion on the matter. However, until the document was released, the defense did not send a response or stopped answering phone calls.
In documents delivered to Unesp, students described several episodes of embarrassment on the part of their teachers. During the class, he repeatedly talked about his love experiences. On one of those occasions, he said it was difficult to find a clean sexual partner.
Other reports follow the same line. Salatini states that women are the passive side in relationships. When addressing gender issues, he used female students as an example, often describing them as stupid and foolish.
In addition to threats, some reports involve harassment. In one situation, he allegedly approached two female alumni and hinted how he would flirt with them at a party.
In another case, a student said a teacher asked her how much she would charge “to give me a butt” and offered her an amount.
There are also testimonies accusing Salatini of racism. When reading the surnames on the roll call, the teacher reportedly made derogatory comments attacking the African continent and Eastern Europe about the students’ possible origins. On another occasion, he would have said that Africans and Latinos don’t use their heads.
The UNESCO Academic Center for International Relations congratulated Salatini on his dismissal. “I would like to thank each and every student for their cooperation in this fight,” he declared. The DCE (Central Student Directory) also spoke out, stressing that this achievement is the result of the constant struggle of Marilia students, united around this issue that has been plaguing the student body for many years.
Mr. Salatini has been a professor at UNESCO since 2010 and taught compulsory subjects in the first and third years of the International Relations course.
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