Sexual harassment at work in Peru: how to report it and your employer's deadlines
Sexual harassment is unwanted conduct of a sexual or sexist nature, and since 2018 the law does not require it to be repeated or to have been rejected: a single act is enough. File your complaint, verbally or in writing, with your employer's Human Resources office. If the workplace has 20 or more employees, a joint labor-management Committee must investigate and issue its report within 15 calendar days, with a final decision no more than 10 calendar days after that. If the harasser is your employer or someone with managerial authority, you can go straight to ending your contract and suing to end the hostility or for damages, within 30 calendar days counted from the day after the last act of harassment — or, if you had already started the internal procedure, from the day after the decision that closes it.
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El Peruano · MIMP
Checked 19 Sept 2026Next review 19 Mar 2027
What counts as sexual harassment, under the law
Article 4 of Law N.º 27942, in the text Legislative Decree N.º 1410 gave it (published on September 12, 2018), defines sexual harassment as “a form of violence consisting of conduct of a sexual or sexist nature or connotation that is unwanted by the person it is directed at, which may create an intimidating, hostile or humiliating environment, or may affect their work, teaching, training or other situation.”
The next sentence of the same article is the one that changes the most in practice: “neither rejection nor repetition of the conduct needs to be proven.” The 2003 definition required the conduct to be repeated, required the victim to have rejected it, and required the harasser to be exploiting a position of authority. None of those three requirements survives: a single act constitutes sexual harassment, you don’t have to show you rejected it, and the harasser doesn’t have to be your boss.
Article 6, also rewritten in 2018, lists six forms this can take, and does so as an open list — “among others”: promises of preferential treatment in exchange for sexual favors; threats used to demand unwanted conduct; language of a sexual or sexist nature, insinuations, propositions, obscene gestures or displaying images with sexual content; unwanted physical approaches, brushing or touching; hostile or offensive treatment for having refused any of those; and any other conduct fitting the definition in Article 4. None of them requires physical contact.
How to file a complaint
The procedure starts at the request of the victim, a third party, or on the company’s own initiative if it learns of the facts by any means (Article 29.1). The complaint can be filed verbally or in writing, with your employer’s Human Resources office or whoever performs that role. If your workplace has 20 or more employees, the company must have a Harassment Intervention Committee in place: four members, two worker representatives and two employer representatives, with equal gender representation on both sides (Article 27).
The deadlines your company must meet
The regulations set concrete deadlines for each stage, and they’re enforceable:
| Stage | Deadline | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Forwarding the complaint to the Intervention Committee | 1 business day | Article 29.4 |
| Committee’s investigation report | 15 calendar days | Article 29.5 |
| Human Resources’ final decision | 10 calendar days from the report | Article 29.6 |
If your company doesn’t meet these deadlines, that alone doesn’t invalidate your complaint, but it’s a violation you can raise with Sunafil.
If the harasser is your boss or the company owner
Article 26.1 of the regulations specifically covers this scenario, where the internal procedure loses its point because the person who should receive or resolve the complaint is the harasser themselves. In that case you choose between two routes, not both: suing to end the hostility, or claiming damages for unjustified dismissal while terminating your employment contract, under Article 35 of the Law on Labor Productivity and Competitiveness. If you take the second, Article 26.1 itself excuses you from the prior notice to the employer that Article 30 of that law normally requires, and in neither case do you have to exhaust the internal procedure first.
This judicial route has a strict deadline: Article 26.3 sets a 30-calendar-day time limit. Article 26.4 spells out when it starts, and this is the part most people miss: it runs from the day after the last act of harassment unless you started the internal investigation procedure, in which case it runs from the day after the decision closing that procedure or, if none was ever issued, from the date it should have been. In other words: waiting for your company to resolve the case does not eat into your window to sue.
What to do if your company doesn’t act
Using the company’s internal mechanisms doesn’t take away your ability to go directly to the Labor Inspection Authority (Sunafil) or to sue for the damages you suffered. If your company doesn’t have a Committee in place, doesn’t meet the deadlines, or simply doesn’t act, see our guide on how to file a complaint with Sunafil to file an external complaint in parallel.
How to file
- Check whether what happened fits the forms listed in Article 6Promises or threats tied to sexual favors, language or images of a sexual or sexist nature, insinuations and propositions, obscene gestures, unwanted physical contact, or the hostile treatment that followed your refusing any of it. You don't need all of them present, and you don't need repetition: Article 4 says expressly that neither rejection nor repetition of the conduct needs to be proven.
- File your complaint with Human ResourcesIt can be verbal or written, under Article 29.1. If your company has 20 or more employees, it must have a Harassment Intervention Committee, with two worker representatives and two employer representatives, in equal gender proportion on each side.
- Check that the internal procedure's deadlines are being metOne business day to forward the complaint to the Committee, fifteen calendar days for the investigation report, and ten more calendar days for Human Resources' final decision.
- If the harasser is your employer or has managerial authority, consider going straight to courtArticle 26.1 lets you choose between suing to end the hostility or claiming damages for unjustified dismissal while terminating your contract, without going through the internal procedure first.
- Don't let the 30-calendar-day window pass if you're going to sueUnder Article 26.4, the Article 26.3 time limit runs from the day after the last act of harassment — unless you started the internal procedure, in which case it runs from the day after the decision closing it, or from the date that decision should have been issued.
What people fail to ask in time
Did you know you can file a complaint with Sunafil without your employer finding out you're the one who filed it?
Find out before it matters →What most people believe — and what the law says
Sexual harassment only counts if there's physical touching.
Article 6, in the text in force since 2018, lists six forms and does so as an open list: promises or threats conditioned on sexual favors, language of a sexual or sexist nature, insinuations and propositions, obscene gestures or displaying images with sexual content, unwanted physical approaches, and hostile treatment for having refused any of the above. Physical contact is one possible form, not a requirement.
For it to be sexual harassment it has to have happened several times, and I have to have rejected it.
That was the 2003 definition. Legislative Decree N.º 1410 rewrote article 4 of Law 27942 in 2018 and settled the point in one sentence: «En estos casos no se requiere acreditar el rechazo ni la reiterancia de la conducta» — neither rejection nor repetition needs to be proven. A single act is enough.
If the harasser is the company owner or my direct boss, I have no way to report it because they'd be the one receiving the complaint.
Article 26.1 of the regulations covers exactly this case: when the harasser is the employer, management, or someone in a position of trust, the victim can choose between suing to end the hostility or claiming damages while terminating the employment contract, without having to exhaust the internal procedure first.
My company can take as long as it wants to resolve my complaint.
The regulations set concrete deadlines: one business day to forward the complaint to the Committee, fifteen calendar days for the Committee's report, and ten more calendar days for Human Resources' final decision.
There's no time limit to sue for sexual harassment damages.
If you choose the judicial route under Article 35 of the LPCL (ending the hostility or damages), Article 26.3 of the regulations sets a 30-calendar-day time limit. The part almost nobody knows is in 26.4: if you already started the internal investigation procedure, the clock runs not from the incident but from the day after the decision that closes that procedure — or from the date it should have been issued. Waiting for your company's investigation does not cost you the judicial route.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to file my complaint in writing, or can I do it verbally?
It can be verbal or written, under Article 29.1 of the regulations. You file it with your employer's Human Resources office or whoever performs that role, and the procedure can also start at the request of a third party or on the company's own initiative if it learns of the facts by any means.
If the Intervention Committee misses its deadlines, do I lose my case?
No, missing those deadlines alone doesn't invalidate your complaint. It is a violation you can raise by filing an external complaint with Sunafil, in parallel with the internal procedure.
Can I file with Sunafil while I wait for my company to resolve things internally?
Yes. Using your company's internal mechanisms doesn't take away your ability to go directly to Sunafil or to sue for the damages you suffered; you can do this in parallel, especially if your company has no Committee in place, doesn't meet the deadlines, or simply doesn't act.
Who sits on the Harassment Intervention Committee?
The Committee has four members: two worker representatives and two employer representatives, with equal gender representation on both sides. It's only mandatory at workplaces with 20 or more employees.
The exact law
Law N.º 27942, article 4 as amended by the First Amending Provision of Legislative Decree N.º 1410Article 4 (text in force since 2018)read
Definition of sexual harassment — neither rejection nor repetition of the conduct needs to be proven
«El hostigamiento sexual es una forma de violencia que se configura a través de una conducta de naturaleza o connotación sexual o sexista no deseada por la persona contra la que se dirige, que puede crear un ambiente intimidatorio, hostil o humillante; o que puede afectar su actividad o situación laboral, docente, formativa o de cualquier otra índole. En estos casos no se requiere acreditar el rechazo ni la reiterancia de la conducta.»
Law N.º 27942, article 6 as amended by the First Amending Provision of Legislative Decree N.º 1410Article 6 (text in force since 2018)read
The six forms sexual harassment can take, as an open list — including sexist language, displaying sexual images, and hostile treatment for having refused
«El hostigamiento sexual puede manifestarse, entre otras, a través de las siguientes conductas: a) Promesa implícita o expresa a la víctima de un trato preferente o beneficioso respecto a su situación actual o futura a cambio de favores sexuales. b) Amenazas mediante las cuales se exija en forma implícita o explícita una conducta no deseada por la víctima, que atente o agravie su dignidad. c) Uso de términos de naturaleza o connotación sexual o sexista (escritos o verbales), insinuaciones sexuales, proposiciones sexuales, gestos obscenos o exhibición a través de cualquier medio de imágenes de contenido sexual, que resulten insoportables, hostiles, humillantes u ofensivos para la víctima. d) Acercamientos corporales, roces, tocamientos u otras conductas físicas de naturaleza sexual que resulten ofensivas y no deseadas por la víctima. e) Trato ofensivo u hostil por el rechazo de las conductas señaladas en este artículo. f) Otras conductas que encajen en el concepto regulado en el artículo 4 de la presente Ley.»
Supreme Decree N.º 014-2019-MIMPArticle 26, numerals 26.1 and 26.3read
Regulations to Law N.º 27942 — ending the hostility or claiming damages, terminating the contract, and the 30-calendar-day time limit
«En caso que el/la hostigador/a sea el/la empleador/a, personal de dirección, personal de confianza, titular, asociado/a, director/a o accionista, la víctima puede optar entre accionar el cese de la hostilidad o el pago de la indemnización, dando por terminado el contrato de trabajo, conforme al artículo 35 del Texto Único Ordenado del Decreto Legislativo N° 728, Ley de Productividad y Competitividad Laboral, aprobado por el Decreto Supremo N° 003-97-TR (LPCL). En este último supuesto, no es exigible la comunicación al/a la empleador/a por cese de hostilidad señalado en el artículo 30 de la misma norma. [...] En caso que se demande judicialmente el cese de hostilidad o pago de indemnización por despido arbitrario al que hace referencia el artículo 35 de la LPCL, el plazo de caducidad es de treinta (30) días calendario de producido el último acto de hostigamiento, de conformidad con lo establecido en el artículo 36 de la LPCL.»
↳Article 26, numeral 26.4read
When the 30-day clock starts — if you filed an internal complaint, the day after the decision that closes that procedure
«El cómputo del plazo inicia a partir del día siguiente de producido el último acto de hostigamiento o indicio del mismo, salvo que se haya iniciado el procedimiento interno de investigación y sanción, en cuyo caso el plazo se computa a partir del día siguiente de emitida la resolución que pone fin al procedimiento o, en su defecto, desde la fecha en la que esta debió ser emitida.»
↳Article 27, numerals 27.1 and 27.2read
The Harassment Intervention Committee — mandatory from 20 employees, equal representation
«En los centros de trabajo con veinte (20) o más trabajadoras/es, se garantiza la existencia de un Comité de Intervención frente al Hostigamiento Sexual, el cual investiga y emite recomendaciones de sanción y otras medidas adicionales para evitar nuevos casos de hostigamiento sexual. [...] El Comité de intervención frente al Hostigamiento Sexual está compuesto por cuatro (4) miembros: dos (2) representantes de los/as trabajadores/as y dos (2) representantes del/de la empleador/a; garantizando en ambos casos la paridad de género.»
↳Article 29, numerals 29.1, 29.4 and 29.5read
How to file a complaint and the internal procedure's deadlines
«El procedimiento de investigación y sanción del hostigamiento sexual en el sector privado se inicia de parte, a pedido de la víctima o de un tercero, o de oficio cuando la institución conoce por cualquier medio los hechos que presumiblemente constituyen hostigamiento sexual, bajo responsabilidad. La queja o denuncia puede ser presentada de forma verbal o escrita, ante la Oficina de Recursos Humanos o la que haga sus veces. [...] En un plazo no mayor a un (1) día hábil de recibida la queja o denuncia, la Oficina de Recursos Humanos o la que haga sus veces, corre traslado al Comité de intervención frente al Hostigamiento Sexual para el inicio de la investigación. [...] En un plazo no mayor a quince (15) días calendario de recibida la queja o denuncia, el Comité emite un informe.»
↳Article 29, numeral 29.6read
The final decision must be issued within 10 calendar days of the Committee's report
«La Oficina de Recursos Humanos o quien haga sus veces emite una decisión en un plazo no mayor a diez (10) días calendario de recibido el informe. Dentro de dicho plazo, la Oficina de Recursos Humanos o quien haga sus veces traslada el informe del Comité a el/la quejado/a o denunciado/a y a el/la presunto/a hostigado/a y les otorga un plazo para que de considerarlo pertinente presenten sus alegatos.»
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