A CNRS research director in Strasbourg was given a one-year exclusion, accompanied by a six-month reprieve, for "
sexual harassment
" of two doctoral students and an intern, we learned on Saturday from the institution.
Seconded to the Inserm unit "
Basic and applied research interface in cancerology
" (Irfac U1113), he was excluded "
from the notification of this decision
", dated February 27 and which AFP was able to consult. .
It is “
deprivation of remuneration
”, it was specified to the CNRS.
The facts had been reported to the CNRS in June 2022 by two women who had started their theses “
under his co-direction
”, triggering the opening of a joint CNRS / INSERM investigation, indicates the notification.
This 1st class research director, in office since 2013, had been suspended in November and then heard by the joint administrative commission (CAP) in February 2023.
According to the internal investigation, the researcher had towards his two doctoral students and an intern "
under his responsibility
", between 2015 and 2022, "
inappropriate behavior consisting of inappropriate gestures with a sexual connotation and compliments on the physique putting them in trouble. 'comfortable
,' the notification continues.
Read alsoOne in two female researchers is the victim of sexual harassment: when the law of silence rages in science
Denial of the interested party
"
By this behavior, (he) placed (the three women) in an intimidating, humiliating and offensive situation which led one of the two doctoral students to wish to end her thesis
", according to the same source.
Among the inappropriate gestures mentioned by the internal investigation: hand "
on the buttocks
", "
on the thigh, on the neck, caresses on the hair and shoulders
", without the consent of the three women.
During a trip abroad, he would have "
lying on (a) doctoral student asleep on her back at the beach
" while they were "
both in bathing suits
", according to the notification.
He would also have "
presented himself in his underwear
" in front of the intern.
If he recognizes “
generally having a tactile behavior
”, he denies “
any sexual connotation to his gestures
”, indicates the notification.
The three women filed a complaint, it was indicated to the CNRS which "
strongly condemns all forms of discrimination and harassment, behavior and acts of a sexist and sexual nature
" and recalls having set up "
a cell-signals
" in February 2022. Irfac, whose researcher was tipped before his exclusion as a "
potential future director
", will close "
by 2024
", we also learned from the Inserm and the University of Strasbourg, the two supervisory bodies of the laboratory.
The announcement of the closure was made during an exceptional general meeting on December 6, according to the same sources, which indicate that the agents and doctoral students will be accompanied.
In addition to the accusations of sexual harassment aimed at the research director, "
the lack of application from a new leader proposing a sufficiently solid and unifying scientific project
", as well as the dilapidated state of the building requiring "
substantial investments
" are at the origin of this decision, specify Inserm and Unistra who recall that they are also equipped with mechanisms to fight against sexist and sexual violence.
