Granátula de Calatrava approves its protocol against sexual harassment and sex-based discrimination

The City Council of Granátula de Calatrava has approved the “Protocol for the prevention of and action against sexual harassment, harassment on the grounds of sex, and harassment based on sexual orientation,” a document that establishes the internal reporting procedure and guarantees for affected persons. The approval took place in an extraordinary session on November 3, 2026, and the full text is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Ciudad Real no. 219, of Thursday, November 12, 2026, in the CITY COUNCILS section, under announcement number 3687 and case file number GRANATULA2026/1390.

The protocol is based on the Spanish Constitution of 1978, Organic Law 3/2007 for the effective equality of women and men, Royal Legislative Decree 5/2015 which approves the Revised Text of the Basic Statute of Public Employees (TREBEP), Royal Legislative Decree 2/2015 of the Workers’ Statute, Law 31/1995 on the Prevention of Occupational Risks, Royal Decree 901/2020 on equality plans, Law 12/2010 on Equality between Women and Men of Castilla-La Mancha, and the Agreement for municipal public employees.

Scope: municipal staff and citizen users

The text applies to all personnel of the City Council of Granátula de Calatrava, including elected officials, bodies, and management personnel, regardless of the legal nature of their relationship with the corporation. External contracted companies, collaborators, societies, and municipal autonomous bodies will be informed of its existence, and when a case affects personnel from a contractor, business coordination mechanisms will be activated.

The protocol expressly declares these behaviors prohibited, which may be considered a very serious offense and lead to the sanctions provided for in the text itself and in the TREBEP, without prejudice to criminal legislation. It defines three types: sexual harassment—in its forms of blackmail and environmental—harassment on the grounds of sex, and harassment based on sexual orientation, with concrete examples of behaviors in an annex.

Two bodies to process the complaint

• Confidential Advisory Service: receives complaints and initiates the procedure; it is initially composed of equality agents and prevention delegates with specific training, and its composition is appointed by the presidency of the Equality Commission.
• Advisory Committee: a collegiate body that carries out the formal procedure, composed of two technicians from the Prevention and Occupational Health Service, one person from the Confidential Advisory Service, a lawyer from the Legal Advisory Service, a psychologist from the Equality Service, and two union representatives.
• Labor Relations Service: adopts precautionary measures and processes the disciplinary file.
• Equality Commission: exercises control and monitoring of the application of the protocol.

The complaint may be submitted verbally or in writing —if verbal, it must later be ratified in writing— and anonymous complaints are not admitted. It may be filed by the allegedly harassed person or their legal representative, the union representation with prior authorization, or any public employee with justification, subject to ratification by the victim. The procedure provides for an informal route, oriented toward a commitment of non-repetition, and a formal route with hearings for the parties and witnesses, and possible precautionary measures, such as the temporary separation of the complainant and the accused.

Among the guarantees are confidentiality —each complaint is identified with a numerical code—, the prohibition of retaliation, impartiality, good faith, and the possibility for the involved persons to have a companion of their choice. The parties may appeal the Committee’s resolution within a maximum period of five working days.

Validity and Control

The Confidential Advisory Service will prepare an annual report with indicators on processed complaints, disaggregated by sex, and training provided. The protocol will be evaluated after the first three complaints or one year after its implementation. The term of office for the members of the Confidential Advisory Service is set at two years from its approval.

Against the agreement, which ends the administrative route, an optional appeal for reversal may be filed within one month, or directly a contentious-administrative appeal within two months before the Contentious-Administrative Section of the Court of First Instance of Ciudad Real. The document was signed in Granátula de Calatrava on November 10, 2026, by the mayor, Yolanda de la Cruz Gómez.

The protocol provides the city council with a regulated and confidential channel for a problem that until now had no specific internal channel, and extends protection beyond the staff by informing contractors operating in municipal services, which affects both workers and users of these services.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Ciudad Real, no. 219, November 12, 2026, section CITY COUNCILS, page 10872 (official reference: announcement number 3687, file GRANATULA2026/1390).