They are still preliminary, but the results of the MUDA Study, on the incidence of workplace harassment in the performing arts in Portugalbring worrying data. With 611 surveys carried out voluntarily and online – which, according to the document, “does not allow us to state that the sample is representative of the entire artistic sector in Portugal” -, it is observed that 74.8% of respondents experienced situations of moral harassmentwhile another 49.8% even talk about sexual harassment throughout their artistic career. A total of 11.6% acknowledged that they were currently experiencing episodes of harassment.
Funded by the Directorate-General for the Arts (DGArtes), the final report will be ready at the end of March 2026. But the study is already able to reveal that between 41% and 77% of the cases considered in it, depending on the type of harassment, involved a hierarchical relationship, with the aggressors often being part of the victim’s artistic or pedagogical leadership. In terms of the context in which such abuses occurred, it is said that they include both paid activity and spaces intended for training, such as “certified and non-certified” artistic education. On the other hand, 63.2% of attacks were caused by people of different sex of the survey participant.
Among the victims, 70% will not have filed a formal complaintpointing out as reasons for this first emotional exhaustion (42.1%), followed by fear of professional consequences (32.7%) and lack of evidence or witnesses (22.1%). Of the 611 people who make up the sample in this preliminary phase of the study, 70% are women between 38 and 49 years oldresiding mainly in urban areas and with high academic qualifications, generally independent professionals.