NIH Updates Sexual Harassment Reporting Policy

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued new guidance on reporting cases of sexual harassment by grant recipients. Grantee institutions will now be required to report to the agency when an investigator is removed from an NIH grant because of findings or allegations of sexual harassment. In an editorial for Science, NIH Director Francis Collins and his colleagues wrote: “In 2019, the NIH began to bolster its policies and practices to address and prevent sexual harassment. This included new communication channels to inform the agency of instances of sexual harassment related to NIH-funded research. This week, the NIH announces a change that will hold grantee institutions and investigators accountable for this misconduct, to further foster a culture whereby sexual harassment and other inappropriate behaviors are not tolerated in the research and training environment.” According to the new guidance, NIH also expects grant recipients “who request changes in either investigators or movement of a grant to a new recipient institution to promptly inform the agency, whether changes are related to concerns about safety and/or work environments (e.g., because of concerns about harassment, bullying, retaliation, or hostile working conditions).” The agency will use this information in making grant related decisions, including “putting into place appropriate institutional oversight mechanisms or remedies, or deciding whether to grant institutional r...
Source: Public Policy Reports - Category: Biology Authors: Source Type: news