More than one in three Australian lawyers have experienced sexual harassment at work, according to a survey by the International Bar Association.
The findings, first reported in the journal of the Law Society of New South Wales, prompted the Law Society’s chief executive to call for an “open conversation” in the industry.
The International Bar Association surveyed 7,000 lawyers around the world and found that 25% had been sexually harassed at work. In Australia, out of 1,000 lawyers, 37% had experienced harassment.
Harassment was not reported by 77% of those who experienced it – 80% of those said this was because perpetrators were never punished, and 31% said it was because they thought their employer’s response would be insufficient.
In September, a survey by the Human Rights Commission found 39% of Australians had been sexually harassed in the workplace across all professions, in the past five years.
The chief executive of the Law Society of NSW, Michael Tidball, said that under the Australian solicitors’ conduct rules, sexual harassment could constitute professional misconduct and lead to a lawyer being disbarred.
He said he hoped the results of the survey would start a long-term conversation.
“We’re at a point now where it is very clear,” he said. “The pervasive nature of sexual harassment throughout the community is something we all need to be all aware of.”
He said any victims of sexual harassment could report offenders to the Law Society’s professional standards department.
“We are telling the whole profession that this must be owned by the leaders of the profession,” Tidball said. “We must have the systems, the protocol and a culture of absolute equality. For the lawyers in the firm, they need to be looking out for their colleagues.”
Nina Newcombe, co-vice-president of the Sydney University Law Society, said students and younger lawyers were often reluctant to report harassment because they feared it would have a negative effect on their careers.
“The legal profession is relatively small,” she said. “There is still a stigma in many ways attached to reporting sexual harassment.
“This isn’t itself unique to the legal profession, and is a more pervasive issue in society, but when students are facing a highly competitive job market, or are very early on in their careers, there may be a desire to not distinguish themselves from others in a ‘negative’ way.”
Newcombe said she knew students who had experienced sexual harassment in the recruitment process for casual legal jobs, and during their employment.
Tidball said the Law Society was working to improve mental health services for those affected by harassment.
“As well as having their complaint dealt with, for someone who has experienced sexual harassment, there needs to be support services. We have a range of mental health supports that we offer to the profession – and we are in the process of reviewing those. An open conversation is needed and it doesn’t have an endpoint.”
