One year on from its landmark report, ‘Us Too? Bullying and Sexual Harassment in the Legal Profession’, the IBA is now drawing up a best practice guide with recommendations for workplaces of all shapes and sizes, arranging training programmes for lawyers, and producing a discussion paper on the regulatory dimensions of inappropriate behaviour and emerging regulatory trends. All three will be available in a comprehensive online resources hub by late 2020.
IBA President,
Horacio Bernardes Neto said: ‘Bullying and sexual harassment have no place in
the legal profession, or elsewhere.
‘The response
to our 2019 research, which highlighted pervasive levels of misconduct in legal
workplaces across the globe, has been encouraging. The initial reaction of
shock at the prevalence of such negative behavioural patterns in a profession
founded on the highest ethical standards, is being replaced by determination to
stamp them out.
‘By working
together, the new stage of this IBA campaign will further all efforts to
achieve positive change.’
The ‘Us Too?’
report last May drew on a survey of nearly 7,000 legal professionals across 135
countries. It found that one in two female and one in three male respondents
had been bullied at work, and one in three female and one in 14 male
respondents had been sexually harassed. Read the report at www.ibanet.org/bullying-and-sexual-harassment.aspx.
All materials
will be freely available in multiple languages from the IBA. There will also be
interactive online events, including a free webinar to discuss the Us Too?
campaign on 10 June from 1300-1415 BST. A presentation by the report’s author
Kieran Pender, LPRU Senior Legal Advisor, will be followed by a panel
discussion, featuring prominent lawyers from a range of countries.
Register for
the free 10 June webinar at www.ibanet.org/Us-Too-Webinar.aspx.
