It’s time for structural change to resolve bullying and harassment in the legal profession, consulting barrister Kevin Charles, of Crossland Employment Solicitors, writes in this week’s NLJ
The barrister reflects on his own experience of rigid hierarchies and etiquette in chambers during pupillage: ‘Our position with the pecking order was reinforced and made perfectly clear―we were firmly at the bottom, and those in senior positions, who were feted, lionised and seemingly untouchable, held our legal careers in their hands.’ Therefore, who would or could ‘rock the boat’ by speaking out about sexual harassment or bullying?
Charles writes that not much has changed in the intervening 20 years with the number of sexual misconduct reports increasing dramatically in the last five years—a statistic he finds unsurprising given the combination of power imbalance, a male-dominated hierarchy and the prevailing culture of silence.
However, steps are being taken to reverse the number of detrimental and harmful behaviours within the legal sphere. The Bar Council is one such advocate, creating the anonymous support app Talk To Spot, which encourages the confidential reporting of inappropriate behaviour, including bullying, harassment and discrimination at work.
Charles’s conclusion, however, is that structural change is required ‘so that the male-dominated hierarchical stronghold is dismantled’. In the meantime, he urges senior male lawyers to speak up when female colleagues are being harassed.
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