Us too? Bullying and sexual harassment in the legal profession (Part 1)

Footnotes (by the Sydney University Law Society)

*Content warning: bullying and sexual harassment*

In 2018, the International Bar Association undertook the largest ever survey on bullying and sexual harassment in the law, and compiled over 7000 responses from 135 countries. They found that 1 in 2 women and 1 in 3 men had been bullied in the workplace, and the majority of incidents of bullying and sexual harassment were never reported.

SULS hosted a panel earlier this year, discussing how young lawyers and law students can tackle bullying and sexual harassment in the profession. Part 1 includes:

- an introduction to the report (0:00-1:57)

- a Q&A with Jeremy Chan, the President of SULS (1:57-9:20)

- a speech from Kieran Pender, author of the IBA report (9:20-17:46)

- a speech from The Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG, former Justice of the High Court of Australia (17:46-28:59)

Part 2 is the panel.

If this episode has made you want to talk to someone, you can seek support from the University of Sydney's free counselling service (CAPS), your GP, or your personal support network. Today is also R U OK? Day - take the time to ask a friend if they're okay.

And if there's anything impacting your experience at law school, or if you have feedback on how SULS can represent and support you better, we're here to help and to listen - please feel free reach out to [e-mail] at any time.

Here are links to SULS' Student Support Services Handbook, SULS' Employment and Workplace FAQ, and ALSA's statement on bullying and harassment in the workplace.