|
|
Home
| Databases
| WorldLII
| Search
| Feedback
Precedent (Australian Lawyers Alliance) |
The time for data collection and hand wringing about the appalling incidence of sexual harassment in the legal profession is over, and I am not the first to suggest that – much like our ecosystem – the profession is at a tipping point.[1] I am pleased to announce that the evidence suggests some things, like recognition of sexual harassment in the legal profession, have improved since my first article for Precedent on the subject in February 2018.[2]
Unfortunately, sexual harassment itself is not one of those things that has improved. It continues to rear its ugly head in workplaces and work-related settings across the country.
It seems to be astonishingly difficult for some members of the profession to avoid sexually harassing peers and subordinates. For example, Kate Eastman SC, in her findings on the behaviour of a former justice of the Victorian Supreme Court, noted that ‘he had no insight about the appropriate boundaries and ... his conduct transgressed those boundaries’.[3]
Change since 2018 has been marked by steady incremental progress and blinding bombshell moments, resulting in the acceleration of ordinarily glacial evolutionary processes within the profession. I have not addressed the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the incidence of sexual harassment in the profession for two reasons – paucity of data and limited word count.
Broadly speaking there has been an on-paper improvement in gender equity in the profession. According to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, since 2018 there has been a significant increase in female leadership in the legal services industry – with the percentage of female workers being a steady almost 70 per cent, but the percentage of females in CEO positions going from less than 11 per cent in 2018 to nearly 18 per cent in 2021.[4] However, there continues to be a significant gender pay gap of 23 per cent (for full-time roles).[5]
In surveys on the issue, there has been an increase in the number of respondents reporting experience of sexual harassment. This does not necessarily mean that there has been more sexual harassment. Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins (the Commissioner), in her foreword to a report by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), Everyone’s Business: Fourth National Survey on Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces, could not be certain if the marked increase in the reported incidence of sexual harassment in the workplace was due to ‘an increase in sexually harassing behaviours, or to greater awareness of the types of behaviours that constitute sexual harassment, or to other factors.’[6] My reading of the available literature leads me to believe that it is the latter.
In a 2019 Victorian survey of the profession, researchers found that improved survey techniques improved the quality of responses:
‘The incidence of experiences of sexual harassment was higher when respondents were presented with examples of behaviour or situations that could be considered as sexual harassment (36% personal experience with examples vs. 32% when asked without any examples). Of note, women who were initially presented with the legal definition of sexual harassment were then more likely to say they had experienced subtler forms of sexual harassment when presented with examples of sexual harassment behaviour (i.e. the behavioural definition of sexual harassment). When shown the behavioural definition of sexual harassment, 61% of women reported having experienced sexual harassment in their careers, compared to 12% of men.’[7]
When compared to the AHRC data, the more recent Victorian data notes that women in the law experience sexual harassment at a far greater rate than women in the workplace generally. This is a change from the findings of the Law Council of Australia (LCA) in the National Attrition and Re-engagement Study (NARS) Report of 2014 (NARS Report).[8]
The Equal Opportunity Commission’s 2021 Review of Harassment in the South Australian Legal Profession found that ‘56.6% of the 346 respondents who identified as female ... had experienced sexual harassment in the legal profession’.[9] The Review did not elaborate on whether respondents had experienced sexual harassment in their current workplace, so it is difficult to compare with data collected in the NARS Report.[10]
Internationally, sexual harassment in the legal profession continues to blight the wellbeing of women (and a smaller, but no less important, number of men) in the profession. Across the Tasman, the New Zealand Law Society released the results of its survey into sexual harassment in May 2018, reporting that ‘40% of women lawyers, and 55% of young women lawyers, had been sexually harassed in the last five years.’[11] The International Bar Association similarly found in 2019 that a third of female respondents had been sexually harassed.[12]
For a comprehensive list of surveys of sexual harassment in the profession, see the LCA’s National Action Plan to Reduce Sexual Harassment in the Australian Legal Profession (National Action Plan).[13]
A Deloitte Access Economics report, completed for the federal Department of the Treasury in 2019 as part of the AHRC report Respect@Work: National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces under the Commissioner’s leadership,[14] provided a ‘conservative estimate’ that workplace sexual harassment cost the Australian economy $3.8 billion in 2018.[15] Lost productivity was by far the biggest cost, estimated at $2.6 billion, or $1,053 on average per victim in 2018 alone. This figure includes:
• absenteeism – $741.8 million in total or $297 on average per victim;
• presenteeism[16] – $426.4 million or $171 on average per victim;
• staff turnover – $830.6 million or $336 on average per victim; and
• manager time – $623.4 million or $250 on average per victim.[17]
It is notable that the largest share of lost productivity was experienced by females in the 25–34 years age group due to the high rates of sexual harassment experienced by this group. Other costs estimated for 2018 (including use of the health system, complaints and court processes, and police investigations) were estimated at $936.5 million, while the cost of victims’ lost wellbeing was estimated at $249.6 million.[18]
EVOLUTION AND REVOLUTION
Australian Women Lawyers released their Seven Strategies for Addressing Sexual Harassment in the Legal Profession on 9 July 2019[19] – a list of practical and achievable actions to immediately combat sexual harassment. Several of those recommendations, such as CPDs on sexual harassment, have now been put into practice in jurisdictions across the country.[20]
In the broader community, Respect@Work, the critical contribution by the AHRC and the Commissioner, was published in March 2020.[21] The Federal Government has ‘agreed to (in full, in-principle, or in-part) or noted all 55 recommendations in the Report.’[22] Recommendations include:
• conducting national surveys every four years;
• offering workplace rights education for young people;
• ratifying International Labour Organization Convention No. 190, ‘Eliminating Violence and Harassment in the World of Work’’;[23]
• amending the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth), among other things by increasing the time limits for bringing an action; and
• harmonising sexual harassment laws across states, territories and the Commonwealth.[24]
Bombshells and the seismic shift
‘Respondents ... did not report sexual harassment because they didn’t think any action would be taken (36.5%) or because the harasser was too powerful within the profession (27.5%).’[25]
On 22 June 2020, the release of a statement by the Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, the Hon Susan Kiefel AC, changed the landscape in relation to both taking action, and believing victim survivors despite the lofty status of the abuser.[26] The wider community was shocked by the Chief Justice’s statement regarding allegations of sexual harassment made against former High Court judge Mr Dyson Heydon by six former judges’ associates. On the basis of an independent internal investigation into Mr Heydon’s treatment of the six associates, her Honour found the accounts of the complainants believable; she apologised, and announced a raft of changes within the High Court to improve the wellbeing and safety of associates. Within the legal community there was perhaps less shock, as sexual harassment and bullying have been viewed as ‘rampant’[27] and an ongoing ‘open secret’[28] in the profession.
On the heels of Chief Justice Kiefel’s statement, Kate McClymont and Jacqueline Maley of The Sydney Morning Herald published their in-depth investigation into Mr Heydon and allegations by numerous women of prolific predatory behaviour over decades.[29]Two per cent of respondents in the 2019 Victorian review reported that they had been sexually harassed by a judicial officer;[30] 12.9 per cent of respondents in the Review of Harassment in the South Australian Legal Profession indicated that their harasser was a judicial officer.[31] It became clear that Mr Heydon’s head would not be the only one to figuratively roll into the headlines.
Sexual harassment had existed in the legal profession long before the allegations against Mr Heydon came to light – but now the public got to have a good hard look at what our profession had been hiding all this time. A flurry of reviews into the legal profession were initiated across the country, with dozens of complaints being made against former and sitting judicial officers.The LCA responded by holding a virtual national roundtable on 8 July 2020 to address sexual harassment in the legal profession.[32]
On 14 July 2020, and building on the Sexual Harassment in the Victorian Legal Sector report published in May 2020,[33] the Hon Jill Hennessy, Victorian Attorney-General, and the Hon Anne Ferguson, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria and Chair of the Courts Council, jointly initiated a specific review into sexual harassment in Victorian courts and tribunals. A report was published in March 2021.[34]
In October 2020, the SA Parliament passed a motion to review sexual harassment in the legal profession. The final report was provided to the Attorney-General on 9 April 2021.
Following the precedent set by Chief Justice Kiefel and the successful work of legal practitioners[35] in representing victims of sexual harassment, similar complaints which might have died at the hands of middle management have been escalated to heads of jurisdiction for investigation.
TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES
Here is an account of a selection of judicial officers whose careers have come to an ignominious end in the post-Heydon era:
• Former judge Joe Harman of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia was found by a committee of three judicial officers to have sexually harassed a junior court employee and a former law student.[36] The judge has since resigned.
• Two independent reports, commissioned by the Victorian Supreme Court and written by Kate Eastman SC, found that retired Victorian Supreme Court judge Peter Vickery QC had subjected two of his associates to ‘unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature and unfavourable treatment in their employment because they were women’.[37]
• South Australian magistrate Simon Milazzo has been suspended since 2021 while a judicial conduct panel is investigating complaints against him from five women, and preparing a report.[38]
For his part, Mr Heydon has not sought to renew his practising certificate since June 2020 and is no longer associated with the prestigious Selborne Chambers.[39] Reports indicate that three of Mr Heydon’s alleged victims have received substantial out of court settlements from the Commonwealth.[40]
‘“There is simply no place for sexual harassment it [sic] in our profession, our Parliament, workplaces and broader community. It is a stain on our society that it continues to be such an endemic problem and we expect more from our leaders in addressing it.”’[41]
We are seeing the signs of a profession-wide cultural shift in our understanding of and stance towards sexual harassment in the profession. Since the claim that a client’s complaint was rebuffed by a court official as there was nothing to be done given her tormentor was a judge,[42] the Hon William Alstergren, Chief Justice of the Federal Circuit and Family Court, has finalised and released updated judicial conduct and judicial complaints policies, including a ‘no wrong door’ policy for complaints.[43]
The argument for a federal judicial commission has been revived, with calls for an independent federal complaints body[44] that would deal with allegations of misconduct by both sitting and former judicial officers.[45] The Victorian Judicial Commission, for instance, does not have jurisdiction to investigate matters regarding former judges.[46] The LCA has also come out in support of a federal judicial commission.[47]
As well as advocating for a federal judicial commission, the LCA’s National Action Plan sets out a series of actions for implementing real change in the legal profession.[48] And the LCA’s National Model Framework Addressing Sexual Harassment for the Australian Legal Profession sets out guidance for the profession on preventing and responding to sexual harassment.[49] The time for handwringing is over.
Given this journal’s wordcount limits, this article cannot adequately describe the importance of the public demise of Christian Porter’s political career and ambitions for the top job, the rise of Brittany Higgins and the blazing light of public scrutiny on parliamentary workplaces and the expectations we have of our country’s leaders. The rolling scandal that is the nation’s halls of power has kept sexual harassment as a workplace safety issue in the public eye. The most important thing to read on this matter is the AHRC’s 2021 report, Set the Standard: Report on the Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces.[50]
In the matter of the NSW Bar Council v EFA,[51] there was disappointment across the profession about the decision not to find a barrister guilty of professional misconduct, when his behaviour was generally agreed by the Tribunal and later the Court of Appeal to be ‘poorly judged’, ‘vulgar’ and ‘inappropriate’.[52] This disappointment was voiced in both the traditional and the informal media.[53] Indeed, the barrister, whose identity has been protected throughout, will not even be required to undergo counselling or pay a fine for what the Court of Appeal termed merely ‘unsatisfactory professional conduct’.[54]
Other recent examples of business-as-usual treatment of people found to have sexually harassed colleagues include the following:
• Allens’ decision to promote an associate who was formally disciplined for subjecting a junior to a litany of sexually inappropriate behaviour, as well as the company’s downplaying of the nature and severity of the offensive behaviour.[55]
• The action of financial services giant AMP in promoting a disgraced executive, resulting in an internal and public backlash. This case points to the fact that lawyers work in a variety of workplaces where harassment can and does occur.[56]
While the incidence of sexual harassment in the legal profession seems to be on some sort of disturbing loop, some standout learnings and reminders can be gleaned from the plethora of reports, surveys and case law on the matter:
• Better survey design can elicit a clearer (and consequently more horrifying) picture of the incidence of sexual harassment in our profession.
• Judicial and quasi-judicial officers are no longer a protected species who can harass and victimise subordinates with impunity.
• A system where judicial and quasi-judicial officers rely partly on the personal enthusiasm of the relevant Chief Justice to investigate complaints against individual judges or former judges is a system that offers insufficient certainty of redress to targets of sexual harassment and bullying.
• Culture comes from the top (and the bottom). While the work of advocacy groups and peak bodies like Australian Women Lawyers and the LCA has kept the momentum for change going, we also need decisive action by leaders in the profession to propel the industry forward. Policies and training are not enough.
• The continued protection and even promotion of individuals who have been found to have sexually harassed subordinates[57] needs to be addressed.
IN CONCLUSION
Since 2018 there has been an increased awareness of exactly what sexual harassment is, and what its impacts on our profession are. There has been a welcome expansion in the number of avenues for reporting sexual harassment. Actions by leaders in our profession like the Chief Justice Susan Kiefel have provided inspiration for others to actively shape culture and reassert workplace norms we can be proud of, rather than norms that require the silencing of uncomfortable truths.
The AHRC is due to conduct another survey of sexual harassment in the workplace this year in line with Recommendation 2 of Respect@Work.[58] Let’s look forward to some real achievement in this space.
If you are experiencing or have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, there are more resources and supports available than ever before. Remember that you are not alone.
Contact:
• your local professional body; and
• your local women lawyers’ organisation for mentoring and support.
Also see the helplines listed on page x.
Adrienne Morton is Immediate Past President of Australian Women Lawyers, a Past President of Tasmanian Women Lawyers, and a member of the Asian Australian Lawyers Association. She is also an inveterate government lawyer and passionate advocate for diversity in the legal profession. LINKEDIN <https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrienne-morton-b563677b>.
[1] See this succinct piece: S Rey, ‘Has sexual harassment prevention reached a tipping point in the legal profession?’, Lawyers Weekly (2 March 2022) <https://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/biglaw/33786-has-sexual-harassment-prevention-reached-a-tipping-point-in-the-legal-profession>.
[2] A Morton, ‘Sexual Harassment in the Legal Profession’, Precedent, Issue 144 – January/February, 2018.
[3] B Hall, ‘Supreme Court judge sexually harassed associates: internal reports’ The Age (17 February 2022)
<https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/supreme-court-judge-sexually-harassed-associates-internal-reports-20220216-p59ww3.html>.
[4] Australian Government Workplace Gender Equality Agency, WGEA Data Explorer, Legal Services within Legal and Accounting Services Group <https://data.wgea.gov.au/industries/115#gender_comp_content>.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), ‘Commissioner’s foreword’, Everyone’s Business: Fourth national survey on sexual harassment in Australian workplaces, 2018 <https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/sex-discrimination/publications/everyones-business-fourth-national-survey-sexual>.
[7] Victorian Legal Services Board and Victorian Legal Services Commissioner, Sexual Harassment in the Victorian Legal Sector: 2019 Study of Legal Professionals and Legal Entities, Ipsos, Richmond, Vic (Report, 2020), 13 <https://lsbc.vic.gov.au/resources/report-sexual-harassment-study>.
[8] Law Council of Australia (LCA), National Attrition and Re-engagement Study (NARS) Report (Report, 2014).
[9] Government of South Australia, Equal Opportunity Commission to the Attorney-General, Review of Harassment in the South Australian Legal Profession (Report, 2021), 56.
[10] LCA, above note 8.
[11] New Zealand Law Foundation, Purea Nei: Changing the Culture of the Legal Profession (Report, 2019), quoting data from Colmar Brunton for the New Zealand Law Society, Workplace Environment Survey (28 May 2018), 18.
[12] International Bar Association, Us Too? Bullying and Sexual Harassment in the Legal Profession (Report, May 2019), 8.
[13] LCA, National Action Plan to Reduce Sexual Harassment in the Australian Legal Profession (23 December 2020) <https://www.lawcouncil.asn.au/resources/policies-and-guidelines/national-action-plan-to-reduce-sexual-harassment-in-the-australian-legal-profession>.
[14] AHRC, Respect@Work: National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment National Inquiry in Australian Workplaces (Report, 2020) (AHRC, Respect@Work) <https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/sex-discrimination/publications/respectwork-sexual-harassment-national-inquiry-report-2020>.
[15] AHRC, above note 6, quoting Deloitte Access Economics, The Economic Costs of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace (Final Report, 2019), 46–57.
[16] Being present at work for an excessive number of hours owing to insecurity about one’s job.
[17] Deloitte Access Economics, above note 15, 5–6.
[18] Ibid, 4–6.
[19] Australian Women Lawyers, Seven Strategies for Addressing Sexual Harassment in the Legal Profession (9 July 2019) <https://australianwomenlawyers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Seven-Strategies-for-addressing-Sexual-Harassment-in-the-Legal-Profession-AWL-9-July-2019.pdf>.
[20] See for example the Law Society of South Australia’s mandatory CPD on bullying, discrimination and harassment <https://www.lawsocietysa.asn.au/Public/Lawyers/Professional_Development/Mandatory_CPD.aspx>; Law Society of Tasmania, ‘The Champagne Treatment: Sexual Harassment and Ethics in the Legal Profession’ <https://www.lst.org.au/the-champagne-treatment-sexual-harassment-and-ethics-in-the-legal-profession/>; Law Society of the Northern Territory’s provision of free CPD units on the topic for its members <https://lawsocietynt.asn.au/about-lsnt/news/1474-free-cpd-sexual-harassment-changing-workplace-culture.html>; and University of Technology Sydney’s on-demand CPD, ‘Sexual Harassment and Bullying in the Legal Profession (on-demand)’ <https://open.uts.edu.au/uts-open/study-area/law/professional-skills/sexual-harassment-and-bullying-in-the-legal-profession-on-demand/>.
[21] AHRC, Respect@Work, above note 14.
[22] Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister for Women, Attorney General and Minister for Industrial Relations, ‘Australian Government’s Response to Respect@Work Report’ (Media release, 8 April 2021) <https://www.pm.gov.au/media/australian-governments-response-respectatwork-report>.
[23] See <https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C190>.
[24] AHRC, Respect@Work, above note 14.
[25] Government of South Australia Equal Opportunity Commission, Review of Harassment in the South Australian Legal Profession (Report, April 2021), 84 <https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2021-04/apo-nid311977.pdf>.
[26] S Kiefel, Statement by the Hon Susan Kiefel AC, Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia (2020) <https://cdn.hcourt.gov.au/assets/news/Statement%20by%20Chief%20Justice%20Susan%20Kiefel%20AC.pdf>.
[27] S Richards, ‘SA judicial officers accused of sexual harassment and assault’, InDaily (20 April 2021) <https://indaily.com.au/news/2021/04/20/sa-judicial-officers-accused-of-sexual-harassment-and-assault/>.
[28] T Maddocks, ‘Sexual harassment an “open secret” in Victoria’s legal profession, report finds’, ABC News (19 April 2021) <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-19/sexual-harassment-an-open-secret-in-legal-profession/100078742>.
[29] K McClymont and J Maley, ‘High Court inquiry finds former justice Dyson Heydon sexually harassed associates’, The Sydney Morning Herald (22 June 2020) <https://www.smh.com.au/national/high-court-inquiry-finds-former-justice-dyson-heydon-sexually-harassed-associates-20200622-p5550w.html>.
[30] Victorian Legal Services Board and Victorian Legal Services Commissioner, above note 7, 33.
[31] Government of South Australia, above note 9, 61.
[32] LCA, Statement on the outcomes of a national Roundtable into sexual harassment in the legal profession from Law Council President, Pauline Wright (9 July 2020) <https://www.lawcouncil.asn.au/media/media-releases/statement-on-the-outcomes-of-a-national-roundtable-into-sexual-harassment-in-the-legal-profession-from-lca-president>.
[33] Victorian Legal Services Board and Victorian Legal Services Commissioner, above note 7.
[34] Dr H Szoake, Preventing and Addressing Sexual Harassment in Victorian Courts and VCAT: Report and Recommendations (Report, March 2021) <https://www.shreview.courts.vic.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Report-and-Recommendations-Preventing-and-Addressing-Sexual-Harassment-in-Vic-Courts.pdf>.
[35] For example, the successful case run by Maurice Blackburn Lawyers addressing the sexual harassment allegations against former High Court Justice Dyson Heydon. Referred to in articles including G Neaverson, ‘Maurice Blackburn: Dyson Heydon settlement heralds a cultural revolution in the profession’, Australasian Lawyer (8 March 2022) <https://www.thelawyermag.com/au/news/general/maurice-blackburn-dyson-heydon-settlement-heralds-a-cultural-revolution-in-the-profession/397682>.
[36] J Maley, Federal Circuit Court judge found to have harassed two young women, The Sydney Morning Herald (7 July 2021) <https://www.smh.com.au/national/federal-circuit-court-judge-found-to-have-harassed-two-young-female-staff-20210707-p587sz.html>.
[37] B Hall, ‘Supreme Court judge who allegedly sexually harassed women named as Peter Vickery’ The Age (17 Feb 2022) <https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/chief-justice-apologises-to-women-sexually-harassed-by-judge-20220217-p59x92.html>.
[38] N Neilson, ‘SA Chief Justice names magistrate accused of misconduct’, Lawyers Weekly (5 July 2021) <https://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/biglaw/31828-sa-chief-justice-names-magistrate-accused-of-misconduct>.
[39] J Maley and K McClymont, ‘Heydon no longer a barrister, amid allegation he “used his public standing” to lure woman’, The Sydney Morning Herald (1 July 2020) <https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/heydon-no-longer-a-barrister-amid-allegation-he-used-his-public-standing-to-lure-woman-20200701-p5585k.html>.
[40] N Neilson, ‘Dyson Heydon victims secure settlement’, Lawyers Weekly (14 February 2022) <https://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/biglaw/33642-dyson-heydon-victims-secure-settlement>.
[41] Fay Calderone, cited by J Doraisamy, ‘Lawyers more concerned with sexual harassment as a voting issue than other professions’, Lawyers Weekly (9 March 2022) <https://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/politics/33844-lawyers-more-concerned-with-sexual-harassment-as-a-voting-issue-than-other-professions>.
[42] Maley, above note 36.
[43] Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, Judicial workplace conduct policy, 2022 <https://www.fcfcoa.gov.au/policies-and-procedures/judicial-workplace-conduct> and Judicial Complaints Procedure, 2022 <https://www.fcfcoa.gov.au/policies-and-procedures/judicial-complaints>.
[44] G Appleby, ‘Australia urgently needs an independent body to hold powerful judges to account’, The Conversation (24 June 2020) <https://theconversation.com/australia-urgently-needs-an-independent-body-to-hold-powerful-judges-to-account-141272>; LCA, Policy Statement – Principles Underpinning a Federal Judicial Commission (Statement, 5 December 2020) <https://www.lawcouncil.asn.au/resources/policies-and-guidelines/policy-statement-principles-underpinning-a-federal-judicial-commission>; Australian Bar Association, ‘ABA supports the establishment of a Federal Judicial Commission (Media release, 17 February 2021) <https://austbar.asn.au/news-media/aba-supports-the-establishment-of-a-federal-judicial-commission>.
[45] Appleby, above note 44.
[46] Judicial Commission of Victoria, Judicial Commission of Victoria publishes guideline as result of recommendation of the Review of Sexual Harassment in Victorian Courts (22 February 2022) <https://files.judicialcommission.vic.gov.au/2022-02/Judicial%20Commission%20of%20Victoria%20-%20Statement%20on%20Sexual%20Harassment%20Guideline.pdf>.
[47] LCA, Policy Statement – Principles Underpinning a Federal Judicial Commission (5 December 2020) <https://www.lawcouncil.asn.au/resources/policies-and-guidelines/policy-statement-principles-underpinning-a-federal-judicial-commission>.
[48] LCA, above note 13.
[49] LCA, National Model Framework Addressing Sexual Harassment for the Australian Legal Profession (December 2021) <https://www.lawcouncil.asn.au/resources/policies-and-guidelines/policy-statement-national-model-framework-addressing-sexual-harassment-for-the-australian-legal-profession>.
[50] AHRC, Set the Standard: Report on the Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces, 2021 <https://humanrights.gov.au/set-standard-2021>.
[51] Council of the New South Wales Bar Association v EFA [2021] NSWCATOD 21; Council of the New South Wales Bar Association v EFA (No 2) [2021] NSWCATOD 84.
[52] For details of the specific conduct, refer to the above-mentioned cases and the articles named in endnotes 53–6.
[53] M Bradley, ‘As it was then, so it is now — the law is a cesspit of sexual harassment’, Crikey (23 June 2021) <https://www.crikey.com.au/2021/06/23/law-a-cesspit-of-sexual-harassment/>.
[54] Council of the New South Wales Bar Association v EFA (a pseudonym) [2021] NSWCA 339 (21 December 2021); N Neilson, ‘Barrister avoids counselling for ‘abhorrent’ behaviour towards female clerk’, Lawyers Weekly (6 January 2022) <https://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/biglaw/33365-barrister-avoids-counselling-for-abhorrent-behaviour-towards-female-clerk>.
[55] S Locke, ‘Victim Contacts Police as Leaked Internal Report Reveals Allens’ Handling of Harassment Case’, Law.Com International (25 May 2021) <https://www.law.com/international-edition/2021/05/25/victim-contacts-police-as-leaked-internal-report-reveals-allens-handling-of-harassment-case/?slreturn=20220209184225>.
[56] R Baker, ‘“Sexually harassed” AMP executive says the company is still covering up’, The Sydney Morning Herald (16 August 2020) <https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/sexually-harassed-amp-executive-says-the-company-is-still-covering-up-20200816-p55m7n.html>.
[57] For example Locke, above note 55.
[58] AHRC, Respect@Work, above note 14, 40.
AustLII:
Copyright Policy
|
Disclaimers
|
Privacy Policy
|
Feedback
URL: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/PrecedentAULA/2022/32.html