New Zealand Law Society - New Zealand centres next stop in IBA bullying and harassment campaign

New Zealand centres next stop in IBA bullying and harassment campaign

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Auckland and Wellington are the next stops in the International Bar Association's global engagement campaign to raise awareness of bullying and sexual harassment in the legal  profession.

Following publication of its report Us Too? Bullying and Sexual Harassment in the Legal Profession in May 2019, the IBA has started a campaign that will take in six continents and which aims to disseminate ten recommendations for legal workplaces to address the crisis.

Together with the New Zealand Law Society, the IBA is hosting panel events to discuss the findings of its report. This draws on data collected from nearly 7,000 surveyed legal professionals from 135 countries.

The two New Zealand events are as follows:

Auckland: Monday, 19 August from 12:30pm to 2:00pm. This will be held at the New Zealand Law Society's Auckland branch, Level 12, 51 Shortland Street.

Wellington: Tuesday, 20 August from 5:30pm to 7:00pm. This will be held at Kensington Swan's office, 89 The Terrace.

Survey findings

The findings from the survey respondents included:

  • one in two women and one in three men have experienced bullying in the workplace;
  • one in three women and one in 14 men have been sexually harassed;
  • in 57% of bullying cases, incidents were not reported, with the figure rising to 75% for episodes of sexual harassment;
  • there is considerable adverse impact, with 65% of bullied practitioners having left or considered leaving their workplace as a result;
  • workplaces are not doing enough to prevent or adequately respond to misconduct, with policies regarding bullying and sexual harassment present in only 53% of workplaces; and
  • just one in five workplaces have conducted training in recognising and reporting problems in these areas.

Other events

The global engagement campaign began in May and will run through into September. Events have already taken place in the following cities:

  • London
  • Edinburgh;
  • Mexico City;
  • New York City;
  • Washington DC;
  • Brussels;
  • Sydney;
  • Canberra; and
  • Melbourne

The campaign will culminate with a showcase session at the 2019 IBA Annual Conference in Seoul, South Korea.

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