PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Active steps being taken to address harassment, bullying & discrimination TIM WHITE, PRESIDENT
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here have been considerable negative comments in the media about the profession of late. I am sure, like me, you are all disappointed when you read or hear these detrimental public comments being made about our profession. Lawyers are held to a high standard of conduct and rightly so. The allegations against Dyson Heydon AC QC have been reported or referenced in the media almost daily over the last month or more. The extent of sexual harassment in the legal profession has been documented in multiple surveys conducted by a variety of international and Australian based organisations over recent years. Some of those surveys include ones undertaken by the Law Society of SA, International Bar Association, and Law Council of Australia (LCA), as well as the Human Rights Commission’s inquiry in to sexual harassment in all employment sectors across Australia. The findings of all of them are clear that sexual harassment exists in the legal profession. What are we doing about it as a profession? Ongoing compulsory education and training will be a key to continuing to alter people’s conduct in the workplace. Many initiatives, programmes and guidelines have been implemented, but more work locally and nationally remains to be done. This of course not only impacts on those currently working in the law but also affects those young students at schools who are considering what career path they wish to take. Don’t we want young South Australians aspiring to study law? The Society has implemented various initiatives to assist with preventing bullying, discrimination and harassment occurring in our local profession. Education and training is an ongoing priority and a focus of the Society and your Council. I thought it would be helpful if you were informed and reminded about just some of the initiatives undertaken over the last couple of years alone by the Society on these aspects. In the last year or so it has included the following:
• Ongoing requests to LPEAC that bullying, discrimination and harassment be mandated as a compulsory CPD unit, to be completed annually. We have recently been informally advised that LPEAC has agreed to this request and will now consider necessary amendments to its Rules. • Produced and adopted a Policy relating to bullying, discrimination and harassment in August 2018. • Conducted an extensive survey on bullying, discrimination and harassment of the profession in August 2018. • Formed a bullying, discrimination and harassment working Group in September 2018. • Developed and distributed Guidelines on bullying, discrimination and harassment, including a No Tolerance statement, in November 2019. • Created a section of the Society webpage specifically on bullying, discrimination and harassment, which provides detailed information, resources and contact details for external agencies. • Issued multiple media releases and public media statements condemning bullying, discrimination and harassment and promoting workplace cultures that are inclusive and respectful to all. • Issued numerous updates and notes to the profession via InBrief, Advocacy Notes and the Bulletin. • Conducted many CPDs, including having presenters and experts external to the profession. • Discussed with heads of jurisdiction, the Attorney General and the Bar Association measures to address bullying, discrimination and harassment in the profession. • Investigated and made submissions on the Modern Award for early career lawyers in private practice, which is being investigated by the LCA. • Included specific actions relating to bullying, discrimination and harassment to be taken in the Society’s Strategic Plan.
• Established various support services including, the Young Lawyers’ Support Service, the Professional Advice Service and the LawCare Counselling Service. • Provided submissions to the LCA, including to the LCA discussion paper on addressing sexual harassment in the legal profession in August 2019. • Voted in support of the LCA’s current extensive work on this in a recent directors meeting in June 2020. • Participated in the LCA sexual harassment roundtable discussion in July 2020. • Published the recent statements and media releases by the LCA, which also indicate the ongoing work being undertaken. In the immediate future the Society is also working closely with the LCA, which is taking a National approach to bring about change and have consistency of approach across the profession. Some of the measures which were agreed upon at the LCA’s recent RoundTable include: • Advocating the proposed amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act • Advocating key recommendations of the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Respect@Work report • Progressing a number of measures to drive cultural change in the legal profession, including the facilitation of uniform policies and approaches to sexual harassment, training, and further consideration of the relevant professional conduct rules. There remains many additional improvements that our great profession can make with regards to recognising, eliminating and responding to bullying, discrimination and harassment in the workplace. I thought these words of psychiatrist R.D Laing summarise the horizon ahead of us all well: “The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice. And because we fail to notice that we fail to notice there is little we can do to change until we notice how failing to notice shapes our thoughts and deeds.” B August 2020 THE BULLETIN
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