The Women Lawyers Association of the ACT (WLA ACT) is deeply concerned to read recent media reports in the Sydney Morning Herald concerning allegations of sexual harassment in the legal profession.

WLA ACT takes these allegations very seriously.

Sexual harassment within the ACT legal profession remains a pervasive problem that continues to disproportionately affect women lawyers.

‘I was deeply concerned to read [last Monday’s] story. It is clear the ACT legal profession has a long way to go to make sure it is free of sexual harassment,’ WLA ACT President Danielle Mildren said.

Sadly, WLA ACT knows the stories in the article are not unique.

‘The stories in this article highlight how important it is for the ACT legal profession to address systemic cultural issues that underlay the issue of sexual harassment in the legal profession,’ Ms Mildren said.

‘Sadly, we know of so many women lawyers in the ACT who have suffered sexual harassment at work.

‘Many do not report the incidents for the same reason as the brave women in the article - the power imbalance between the perpetrator and the complainant, as well as the very real fear of damaging their career prospects.’

In 2018, a WLA ACT survey found 57 per cent of those who responded had been subject to sexual harassment while at work. Nearly half said that they had witnessed another person being sexually harassed while at work. WLA ACT has long advocated for the need for a strong response from the profession to effectively address sexual harassment.

It is clear that effective workplace training, accessible reporting mechanisms and greater support for women lawyers are needed in order to effectively address this issue and bring about effective cultural change in ACT legal workplaces.

These recommendations were also put forward in the Australian Human Rights Commission’s recent report Respect@Work: Sexual Harassment National Inquiry Report (2020).

‘The Australian Human Rights Commission also highlighted this as a significant issue in the legal profession when it published its Respect@Work report earlier this year,’ Ms Mildren said.

‘It is clear an industry-wide approach is needed to combat this problem and we want all our members who have experienced sexual harassment to know they are not alone.

‘Everyone has the right to be safe while at work and WLA ACT will continue to advocate for urgent action on this issue.’