Rise In Sexual Harassment Claims Against Lawyers

Rise In Sexual Harassment Claims Against Lawyers

Bloomberg have reported that sexual harassment and misconduct claims against UK lawyers have increased 58% since November 2017. The report is based on SRA figures, obtained by Bloomberg News, that show it received 19 complaints in the first seven months of the 2017-18 fiscal year, compared with 12 in the whole of 2016-17.

These figures are much higher than in previous years: only three claims against lawyers were reported in each year from 2012 to 2015, increasing to 9 reports in 2015-16.

It is thought that this sharp increase is a sign that people may be feeling more emboldened to call-out inappropriate behaviour in the wake of the #MeToo movement. Jay Bhayani of the Women Lawyers Division of the Law Society said that whilst lawyers should be at the forefront of change, Most lawyers are speaking up for others. We may not be so good at speaking for ourselves.

The full article is here.