Madrid: IBA launch Spanish translation of landmark bullying and sexual harassment report

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The International Bar Association (IBA) has published a Spanish translation of its landmark report Us Too? Bullying and Sexual Harassment in the Legal Profession. It will be officially launched in Madrid on Wednesday 22 January at a roundtable event hosted by the IBA in collaboration with the General Council of Spanish Lawyers.

First released in May 2019, the report discusses the findings of the largest-ever global survey undertaken by the IBA on these issues. The Spanish translation of the report forms part of the IBA’s global engagement campaign to raise awareness of bullying and sexual harassment in the legal workplace and disseminate ten recommendations to address the crisis.

IBA President Horacio Bernardes Neto, a partner at Motta Fernandes Advogados in São Paulo, Brazil, commented: ‘It is deeply shameful that our profession, predicated on the highest ethical standards, is rife with such negative workplace behaviours. Bar associations, law societies and law firms must lead by example and expose unacceptable behaviour. The IBA is working to ensure that eradicating bullying and sexual harassment is prioritised. We must work for positive change.’

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Findings from respondents to the survey, conducted by the IBA’s Legal Policy & Research Unit in collaboration with consultancy firm Acritas, include:

• 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 per cent of bullying cases, incidents were not reported, with the figure rising to 75 per cent for episodes of sexual harassment; and
• there is considerable adverse impact, with 65 per cent of bullied practitioners having left or considered leaving their workplace as a result.

Recommendations set out by the IBA to inform the development of solutions to urgently address workplace bullying and sexual harassment focus on:

• raising greater awareness of the issues;
• implementing and revising policies and standards;
• promoting the importance of improved training;
• increasing dialogue and accountability across the profession;
• increasing intra-profession dialogue and best practice sharing;
• developing flexible reporting models; and
• maintaining momentum to achieve genuine change.

Secretary-General of the IBA, Almudena Arpón de Mendívil, who will provide the closing remarks at the event in Madrid, said: ‘Bullying and sexual harassment have no place in our society, even less in the legal profession. Since its publication, this report has been instrumental in raising awareness and inciting a collective responsibility within the legal profession to tackle these insidious issues. I will work, together with my peers, for this translation to empower Spanish-speaking countries to fight back against bullying and sexual harassment wherever it occurs.’

Journalists are welcome to attend the roundtable on Wednesday 22 January 2020 at the General Council of Spanish Lawyers, Paseo de Recoletos, 13, 28004 Madrid, Spain from 1830 – 2000 to discuss the findings of Us Too? Bullying and Sexual Harassment in the Legal Profession. Register here: www.ibanet.org/Form/Madrid-Bullying-and-Sexual-Harassment-in-the-Legal-Profession

ENDS

Notes to the Editor

1. Click here for further details of the roundtable being held at the General Council of Spanish Lawyers on Wednesday 22 January 2020.
2. To download directly a PDF of the Spanish translation of Us Too? Bullying and Sexual Harassment in the Legal Profession click here
   www.ibanet.org/MediaHandler?id=ED850669-648E-48D1-8ADD-7C80621A7BFF
3. The launch event of Us Too? Bullying and Sexual Harassment in the Legal Profession was held at law firm Herbert Smith Freehills LLP in London on Wednesday 15 May 2019. Dame Laura Cox DBE, who led the Independent Inquiry on Bullying and Harassment of House of Commons Staff, provided the keynote address.
4. The project was developed in collaboration with an IBA working group, consisting of 16 IBA members from across the globe representing all IBA Regional Fora and relevant committees. Emerita Professor Margaret Thornton, Emerita Professor Patricia Easteal AM and Kate Eastman SC acted as independent experts, reviewing a draft of the report. The project was also supported by many of the IBA’s 190 bar associations and law societies and 200 group member law firms, from over 170 countries.
   
   Julia Gillard AC, 27th Prime Minister of Australia, a former lawyer and now Chair of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London, delivered the keynote address at the showcase session at the 2019 IBA Annual Conference in Seoul in September. Click here to watch the session.
5. The International Bar Association (IBA), the global voice of the legal profession, is the foremost organisation for international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. Established in 1947, shortly after the creation of the United Nations, it was born out of the conviction that an organisation made up of the world's bar associations could contribute to global stability and peace through the administration of justice.

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