We welcome the review and agree that the root causes of bullying and harassment at the Bar lie in culture and the power imbalances inherent in relationships between pupils and supervisors and between senior and junior barristers.
The closeness of the relationships that underpin the professional advancement of barristers and can lead to exploitation and inhibit the reporting of misconduct because those who experience bullying or harassment fear that their careers will be de-railed. At the Bar Standards Board we need to better support witnesses who have the courage to come forward and make reports.
Mark Neale, Director General, The Bar Standards Board said:
“The report shows that the Bar must act now to make the culture change necessary to address bullying, discrimination and harassment. It’s unacceptable that the profession lacks a supportive and safe environment for all barristers and pupils. We have been wholly supportive of this review. We also know we need to do better ourselves.
We recognise the concerns that the report raises, and we are already implementing changes, and consulting where necessary, to improve our enforcement processes. We must also provide more support to those with the courage to come forward and make reports. We fully accept that pupils and barristers will be much more willing to come forward to report harassment if they are confident that they will be sensitively supported through a robust and transparent enforcement process with no unnecessary delay.
We will now fully review the findings and recommendations and work with the profession and other stakeholders to help improve the culture at the Bar.”
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