Winking, hand signs or wolf-whistling among lawyers may land you in hot soup

THE Bar Council recently released a circular on what constitutes acts of sexual harassment in the legal profession.

Issued by Harleen Kaur, who is the Chairperson of the Bar Council Ad Hoc Peer Support Network Committee, the circular listed three categories that could constitute sexual harassment.

These are offering benefits for sexual favours, unwanted sexual advancements and sexual coercion.

According to the circular, if your colleague has ever offered you work-related advantages, such as promotions, connections or job security, in exchange for favours such as a date or a hug, you might be experiencing harassment under the first category - offering benefits for sexual favours.

As for the second category - unwanted sexual advancements - the Bar Council said a colleague’s inappropriate comments, gestures or physical contact that create discomfort or distress to you, even if jokingly, are inappropriate.

These can be in many forms which include:

- visual conduct such as suggestive gestures like winking or hand signs.

- verbal conduct such as inappropriate comments on appearance and it doesn’t have to necessarily be derogatory

- physical conduct such as wolf whistles, blocking one’s path, patting someone on their head and sitting at one’s desk for no reason.

Under the third category, the Bar Council said sexual coercion includes threats of retaliation at the workplace like threatening or intimidating an individual for refusing unwanted advances. 

This may include explicit or implicit threats of negative consequences, such as job loss, demotion or damage to one’s professional reputation if they reject inappropriate requests.

The Bar Council advised victims of such incidents to submit complaints through its Peer Support Network initiative while assuring complainants of confidentiality. - The Vibes, January 24, 2024