Dear Colleagues in the Legal Profession and All Concerned:.Like a lot of us who have been around in the Indian legal fraternity, I am jaded. However, I was truly moved recently. I read a piece written by a young intern and caught a glimpse of a disturbing experience through her “looking glass”. Her introspection was extraordinarily articulated and provided a context. While her piece seemed controlled, it alluded to a much larger question of sexual harassment within the legal profession..Sexual assault and harassment is not just a traumatic experience, it is a crime! In the famous case of Vishaka vs. State of Rajasthan (JT 1997(7) SC384), the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India laid down guidelines for Sexual Harassment of Women at the Work-place. It is important to note that the Hon’ble Supreme Court provided a broad definition of “unwelcome sexually determined behaviour” which could be any physical contact, advances, demand or request for sexual favours, sexually coloured remarks, showing pornography, any unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature. There are several preventive steps outlined in the guidelines, including express prohibition at the work place being notified, rules prohibiting sexual harassment and penalties against the offender and creating circumstances where no women employee has reasonable grounds to feel disadvantaged in her workplace. But yet in the legal profession, it would be unheard of for one such incident to be reported, let alone the perpetrator to be prosecuted and punished. It is our dirtiest and yet, best kept secret!.As facts unfolded, post the blog and a media interview, an inquiry of the Supreme Court was swiftly set up and national media gave it the attention it deserved. This sensitive issue came at the backdrop of a global poll conducted by Thomson Reuters, in which India was seen as the “fourth most dangerous country” for women and the worst country for women among the G20 countries. The US also recently issued an advisory for girl students highlighting safety concerns of studying and working in India. Another shocking incident of a senior journalist sexually assaulting his junior colleague, came to light. For a senior journalist to acknowledge that he sexually assaulted a colleague in a brazen e-mail and offer to merely step down for a few months, is not only a mockery of the legal system. It is a comment on how crimes against women are viewed in India. Casually!.This was our opportunity to truly grab this issue by its proverbial horns and do something about it. Serious questions were being asked with a paucity of adequate answers..And then things started to nose-dive. Frivolous law suits started to take advantage of the media attention. Various women came out with stories. Not to trivialise their individual experiences, but the larger issue around the safety of women at the workplace and the underlying power dynamics started to get lost..We do not make it easy for these women to speak. Yet the intern’s blog provided a context which gathered momentum. For the first time this issue was getting the attention it deserved. But honestly in the past few weeks we have begun to get bogged down and drown in some of the stories which have emerged. If we get into a room with ten women, nine of us (if not all ten) will have a story to tell! We all have our personal experiences to share. Some of them are truly horrifying. But while each of us can share, vent, rave and rant, in this context, we have to ask ourselves a deep question. Media space is precious and public attention fickle. Are we just creating gossip, seeking media attention or are we saying something which would really contribute to the cause?.The latest in this saga of course is senior lawyers encouraging their colleagues to not stop hiring women! Good lord, where did that come from? God Forbid an honest man is falsely implicated. Well, in this country and the legal profession, it would be a resounding victory for everyone concerned to get one man implicated, before we can even go into academic debate of men being falsely implicated. Yet it made the morning’s papers!.Media propaganda certainly gets the story-teller some attention. It gets a lot of people in slow markets to log onto legal websites and enter into academic debates to score points. Some balanced views emerge. But in the din of many of these stories we are distracted from the real issue. The need of the hour to do something about this is immediate. Not only for the legal profession, but for India. Let us not lose our way in gossiping in the corridors of the Supreme Court, indulge in idle chit-chat over cigarette breaks and in trading stories..What can we really do to make sure that women feel safe working in the legal profession?.Law is our tool for empowerment. The Vishakha guidelines can only be the starting point. Law firms and larger legal establishments must action this and take immediate and effective steps for its implementation. These establishments have the resources to invest in infrastructure, mechanisms and tracking facilitates. This could include periodic discussions and orientation to set boundaries, list do’s and don’t’s, formulate and circulate guidelines with express prohibitions, create a tracking system with catch words for emails, phone calls and regular feedback through routine assessments. For smaller legal chambers, the minimum is to ensure that the Vishakha Guidelines are prominently displayed. A system for women to have closed-door meetings, a committee to reach out to and clear consequences, is the minimum one would expect in law firms or a sizable legal chamber. Discretion allows for no confidence in the system and women do not feel encouraged to report. This should not be an option. Courts must implement the guidelines and provide a platform for these to be reported. The Bar Councils should step in immediately and take steps for implementation..Madeleine Albright had famously said “It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.” Express prohibition and strong condemnation is the key. We need our organisations, our judges, our senior counsels, our senior colleagues, our corporate law leaders, our in-house counsels to action this and make it happen. Just women or academics will not do. The old men and the Big Boy’s Club need to understand and make the change. And everyone who can get them there will make the difference..Madhurima Mukherjee was the Capital Markets Partner at Luthra & Luthra, Delhi. She was recently named as one of India’s 30 most powerful women in Indian business by BusinessToday. She is also on the Board of Advisors of IDIA (Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access).
Dear Colleagues in the Legal Profession and All Concerned:.Like a lot of us who have been around in the Indian legal fraternity, I am jaded. However, I was truly moved recently. I read a piece written by a young intern and caught a glimpse of a disturbing experience through her “looking glass”. Her introspection was extraordinarily articulated and provided a context. While her piece seemed controlled, it alluded to a much larger question of sexual harassment within the legal profession..Sexual assault and harassment is not just a traumatic experience, it is a crime! In the famous case of Vishaka vs. State of Rajasthan (JT 1997(7) SC384), the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India laid down guidelines for Sexual Harassment of Women at the Work-place. It is important to note that the Hon’ble Supreme Court provided a broad definition of “unwelcome sexually determined behaviour” which could be any physical contact, advances, demand or request for sexual favours, sexually coloured remarks, showing pornography, any unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature. There are several preventive steps outlined in the guidelines, including express prohibition at the work place being notified, rules prohibiting sexual harassment and penalties against the offender and creating circumstances where no women employee has reasonable grounds to feel disadvantaged in her workplace. But yet in the legal profession, it would be unheard of for one such incident to be reported, let alone the perpetrator to be prosecuted and punished. It is our dirtiest and yet, best kept secret!.As facts unfolded, post the blog and a media interview, an inquiry of the Supreme Court was swiftly set up and national media gave it the attention it deserved. This sensitive issue came at the backdrop of a global poll conducted by Thomson Reuters, in which India was seen as the “fourth most dangerous country” for women and the worst country for women among the G20 countries. The US also recently issued an advisory for girl students highlighting safety concerns of studying and working in India. Another shocking incident of a senior journalist sexually assaulting his junior colleague, came to light. For a senior journalist to acknowledge that he sexually assaulted a colleague in a brazen e-mail and offer to merely step down for a few months, is not only a mockery of the legal system. It is a comment on how crimes against women are viewed in India. Casually!.This was our opportunity to truly grab this issue by its proverbial horns and do something about it. Serious questions were being asked with a paucity of adequate answers..And then things started to nose-dive. Frivolous law suits started to take advantage of the media attention. Various women came out with stories. Not to trivialise their individual experiences, but the larger issue around the safety of women at the workplace and the underlying power dynamics started to get lost..We do not make it easy for these women to speak. Yet the intern’s blog provided a context which gathered momentum. For the first time this issue was getting the attention it deserved. But honestly in the past few weeks we have begun to get bogged down and drown in some of the stories which have emerged. If we get into a room with ten women, nine of us (if not all ten) will have a story to tell! We all have our personal experiences to share. Some of them are truly horrifying. But while each of us can share, vent, rave and rant, in this context, we have to ask ourselves a deep question. Media space is precious and public attention fickle. Are we just creating gossip, seeking media attention or are we saying something which would really contribute to the cause?.The latest in this saga of course is senior lawyers encouraging their colleagues to not stop hiring women! Good lord, where did that come from? God Forbid an honest man is falsely implicated. Well, in this country and the legal profession, it would be a resounding victory for everyone concerned to get one man implicated, before we can even go into academic debate of men being falsely implicated. Yet it made the morning’s papers!.Media propaganda certainly gets the story-teller some attention. It gets a lot of people in slow markets to log onto legal websites and enter into academic debates to score points. Some balanced views emerge. But in the din of many of these stories we are distracted from the real issue. The need of the hour to do something about this is immediate. Not only for the legal profession, but for India. Let us not lose our way in gossiping in the corridors of the Supreme Court, indulge in idle chit-chat over cigarette breaks and in trading stories..What can we really do to make sure that women feel safe working in the legal profession?.Law is our tool for empowerment. The Vishakha guidelines can only be the starting point. Law firms and larger legal establishments must action this and take immediate and effective steps for its implementation. These establishments have the resources to invest in infrastructure, mechanisms and tracking facilitates. This could include periodic discussions and orientation to set boundaries, list do’s and don’t’s, formulate and circulate guidelines with express prohibitions, create a tracking system with catch words for emails, phone calls and regular feedback through routine assessments. For smaller legal chambers, the minimum is to ensure that the Vishakha Guidelines are prominently displayed. A system for women to have closed-door meetings, a committee to reach out to and clear consequences, is the minimum one would expect in law firms or a sizable legal chamber. Discretion allows for no confidence in the system and women do not feel encouraged to report. This should not be an option. Courts must implement the guidelines and provide a platform for these to be reported. The Bar Councils should step in immediately and take steps for implementation..Madeleine Albright had famously said “It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.” Express prohibition and strong condemnation is the key. We need our organisations, our judges, our senior counsels, our senior colleagues, our corporate law leaders, our in-house counsels to action this and make it happen. Just women or academics will not do. The old men and the Big Boy’s Club need to understand and make the change. And everyone who can get them there will make the difference..Madhurima Mukherjee was the Capital Markets Partner at Luthra & Luthra, Delhi. She was recently named as one of India’s 30 most powerful women in Indian business by BusinessToday. She is also on the Board of Advisors of IDIA (Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access).
