Calls made to the legal mental health charity LawCare regarding bullying and harassment almost doubled in 2018, the charity has revealed.
In the wake of a series of high-profile allegations of sexual harassment and assault, including some in the legal profession, calls about bullying and harassment rose from 38 calls in 2017 to 68 last year.
Overall the charity received with 932 calls from 624 callers in 2018, a 5 per cent increase on the number of calls in 2017. The most common reason for calling remained stress (26 per cent), followed by depression (19 per cent) and anxiety (11 per cent).
The majority of callers to the helpline were women (64 per cent), while 48 per cent were five years qualified or below.
Solicitors shared their worst experiences of harassment in a survey run by The Lawyer last year. A spate of lawyers have been investigated or dismissed from their firms over the past 12 months after allegations of inappropriate behaviour were made against them.
In response, Linklaters has launched a whistleblowing hotline to enable people to come forward, while as part of its latest annual business review DAC Beachcroft has positioned the #MeToo movement at the heart of potential risks to its business
LawCare CEO Elizabeth Rimmer said: “2018 was our busiest year to date on the helpline since we started over 20years ago. While we are pleased more lawyers are reaching out to us for support, we remain increasingly concerned about the long hours and heavy workload culture in the law which significantly affects wellbeing. We are particularly concerned about the number of callers citing bullying and harassment in the workplace, it is absolutely essential that legal practice organisations take steps to stamp this out and take the wellbeing and treatment of staff seriously.”
The LawCare helpline number is 0800 279 6888 in the UK and 1800 991 801 in Ireland.
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