Thread by @GutteridgeChris

Dear Legal Twitter, for the last few months I’ve been working on a project aimed at tackling bullying/harassment at the bar. Please give us a follow @AllRiseTheBar1

Short version: we’ve designed a pin to be worn by barristers to show zero tolerance

Long version in this thread

You’ll remember earlier this year there was anger&disappointment about BTAS decisions dealing (leniently) w/cases of sexual assault/harassment

In one of those cases the offending barrister acted in the presence of other barristers seemingly without fear of repercussions (2/10)

In fact, the jnr barrister he assaulted said that she felt unable to say anything whilst she was being assaulted because she did not want to make a scene in front of senior members of the bar who were present at the social event they were attending (3/10)

legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/tr…

Since then, I have been working on this project alongside 3 fantastic ppl, each with very different experiences of the bar to me, all of us equally horrified by what we were reading. We wanted to make a change to the perception of tolerance of abusive behaviours at the bar (4/10)

And not just in relation to sexual harassment but all forms of belittling behaviour. We came up with the idea of a pin badge that barristers could wear in chambers/at court letting those around them know that the wearer will actively watch out for&oppose abusive behaviours (5/10)

We appreciate this is a small first step on the long road to tackling a very big problem, but nevertheless, we think it will create more ‘active bystanders’ at the bar and act as a visual deterrent to potential abusers

To get things moving we need support from the bar (6/10)

First and foremost, please buy a pin badge (currently in production, but to be shipped in the next month or so). They are a thing of beauty in themselves: wooden pins (better for the environment than enamel) on a recycled cardboard backer that can be reused as a bookmark (7/10)

Pins are available to buy here:
opencollective.com/all-rise-the-b…

£5 gets you the pin & bookmark delivered to your chambers/organisation by DX

Chambers & other orgs can also sponsor the project, with founding sponsors to be recognised on our social media and website in due course (8/10)

We have already had some great support. Our lofty aim is to have 25% of the bar wearing our pins & proudly standing against abusive behaviours
We would be most grateful for tags, RTs, follows (@AllRiseTheBar1 ) to get the word out. Also on LinkedIn linkedin.com/groups/1396571… (9/10)

This is the longest thing I have ever written on Twitter. If you are still with me at this point, thank you for persevering. Please feel free to DM with any Qs (10/10)

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