Inside the #MeToo Blog Giving Abused New Zealand Lawyers a Voice

An ‘open secret’ is a strange term when you think about it. But it’s also an accurate way to describe the level of sexual harassment, bullying and discrimination in many parts of the legal profession in New Zealand. In the wake of the Russell McVeagh allegations, I set up an anonymous blog to enable women and men to share their own stories, in their own words.

I’ve received over 80 posts in five days and hundreds of emails and messages of support from both women and men. It’s showed me that the Russell McVeagh allegations are only the tip of the iceberg in the wider profession and that there is a real need for people to have an outlet to vent their anger, frustration, sadness, but also hope that things can change. I want to share some of them here, as well as my own words.

There are lots of barriers to exposing these kinds of issues in any profession. I work as a independent government contractor researching victims of reported and unreported crime. An anonymous blog is one way to provide an avenue of speech for victims: people don’t have to worry about their employer finding out and it having negative implications for their reputation and career. They don’t have to endure the trauma and stress that comes with going public. They can just lay it all bare. The anonymity also means allegations aren’t subject to the same level of interrogation they would face in, say, a court system. It’s a cathartic process rather than a legal process—and the offenders themselves aren’t named, so there is nothing to gain from a so-called ‘witch hunt’ or false allegation.

I also set up the blog as a way to gather evidence of the scale of the problem so that everyone in the legal profession - particularly those in senior positions - understand what the issues are, what people are going through and the effect it has on them.

And let’s not forget the perpetrators themselves – I hope they read the blog, recognise themselves in some of the accounts and realise that their time is well and truly up. Many people have contacted me to say they now feel empowered to lay formal complaints to their employer, the media or the Police.

To anyone who is thinking about setting up anonymous blogs for other professions or contexts: it’s important that you keep the names of the people who post and the people they are accusing confidential. It’s a blog, not a courtroom. You can’t fact check what people are posting so if you name an alleged perpetrator there is the risk of defamation. You may also put the safety, career or reputation of the person who posted the allegation at risk.

My only hope at this stage is that more men get involved, whether it be to share their own experiences, what they’ve witnessed, or just messages of support. I know there are a lot of great men in the legal profession and this is a tough conversation that both genders need to be involved in.

The blog is going to remain live for around a month then I am going to collate all the posts and provide these to the New Zealand Law Society. I’ll also publish a summary of the trends emerging from the posts for employers and universities.

This is just the start of New Zealand’s #metoo movement. We have a long road to go, but we are taking the first steps.

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