On 3 July 2021, the Bar Council endorsed the creation of a national Peer Support Network (“PSN”) for survivors of sexual harassment in the legal profession, and on 11 Dec 2021, the Bar Council approved Ruling 14.29 under Chapter 14 of the Bar Council Rules and Rulings.
Subsequently, Ruling 14.29 was amended on 9 July 2026 to cover general harassment and workplace bullying, which now states as follows:
14.29 Sexual harassment, harassment and workplace bullying constitutes misconduct under section 94(3) of the Act
(1) Any act of sexual harassment, harassment or bullying by an Advocate and Solicitor or a pupil in a professional capacity or in a professional setting amounts to misconduct.
(2) Sexual harassment means any unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, whether verbal, non-verbal, visual, gestural or physical, made directly or indirectly at a person or physically communicated in person or through the use of any medium or physical conduct, which a reasonable person would consider to be offensive or humiliating or a threat to their well-being or comfort.
(3) Harassment means any unwanted conduct, whether verbal, non-verbal, visual, gestural or physical, made directly or indirectly at a person or physically communicated in person or through the use of any medium or physical conduct, which a reasonable person would consider to be offensive or humiliating or a threat to their well-being or comfort.
(4) Bullying means any wilful act and directed at a victim by any means, whether committed repeatedly or in a single severe incident, which causes physical, psychological or social harm to the victim. Bullying may include the following acts:
(a) any act that cause physical harm to a victim or his belongings;
(b) any use of language which abuses, threatens or demeans the victim, which causes harm to a victim’s psychological wellbeing;
(c) any act which is intended to socially isolate a victim, damage the reputation of a victim or to create a hostile environment for the victim;
(d) any act that humiliates or discriminates a victim on the basis of sex, race, religion or disability; or
(e) any act referred to in paragraphs (b), (c) or (d) above that is committed through electronic or digital communication.
Based on this Ruling, any act that constitutes sexual harassment, harassment and workplace bullying by an advocate and solicitor or a pupil in chambers in a professional capacity or in a professional setting, would be construed as an offence under section 94(3) of the Legal Profession Act 1976.
PSN was officially launched on 15 Dec 2021, and since then, the Bar Council has trained lawyers to volunteer as case handlers. The case handlers will assist these survivors to find resolution and redress, ie steps that the survivors can take, within the following avenues:
(a) Within the law firm;
(b) In a criminal law complaint (by lodging a police report);
(c) In a complaint to the Advocates and Solicitors Disciplinary Board (“ASDB”) (by lodging complaint with ASDB); and
(d) In a civil suit.
If you are a Member of the Bar or a pupil in chambers who has suffered from sexual harassment, harassment or bullying in the workplace, please click here to access the PSN Feedback Form to file your feedback on the incident(s).
If you have any general enquiries or if you would like to volunteer to be trained as a case handler, please contact us at [email protected].