Rep Ocasio-Cortez claims that Rep Yoho was walking “shoulder to shoulder” with Rep Williams when Rep Yoho put his finger in her face, called her “disgusting”, “crazy”, “out of her mind” and “dangerous”, and later in front of reporters, called her a “f---ing b---h”.

On 22 July, Rep Yoho apologised for the “abrupt manner of the conversation” but said that the words were never spoken and if they were construed that way, it was a “misunderstanding”. In his defence he invoked the fact that he has daughters and a wife. He said that he would not apologise for his “passion” or for “loving his god”.

Rep Williams when asked if he recalled whether the words were spoken said that he couldn’t recall because he “was thinking about some issues I’ve got in my district that need to get done.”

A few days later, Rep Ocasio-Cortez (also known as AOC) made a speech in House of Representatives which has touched the nerve of every woman who has been casually abused and denigrated in public by men privileged enough to consider that they can get away with it with impunity.

In the speech, she said that there was a “culture of lack of impunity of accepting of violence and violent language against women. An entire structure of power that supports that (culture)” and that the dehumanising and disrespectful language towards women were a “pattern of attitude”.

She said that that what Mr Yoho did, was to give permission to other men to use that language against his wife, his daughters and women in his community.
On Twitter Jane Needham SC had an avalanche of responses to her question, “In light of @AOC’s speech – women, tell me what’s the most mundane thing you have done which caused a man to call you a f---ng b---h? Mine – I spotted in a food court to work out which way to go, causing a man behind me to change direction.”

The last few weeks have been an emotional roller-coaster for women in the legal profession. Many women had to relive their own trauma of past sexual harassment but there was also pride that the first female Chief Justice of the High Court made public sexual harassment findings against Dyson Heydon, a former High Court judge and said that she believed the women and was ashamed that the conduct took place at the High Court.

On Friday the Full Court of the Federal Court expressed dismay when a solicitor sought to defend his sexual harassment conduct against an employee because in his defence he was “like Mr [Fitzwilliam] Darcy in Pride and Prejudice”.

Only last week I heard about a female barrister who was making submissions in court. She heard a man behind her call her a f---ing b---h. Instead of ignoring the comment she stopped. She informed the judge of the words spoken. The judge inquired with the transcriber, the transcriber confirmed that she heard the words spoken. The judge adjourned the court for a few minutes, when he returned, he made a statement on the record that such speech is unacceptable and entirely intolerable and that it is offensive to not only all of the persons present but to the judicial system.

I have the highest regard for that judge as he took responsibility for calling out the degrading conduct. He did not wait for the woman to complain or to tell him what he should do. He took matters into his own hands.

It made me wonder what the world would be like for women if we didn’t have to police men’s behaviour while other men remained mute. It also made me wonder why most men remain mute when they hear or see their male colleagues make derogatory comments about women or tell jokes that are sexual or sexist that are undignified and disrespectful.

It seems to me that Rep Ocasio-Cortez has hit the nail on the head when she said that abuse against women is a pattern or a culture that exists. The pattern exists because individuals are obedient to perceived authority or leadership.

Abuse and disrespect towards women are not a workplace issue but the workplace can be a powerful place to change the culture and pattern of behaviour and attitudes. The workplace environment in the legal profession is highly hierarchical: there are very clear boundaries that define us and we all know our place. Our reputation is our greatest asset. Respect and deference towards those in senior roles are an unspoken rule. We can turn these noble traditions around to improve our culture. An abuser has little power if he or she knows that his or her seniors and colleagues deplore his or her conduct.

Being responsible to call out inappropriate conduct is a recognition that the consequent obligations of cultural change lie on all of us. Sexual harassment is a structural and cultural risk. Reliance on individuals making complaints has failed to reduce levels of its occurrence. In the legal profession, nearly 50 per cent of women have reported experiencing sexual harassment, as per last year’s IBA report.

So, to all the men, it’s time to do the right thing, even if it’s awkward and uncomfortable, stand up and support women to improve our workplaces, nobody should to be degraded or abused. By calling out such conduct, workplace culture will become more dignified, civil and respectful. We need leadership from the top and I call on our political leaders and leaders in the legal profession to step up and be part of the solution. We need to demonstrate to the up-and-coming generation of lawyers that we have their back and they are entering a profession that can offer them a long-term, sustainable career.

Larissa Andelman is a barrister and president of Women Lawyers Association NSW.