NPR has covered the Legalweek sexual harassment incident I previously reported on here, with more details about the incident.
Their report published this morning (Women report sexual harassment at glitzy legal tech events in a #MeToo moment, written by Jaclyn Diaz and Bill Chappell and available here) discusses the reported incident involving Stefanie Bier of Microsoft and Rachi and Shimmy Messing of ALTorney.
The incident was described by Shimmy in this LinkedIn article where Bier was being harassed, and Shimmy says the guy pulled a knife on him when he tried to intervene!
What’s new in this report? This report names the person who was reported to have harassed Bier. That person was working for Reveal at the time of the incident (he was “terminated within hours” after it happened, according to the company). The other notable detail is a still photo from security footage provided by Rachi, that shows the incident in which the alleged assailant (in dark clothing) allegedly threatened his brother, Shimmy, with a knife. There’s a photo on Shimmy’s article, but it isn’t as clear.
The alleged assailant now faces misdemeanor charges of harassment, menacing and criminal possession of a weapon, according to a criminal court complaint from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office (per NPR) and he has pleaded not guilty in this case.
The NPR article goes on to discuss several of the other incidents previously reported, including the LinkedIn post from Deeanna Fleener at Deloitte, which provided several examples of harassment stories from women, and personal experiences from Samantha Mather, who works for Reveal. And it mentions the SPLASH (service providers leading against sexual harassment) campaign started by Marla Crawford of Cimplifi and adopted by several other service providers (logo at the top of this post).
Proposed changes include limiting alcohol at the many events held during conferences and other events, as well as a beefed-up security presence at these parties. It’s going to take a collective effort among conferences and sponsors to see either of these suggestions implemented. I’m hopeful, but not holding my breath.
Most of all, it’s going to take a culture change. The incident referenced at the top of this post didn’t happen at a conference event. Sexual harassment can happen anywhere – with or without the influence of alcohol (though alcohol is frequently a contributing factor).
Keeping this issue in the forefront is the only way I know of to have a chance to stop it. I’ll do my best to do my part. With that in mind, I will plan to post this paragraph before each in-person conference that I cover (feedback welcome):
Important Note: Harassment, including sexual harassment, continues to be a problem at conferences, and in society in general. Here is a recent post I published regarding incidents that occurred at this year’s Legalweek conference that also has resources with more information (suggestions for additional resources welcome). Let’s make conferences and our workplaces safe for everyone.
You can check out the NPR article here, which does a great job of discussing the current situation. Hat tip to Tom O’Connor for the heads up on NPR’s terrific article.
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