iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Please hear me out. You don’t have to agree but do engage with the issues at stake. I believe passionately in the work we do under legal aid in the independent Bar. But we are broken by its demands. We and our clients deserve respect and funding.

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

It was a brutal & exposing book to write. This article @thebarcouncil.bsky.social gives a glimpse into what drove me to write it and who supports me when I falter- as I do. Our work drains us and our family & friends see the vicarious damage extracted out of duty and passion for our clients.

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

My job comes with responsibility & duty. One is to speak up & out when I believe justice is at stake in the work I live & breath. ‘We Set The Bar’ is that voice.

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

Legal aid is the 4Th emergency service but it is dying for lack or investment and institutional respect. Its advocates bring the diversity to the Bar that it lacks. Its principles and its people represent my principles & people. This is my shout out to and for them.

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

On 31.3.26 @brisunipress.bsky.social published ‘We Set The Bar’. My love letter to legal aid & the people who represent its heart and soul. In 3 days it’s moved to no 3 of Amazon’s legal biographies. That’s a testament to how many people feel the way I do about the work we do for the most vulnerable

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Reposted by Prof Jo Delahunty KC

Professor Polly Morgan @pollyemorgan.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Just got my copy of Domestic Abuse and the Family Justice System by @jdkc.bsky.social, @brummybar.bsky.social, @ianjmcardle.bsky.social, and Chloe Ashley. Fantastically useful and comprehensive. Current on alienation, latest cases, covert recording, injunctions, overlap with crimes etc.

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

It makes being a published author real when this happens- as seen in Wildy’s Bookshop window opposite the RCJ. What a legal institution What an honour. ‘Domestic Abuse in the Family Justice System ‘ By me @ianmcardle.bsky.social @brummybar.bsky.social @ChloëAshley with @AnitaMehta

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

So this is starting to happen! #WSTB comes out 31.3.26.Thanks to @middletemple.bsky.social for the welcome at the soft launch last night. Watch out for April’s @thebarcouncil.bsky.social Counsel magazine, @thetimes.com @lawsocietygazette.bsky.social @lexisnexis.bsky.social @familylaw.bsky.social

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

4/4 Solidarity isn’t a slogan. It’s something you do- day in, day out. Not for a day. So don’t just post about it. Do it. It matters. A lot. #IWD2026 #WeSetTheBar

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

3/4 I’ve tried to give support. I’m sure I can do better and more. I will try to do it better for more

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

2/4These acts rarely make it into reports - but they change lives. I have not always received support when I’ve needed it. That was hard then. It hurts now.

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

It’s #IWD. That requires SOLIDARITY to count Thread1/4Most women who’ve survived at the Bar can name someone who helped them stay. A call returned. A recommendation made. A voice saying, “That wasn’t acceptable. #WomenSupportingWomen #IWDCountdown

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

I wrote We Set the Bar because I believe this profession can be fairer, healthier and genuinely inclusive - without losing its independence or integrity. Day by day we must keep talking. Keep listening. And act 2 because word are not enough. #IWD2026 #WeSetTheBar

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

#IWD ? Is a day enough ? CHANGE is needed day by day This week has been about honesty, not indictment. The Bar can be a remarkable profession - which is exactly why it’s worth fighting for. Change won’t come from pretending the past didn’t happen, but from learning from it and acting collectively.

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

Most use that power responsibly. Some don’t - and the consequences can shape careers for years. Without transparency and accountability, power protects itself. A fair profession requires visible, answerable power. #PowerAndPrivilege #WSTB #WeSetTheBar #IWD

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

#IWD2026 is nearly on us. And that means we need to talk oPOWER 1/2 Power at the Bar isn’t abstract. It sits with those who allocate work, recommend promotion, and decide who belongs. #PowerAndPrivilege #WeSetTheBar

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

Talk to SPOT. Talk to someone you trust who you can be yourself with. Don’t endure abuse. It’s not your fault. Break the Silence #StandTogether #IWD #WSTB

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

Silence is often mistaken for consent, when it’s more often fear: of retaliation, of lost work, of being labelled “difficult”.

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

Sexual harassment. Judicial bullying. Careers quietly damaged behind closed doors. Silence isn’t absence. It’s self-protection.

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

in the build up to #IWD lets talk about SILENCE There are things at the Bar that everyone knows - and few people report. #BreakTheSilence #WomenAtTheBar #WSTB

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Lost income, stalled careers, unpaid caring work, exhaustion treated as personal failure. The Bar still rewards constant availability - a model built around lives many women don’t live. When staying comes at a higher price, equality is only theoretical. #LegalAid #WeSetTheBar #IWD2026

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

In the count down to #IWD- reflect on Woman at the Bar and COST We talk a lot about the cost of legal aid in numbers. We talk far less about the cost to the women who practise it. #LegalAid #WeSetTheBar #IWD2026

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

5/ Anger,when grounded in truth, is not a threat to the profession. It’s a demand that it does better. If this resonates -your anger is valid. Don’t stay silent. Don’t let others smother your voice or your experiences. Own them.Share them. Be made stronger by them. #IWDCountdown #EqualityAtTheBar

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

4/ Much of what we’ve heard over the years comes with a familiar caveat: “Don’t make a fuss.” “Don’t be difficult.” “Don’t risk your practice.”

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

3/ Sexism. Racism. Judicial bullying. Sexual harassment. Naming these isn’t unprofessional. Ignoring them is.

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

2/ But anger is what you feel after decades of watching talent wasted, harm minimised and discrimination reframed as “character-building”.

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Thread 1/ Anger has a bad reputation at the Bar - especially in women. We’re told to be calm. Measured. Resilient. #WomenInLaw #WeSetTheBar

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

6 If you recognise yourself in any of this, you’re not alone. If you want to add your voice, I’m listening.

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

5/ I wrote We Set the Bar to tell the truth about life at the Bar - celebrating the highs, without concealing the lows, and asking what must change. Over the next week I’ll talk about truth, anger,cost,silence,power,solidarity & change- themes that run through the book and through my working life.

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

4/ We often describe that loss as “choice” or “attrition”. Those words are comfortable. They are also misleading.

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

3/ I’ve worked alongside extraordinary women - talented, principled, deeply committed - who loved this profession and were quietly worn down by it. Too many are no longer here.

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

2/ I’ve spent 40 years as a legal aid barrister in a profession still widely seen as the preserve of public-school educated, white men. That reputation didn’t come from nowhere. And it hasn’t vanished.

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

Thread 1/ For the next 7 days, ahead of International Women’s Day, I want to talk honestly about women at the Bar. Not in slogans. Not in myths. But from the inside. #IWDCountdown #WomenAtTheBar @brisunipress.bsky.social @bupjournals.bsky.social @4pbfamilylaw.bsky.social

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Reposted by Prof Jo Delahunty KC

SMcF @painscastle.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

@jdkc.bsky.social - a really helpful analysis from @familoo.pinktape.co.uk about lessons for the court. Thanks, both, though judgment made scary reading.

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Reposted by Prof Jo Delahunty KC

The Transparency Project @seethrujustice.transparencyproject.org.uk · 10/02/2026

new Control & the Law podcast with Prof. Rosemary Hunter and @jdkc.bsky.social discussing domestic abuse in family courts open.spotify.com/episode/2Vs0...

open.spotify.com

Spotify – Web Player

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

This was a case I very much wanted to see publicly discussed. The young person I acted for had been failed by the family court system at every stage. He suffered avoidable harm as a result & wanted his experiences to be listened to. He worried about other children trapped by systemic flaws.

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

I have been too engrossed with work(& trying to survive it) in recent months to engage with social media. I’ve also been writing. I wanted to try to make difference by openly offering up my experience in DA work to avoid mistakes of the past being repeated- for that happens too often- hence this.

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/sexu… The content of the report should not be a revelation- they confirm what many of us have been saying publicly for years. This lecture was one of the most graphic & distressing to prepare & deliver. It was one of many platforms taken to agitate for change

gresham.ac.uk

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

Herewith @barcouncil announcement of & reaction to the Harman Report. r1.ddlnk.net/cr/AQiNsAwQ3My… We need the response of the BSB & JCIO to the recommendations-what will be actioned, by whom & when. The Inns,circuits & chambers must act. This must not be kicked into long grass

r1.ddlnk.net

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

I am proud to be associated with the activism & research that went into this excoriating report on the culture of tolerance for bullying and sexual harassment some of us have long called out & to I thank the survivors for their courage in coming forward. www.bbc.com/news/article...

bbc.com

'He put his hand down my tights': Sex harassment widespread among barristers, review finds

Widespread problems with sexual harassment and bullying within the Bar are detailed in a report.

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

And it was a huge pleasure to meet and lead Emily James of @1gcfamilylaw.bsky.social No surprise to any of us that she took silk this year. It was a privilege to lead such an amazing team

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

Can I also give credit to @GoodmanRay and the superb client care that Ann Thompson and Amina Gillani gave to our vulnerable mother. I can genuinely say that without their patient empathetic professional skilled dedication the mother would have been misunderstood and isolated

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

And never assume the reliability of records made in hospital,by the police station or social workers where translation is required.Check dialect. Check culture.Check religion.Check gender issues. Don’t make assumptions about behaviours based on European norms.This case explains. Please read and shar

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

At a time when it is hard to persuade a judge to ‘permit’ an expert to be xx & written questions are deemed an adequate substitute-get a judgement on the point-consider appeal. Ensure witness of fact are called-front line treaters, health visitors.They establish the factual premise of opinion advice

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

Experts are not infallible.Families affected by their opinions deserve the right to have the experts opinion tested by specialist counsel after witnesses of fact have been called to test the robustness of the factual premise the expert has constructed from reading the papers ( in this case poorly)

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Prof Jo Delahunty KC @jdkc.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

So too did the paediatric radiologist shift his perspective. But for robust cross examination and a judge prepared to listen and reflect on what was emerging in the witness box ,a great injustice would have been done , with life long consequences, to the children and parents.

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