Women fear being called 'dobbers' if they speak on sexual harassment: Heydon accuser

Noor Blumer, the prominent Canberra lawyer who says former High Court judge Dyson Heydon groped and tried to forcibly kiss her at a law ball in 2013, says victims of harassment fear being labelled "dobbers", or that they will be sued for defamation.

"Australians are raised not to be 'dobbers'; it's 'un Australian'," she told the Australian Women Lawyers conference in an online speech on Friday.

Noor Blumer says she was concerned for her alleged harasser.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Before telling her story to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in June this year, Ms Blumer asked herself, "Did I want to forever be known as that woman that was groped under the dinner table at a public dinner?"

She was also concerned for her alleged harasser.

"I didn't really want to contribute to the fall from grace of another human being," she said.

In June, Ms Blumer told the Herald that Mr Heydon, who was the honoured guest speaker at the University of Canberra law ball, groped her thigh under the dinner table that night.

Former High Court judge Dyson Heydon, who has been dogged by allegation of misconduct, which he denies, in June.Credit: Dean Sewell

She said he later cornered her under the pretext of discussing adoption law and tried to forcibly kiss her. Ms Blumer left the ball in distress and wrote a file note.

Other women at the ball complained to the university about Mr Heydon's alleged behaviour.

The Herald investigation into Mr Heydon's alleged misconduct revealed an independent High Court inquiry found he had sexually harassed six judge's associates during his tenure.

Mr Heydon has denied "emphatically any allegation of sexual harassment or any offence".

Since speaking out, Ms Blumer said she had been overwhelmed with messages of support, but had "detected that some senior members of the profession think I probably overreacted".

"I feel strongly that I and the others who spoke out, have done the right thing," she told the conference.

"Why should those of us who have done nothing wrong feel afraid?

"The more we stand together to be counted, the more the stigma will fall away, and the less we will
continue to be the victims of power-based sexual harassment."

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