Understanding the alleged sexual assault in Parliament House
In this post, we take some time to explain what's known about the allegation, and how the Liberal Party responded.
TRIGGER WARNING: SEXUAL ASSAULT
Brittany Higgins, a former staffer for Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, was only months into her "dream job" when she says she was sexually assaulted in her boss's office at Parliament House. The allegations, first reported this morning by news.com.au, have strengthened the focus on toxic attitudes towards women in federal politics.
How we'll explain this story
A quick recap on the debate over Parliament's sexist culture
The sexual assault allegation itself
How the Liberal Party has responded
Why Brittany Higgins told her story now
A quick recap on the sexist culture in politics
In recent years, there's been growing attention on how female staffers and politicians are treated in Parliament.
Some of the big stories over the past few years include:
Liberal Party politician Julia Banks accusing her colleagues of bullying during the leadership spill that made Scott Morrison Prime Minister
In January 2020, two female Liberal Party staffers alleging they were sexual assaulted by colleagues, and that their complaints were dismissed by senior party figures
In November 2020, the ABC airing claims that two senior Ministers, Christian Porter and Alan Tudge, exhibited improper sexual conduct
That's the context in which today's story came out: it's not the first claim of sexism and improper sexual conduct in federal politics.
The allegation itself
Higgins says she and a colleague got into the same taxi home after a Friday night event in 2019. Instead of going home, the taxi went to Parliament House. The man allegedly led Higgins to their boss's office. Higgins felt sick because she was so drunk, and lay on an office couch. She reported to news.com.au that she woke up to her colleague allegedly raping her. She started crying, and told him to stop. He didn't. "I couldn't get him off and I couldn't stop it," Higgins said. When she was found by security guards the next morning, they offered to call an ambulance.
The Liberal Party's response
Linda Reynolds' office initially treated the incident as a security breach - and met with both staffers about being in her office, among highly classified material, outside office hours. The male colleague immediately resigned. Over the course of the next week, Higgins told her superiors about the allegation of sexual assault.
Higgins says there were two main issues with the way the Liberal Party managed her allegation:
They held the initial meeting to discuss the allegation in the office where Higgins says she was sexually assaulted, something the Liberal Party today said they "regretted".
While the party says they offered counselling, Higgins says that never happened.
Why Higgins told her story now
Higgins says she knew she had to speak out when she saw this photo of Scott Morrison standing with Australian Australian of the Year Grace Tame, a sexual assault survivor.