SYDNEY, Australia: A prominent Australian lawmaker Wednesday alleged that she had been “harassed” and “sexually assaulted” by a fellow senator, who, however, denied the allegations in a tense parliamentary exchange.
Speaking in the Senate, independent Lidia Thorpe objected to a conservative senator addressing lawmakers about a rape allegation made against a former parliamentary staffer.
Rising to her feet to interject, Thorpe told the chamber, “I’m feeling really uncomfortable when a perpetrator is speaking”, leaving fellow lawmakers aghast.
Asked to retract the statement — which was protected from Australia’s severe defamation laws by parliamentary privilege — Thorpe refused.
“I can’t, because this person harassed me, sexually assaulted me,” she said. “To have him talking about this today is an absolute disgrace.”
The Senator accused, David Van, appeared shaken as he was invited to continue his remarks.
“I utterly reject that statement, that disgusting statement, outright. It is just a lie and I reject it,” he said. “It’s just not true.”
Since 2021, Australian politics has been roiled by high-profile allegations of assault and harassment inside parliament.
At that time former political aide Brittany Higgins alleged that a fellow conservative staffer raped her on a couch in a cabinet minister’s parliamentary office following a night of heavy drinking in March 2019.
Five separate investigations followed, collectively delivering a scathing indictment on the frequently sexist nature of Australian politics.
The case sparked national protests and a court case that was eventually judged to be a mistrial and not retried because of the risk to Higgins’ mental health.
The man in question has sued multiple journalists for reporting on the case and threatened to sue his accuser.
He denied the allegations, and in court pleaded not guilty to one charge of sexual intercourse without consent.
The controversy has reignited in recent weeks, after opposition conservatives leapt on a series of leaked text messages to accuse the now centre-left government of politicising the case.
‘Sexist culture’
A 2021 government-backed inquiry found that sexual harassment and bullying were widespread in Australia’s parliament, affecting both lawmakers and staff.
One in three people working in parliament at the time said they “have experienced some form of sexual harassment while working there”. That included 63 percent of the country’s female parliamentarians.
“Aspiring male politicians who thought nothing of, in one case, picking you up, kissing you on the lips, lifting you up, touching you, pats on the bottom, comments about appearance, you know, the usual… the culture allowed it,” said one of the report’s 1,700 interviewees.
The report made 28 recommendations, including a formal statement of acknowledgement by political leaders, targets to increase gender diversity and “a proactive focus on safety and wellbeing”.
Thorpe has previously spoken out against Australia’s police force — saying she was assaulted by officers at a rally in Canberra — and against Britain’s Elizabeth II, calling her a “colonising” queen while taking the oath of office. —AFP
