Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison apologized to a former political adviser who claimed she was raped by a senior colleague in a minister’s office in parliament.
Brittany Higgins said she feared losing her job after the 2019 incident and had little support from her bosses.
Higgins, 26, spoke in a TV interview on Monday that caused shock and outrage at his treatment.
Mr. Morrison apologized for the way the government handled his complaint.
The allegations are now under new police investigation.
Morrison said he was “shaken” by her claims and called for a review of the parliament’s environment and culture.
“I hope Brittany’s call is a wake-up call for all of us,” he told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.
But Morrison also received criticism for saying that he understood the allegations better after considering them father of two girls.
What does Mrs. Higgins claim?
Mrs. Higgins, then 24, was in a new job with Defense Industry Minister Linda Reynolds a few weeks ago when she went out for a drink with a group that included her alleged abuser, an older colleague.
She said the man offered her a ride home late in the evening, but he took her to Parliament.
Mrs. Higgins said she was drunk and fell asleep in the minister’s office, before waking up to find the man sexually abusing her.
“I woke up in the middle of a rape essentially,” she told Network Ten. “I started to cry … I told you to stop.”
She said the man left immediately afterwards.
After informing her employer, Ms. Higgins felt that Ms. Reynolds’ office tried to “manage” the situation, minimizing her trauma.
“It felt like I became … immediately became a political problem,” she said.
Ms. Higgins said that Ms. Reynolds said she would be supported if she pursued a police complaint, but she felt pressured not to do so, believing it would end her career.
She said the meeting with the minister was also held in the room where the alleged attack took place.
“There was a cycle going on in my mind regarding this trauma that I just accepted and I thought it was incomprehensible that they would put me in that place again,” she said.
Higgins said his alleged attacker was considered a “rising star” for the party.
She worked for another minister in Morrison’s Liberal Party before abandoning politics.
What was the PM’s response?
Mr. Morrison specifically apologized for the meeting at Mrs. Reynolds’ office, where Ms. Higgins claims the rape occurred.
He said such an event “should not have happened”, saying it would trigger a review of the complaints procedure in parliament.
The prime minister also announced a review of the parliament’s professional culture, saying the problems went beyond party lines.
“I want to make sure that any young person who works in this place is as safe as possible,” he said.
Morrison said he had discussed Higgins’ claims with his wife, who helped him “clarify” his views.
“She said to me, ‘You have to think about it first as a parent. What would you like to happen if it were our girls?'”
His comments have sparked a lot of online criticism from women who suggested that Morrison should not do this.
“It shouldn’t be necessary for a man to have a daughter to treat women who have been attacked with empathy and respect,” wrote author Jamila Rizvi on Twitter.
What does this show about Australian politics?
Australian policy has long faced accusations of being a hostile environment for women.
Ms. Higgins’ case redirected public scrutiny about the experience of women in Canberra, particularly within the ruling conservative party. She has been accused of covering up sexual misconduct.
Before the 2019 general election, Morrison denied that his party had a “problem with women” after several lawmakers left.
One of those former parliamentarians, Julia Banks, tweeted on Monday: “Once again, the House of Parliament proves to be the most insecure and toxic work culture for women in the country.”
Higgins said she was motivated to talk about her experience after an ABC investigation last year released allegations of inappropriate behavior by government ministers.
At the time, Morrison was also criticized for interrupting a minister who was answering a question about what it is like to be a woman in parliament.