SYDNEY – When Brittany Higgins stood up in front of the Australian Parliament in Canberra on Monday, she said to the assembled crowd, “I speak to you out of necessity.”
“We are all here today not because we want to be here, but because we have to be here,” said the former government official to the crowd of thousands, many dressed entirely in black.
“I was raped inside Parliament by a colleague and, for a long time, it seemed that the people around me only cared about where it happened and what it could mean for them,” she said.
The Canberra demonstration was one of dozens of “March 4 for justice” protests across Australia this week, sparked by several allegations of sexual assault against men in the country’s corridors of power.
Last month, Higgins, 26, went public with the allegation that she was raped by an unidentified colleague inside a minister’s office in 2019. The police are investigating, but no arrests or charges have been made.
Days after his allegation, details surfaced accusing Attorney General Christian Porter of rape decades ago, in 1988. “The things being claimed have not happened,” said Porter, who vehemently denied the charge, told reporters earlier this month. The allegation is now the subject of an ongoing defamation suit by Porter. He is also taking extended sick leave.
Although these two claims were against those within the conservative government, news.com.au reported the existence of a social media group in which workers from the opposition Labor Party shared their experiences of a “toxic culture” in Parliament.
Party deputy leader Richard Marles said in response: “This is our home, which we need to put in order, and these allegations are really terrible.”
The idea for the protests started with a tweet from a Melbourne woman, Janine Hendry, who suggested that a group of women should meet outside Parliament on Monday to express their outrage.
In a short time, thousands of other women said they would enter or exit the streets in their own cities.
Tens of thousands of Australians participated in 40 linked rallies in the past few days, each featuring banners with messages like “Why would she lie?” and “Enough is Enough”.
“Recent revelations show that Parliament House has a culture of misogyny and that it is an unsafe place to work,” Hendry told NBC News.
“The government seems to be completely lost and unwilling to listen to the concerns of ordinary women. Worse, there seems to be a culture of denial and cover-up. We ask for transparency and action ”.
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Hendry and other protesters are demanding “complete independent investigations into all cases of gender-based violence and timely referrals to the appropriate authorities”.
“It is a problem for Parliament, it is an Australian problem, it is a global problem. It will always be a problem when there is a gender imbalance in power, ”she said.
And research shows that it is indeed a national problem. According to a survey by the Australian Human Rights Commission in 2018, 39% of women say they have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in the past five years.
Hayley Foster, CEO of the advocacy group Women’s Safety NSW, joined the Canberra protest, which she said was part of a national “revolt”.
“There was a real feeling that it was something really important and that everyone participated in a very historic event … This is a turning point. Not only for Parliament, but workplaces and schools will be much more alert to this and much more receptive to disclosures after last month. “
Foster said that there needs to be not only cultural change in Australia, but also criminal justice reform and increased funding for women’s security services.
“[In Australia] 98.5% of sexual predators will not be held responsible and will be found innocent in the eyes of the law because our criminal justice system is inaccessible. It is so ineffective in providing a fair outcome for survivors of sexual violence. “
“I am hopeful that there will be more action now as a result of [the protests] … I have a feeling that Australians are not going to give up on that. “
On Monday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he was too busy to attend the rally in Canberra, but offered to find a small delegation of organizers in his office. The organizers refused, saying: “we will not meet behind closed doors”.
Discussing the protests, Morrison said that “those who gather here today and across the country do so with a feeling of great frustration and great concern … That is the deserved frustration and concern that I share”.
But he also called the demonstrations a “triumph of democracy” because the demonstrators were not “received with bullets” as in some other countries.
Tanya Plibersek, of the opposition Labor Party, which holds the title of shadow minister for women, said the prime minister had “deeply” missed the point.
“[The comment] that we should be grateful that we’re in a place where you don’t get shot for marching, it was so wrong, ”she said.
One protester quickly made a sign saying “How ScoMo is good at not shooting us”, using Morrison’s suitcase and adapting his catchphrase, “How good is Australia”.
The prime minister’s office did not respond to specific questions about the protests, but pointed to one of Morrison’s earlier statements.
“The issue of violence against women remains a very high priority for my government … We have organized an independent inquiry that is examining the broader issues of treating employees and their protections,” he said.
This was not the first time that the government has faced criticism since the recent allegations of sexual assault emerged.
Shortly after Higgins made his claim, the Australian newspaper reported that its former chief, Linda Reynolds, Australia’s defense minister, called her a “lying cow”. Reynolds has since apologized and is now on extended medical leave.
Meanwhile, Morrison supported Porter after a complaint that he raped a 16-year-old girl in 1988 when he was 17. The complaint came last month, when an anonymous letter was sent to several politicians, including Morrison, which contained a testimony from the alleged victim.
The woman involved died by suicide last year and police in New South Wales ended their investigation by citing “insufficient admissible evidence”.
But as that calculation continues, Australians like Higgins say they will not rest until discrimination against women and sexual assault are dealt with properly.
“We have all learned in recent weeks how common gender violence is in this country,” she told the crowd on Monday.
“It is time for our leaders on both sides of politics to stop avoiding the issue and evade responsibility. It’s time to really solve the problem, ”said Higgins.