Australia apologizes for sexual harassment and abuse in Parliament

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison apologized Tuesday to the victims of harassment, abuse and sexual assault in Parliament and acknowledged that many complaints were silenced for fear of electoral consequences.

In a speech in Parliament, Morrison apologized in the presence of Brittany Higgins, the former Liberal Party adviser who last year denounced having been raped in Parliament, prompting other women to dare to file more complaints.

“(…) she had the courage to speak out, and that is why we are here. We regret all these things, and in doing so, each of us takes responsibility for a change,” said Morrison, of the Liberal Party.

Morrison’s apologies, along with those from Labor Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese and both Houses of Parliament, come in response to 28 recommendations issued last November by Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins, who led a research on work culture at the Legislative headquarters.

HIGGINS, CHAMPIONSHIP OF WOMEN

The independent investigation was ordered last March by the Morrison government following Higgins’ complaint about the rape he suffered in 2019 by a former co-worker in the office of the then head of Defense Industries, Linda Reynolds. , in the Canberra Parliament.

Higgins’ complaint, who also complained about how her employers handled her case, prompted three other women to reveal that they were victims of assault or inappropriate touching by the same man, who is currently being prosecuted for the alleged crimes.

They also provoked strong criticism against the Morrison government for its management of the case, a massive march in which Higgins participated to demand greater protection for women in Parliament as well as the removal of Reynolds from the Defense portfolio for having called “cow liar” to the former adviser.

“We have tried to silence the valid and fair complaints of the people because the fear of electoral consequences reigned. Sorry. We are sorry,” Morrison admitted, promising to “bring to light” the perpetrators of these attacks in Parliament.

HIGGINS IS NOT THE ONLY

Higgins, who became an icon of women’s claims, was part of a small group that attended the parliamentary session and sat in the gallery of the Canberra Parliament with restrictions due to covid-19.

Also present in the parliamentary gallery was another former government adviser, Rachelle Miller, who claims to have been the victim of verbal and, on one occasion, physical abuse by former Education Minister Alan Tudge.

Tudge, who previously had an extramarital relationship with Miller, denies this claim, although he has stepped down from the post while these events are being investigated, at a crucial time for the Morrison government ahead of this year’s elections in which he is seeking re-election.

Miller told the Australian public network ABC that she felt “vindicated by the apologies presented” in Parliament because “finally, it was recognized” what she had denounced for a long time, that “this culture is unacceptable.”

Jenkins’ investigation revealed a toxic male-dominated workplace culture in Parliament, as well as systematic abuse of power, exploitation, harassment and assault, including sexual, primarily against women.

According to the report presented at the end of last November, 51 per cent of Parliament workers experienced at least one incident of sexual abuse or harassment as well as an attempted rape or completed sexual assault.

“We cannot undo what has been done, but if we have the will, we can break this cycle once and for all,” the Labor leader said in his speech, while Parliament promised to “set the standards that govern the nation” to remedy an “unacceptable history of abuse, harassment and sexual assault in the workplaces of the Parliament of Australia”.

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Source: Elcomercio

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