Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Tuesday that he was launching two reviews, to be conducted by Liberal MP Celia Hammond and a deputy secretary of his department, Stephanie Foster, into the culture and laws surrounding workplace sexual assault in Parliament House after former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins came forward with her 2019 rape allegations in a television interview on Monday.
In the interview, Higgins alleged that she was raped by a senior male colleague in the office of her employer, Defense Minister Linda Reynolds, when they returned to Parliament House after hours following a social function. While the alleged perpetrator’s employment was shortly terminated, Higgins claims that she did not feel supported by Reynolds, or the chief of staff at the time, Fiona Brown, when she was called to a meeting with Brown in the same office the rape had allegedly occurred, days after the incident was reported. While Reynolds claimed in the Senate that “at all times, my intent and aim were to empower Brittany and let her determine the course of her own situation,” Higgins, for fear of losing her job, did not pursue a formal police complaint, and later felt compelled to resign in order to protect her wellbeing. Reynolds and the prime minister’s office have since admitted that holding the meeting in the location of the alleged rape was a regretted oversight.
While Higgins claims that the prime minister’s office was aware of the incident prior to her Monday interview, Morrison said that the interview was a “wake-up call” and he was distressed that “in this day and age, a young woman can find herself in the vulnerable situation that she was in.” Morrison expressed disdain that he was allegedly not informed of a “reported serious crime” and that his office’s involvement extended only to the security breach of parliament staffers entering the building after hours.
Following public apologies of the government’s mishandling of the incident in 2019, Morrison was both applauded and criticized when he announced a review into the culture of workplace sexual assault within Parliament House. Higgins thanked him for his apology and said the review, which would renew the complaints process and implement automatic reporting obligations to department officials, was a “welcome first-step.” However, the prime minister faced criticism from opposition parties after stating that he was encouraged to take serious action only after his wife prompted him to view the situation from the perspective of a father with daughters. Labor MP Julian Hill addressed the Prime Minister’s controversial statements, stating that Higgins deserved to be heard “not because she is someone’s daughter, but because she is somebody.”
While Higgins welcomed the review, she also called for an independent and impartial review into the laws that govern ministerial offices, stating that it should not be the burden of victims to share their stories in the media in order to be taken seriously. She has chosen not to make any further public statements and is still considering pursuing a formal police complaint against the perpetrator.
