Note: This story discusses sexual assault.
If feels like Australia is on the precipice of something huge. Anger against our elected officials is reaching boiling point.
For years our government has been accused of perpetuating a culture of sexual violence. Officials have allowed predators and bullies to stalk the halls of parliament, getting promotion after promotion while their victims are forced out of their positions.
We know the names of the women who have bravely put their experiences on the record — the only way they could be heard.
We don’t know the names of many of the men who have been kept sheltered under anonymity, keeping their roles with little repercussion or accountability while women leave their career paths behind.
Now, a current cabinet minister has been added to the list.
Australia has one of the highest rates of sexual violence in the world. Consent education is not mandatory in our schools, and literacy of consent is embarrassingly low in this country. Evidently, it appears it is even lower amongst our elected officials.
This cabinet minister is accused of raping a 16-year-old girl three times when the two were students in 1988. When this woman — who we will call Jane Doe from this point on — came forward with her allegation in 2019, she didn’t just contact the police. She contacted politicians and old friends, building a support network around her.
I find it impossible to believe the accused and his inner circle didn’t know about these allegations in 2019. There are growing calls to stand the minister aside.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has refused to name the cabinet minister, meaning other innocent men are getting lumped in with the accused.
Jane Doe has been described to me as a “bright, shining light”. She doesn’t deserve to be remembered for the man that allegedly abused her but, because there was no accountability back then, that is likely what she will now be known for.
Jane’s friends say she didn’t want the issue to become politicised. Yet politicians are already doing just that: Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson said on Sunday she referred a rape allegation against an unnamed Labor member of parliament to the federal police.
The two sides are holding grenades, refusing to do what is right. Stand those involved aside until an investigation takes place. If anyone representing our country has been accused of such a horrendous crime, Australians deserve acknowledgement of the claim and a full and frank investigation.
The fact someone earning hundreds of thousands of dollars a year of taxpayer money could continue to remain anonymous and their career unaffected while horrendous allegations swirl is confronting.
If the man believes the allegation to be untrue, he should address it. Silence is cowardly. Yet it seems silence and inaction has previously been effective for the Morrison government.
The government has not responded to Australia’s landmark report on workplace sexual harassment. Heads haven’t rolled following Brittany Higgins’ allegations. The government’s initial response — four internal inquiries — was pathetic.
Even as female members of the Liberal Party step down — women the party simply cannot afford to lose — officials stand idly by.
Instead, we get staged photoshoots with Morrison donned in a fluorescent vest examining vials of the vaccine.
Jane didn’t live to see what an impact her statement has made or the collective outrage she, Higgins, and other women have catalysed.
Australia is at a boiling point and Australians should remain angry. We should not let our government remain meek and quiet. We should demand real, enforceable change. We cannot allow any violence against women — let alone that allegedly perpetrated by men funded by us.
We must demand accountability.
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault or violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au.
For anyone seeking help, Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and Beyond Blue is 1300 22 4636.
Interesting that Senator Henderson has chosen a particular time to refer an alleged rape allegation by an un-named Labor politician to police at this time. It can only be that she wishes to shift some of the dirt away from her party. It is also evidence that it is not only the males of the parliament that play this toxic game.
Agreed. Senator Henderson referring this allegation to the police is completely appropriate. Senator Henderson sitting on this allegation until it can be used as a political distraction from her own party’s woes is about as despicable as it gets. The conduct of a blackmailer.
Agreed!
The matter she referred to the police was actually already known by the police, as was the alleged perpetrator. The police thoroughly investigated the matter, but found no evidence to corroborate the claim. Henderson is just looking to distract media attention away from the Libs.
As if to prove how stupid Senator Henderson is, she referred it to the AFP, when it is a state issue unless the alleged rape happened in the ACT. So, assuming the alleged rape was in Victoria, it should have been referred to VICPOL. Problem is that if it is the same alleged perpetrator as has been alleged previously, that case has already been investigated by VICPOL and dealt with.
Further, AFP Commissioner Kershaw last week wrote a letter to Morrison urging future allegations to be made to the police and not through the media. Henderson of course ignored that advice.
We are angry. We will roar. Listen. Your granddaughters will thank you. Australia has the highest rate of sexual abuse in the world. Time to stop this betrayal of Australian women & children. Time to listen. TIME TO ACT.
Couldn’t agree more Penny, but with our libs and gutless opposition I expect little more than ‘heartfelt’ platitudes.
“Prime Minister Scott Morrison has refused to name the cabinet minister, meaning other innocent men are getting lumped in with the accused.”
I do not think that the other male cabinet ministers are innocent. They could make the perpetrator’s name clear by each making a statement that it was not him.
And lest any minister wants to claim he is acting in solidarity by remaining silent they each need to understand that their collective behaviour could also be described as complicity.
The audacity of Simon Birmingham to criticize over abuse and harrassment of the resigning M.P of Parliament in S.A.
What a low life this guy is when rape, abuse along with treating staff like objects is rampant in his Party.
Maybe this poor excuse for a individual ought to keep quiet and hide in the corner like the dunce he is.
Any kind of abuse, assault or any form of disrespect towards women should not be tolerated.
Zip your lip Birmingham!
I sincerely hope Flint has not had to endure anything close to the current minister’s victims’ experiences. Rather, I hope that any “abuse” she has suffered is because she’s an awful person, worthy of neither sympathy nor indulgence.
In my view, that being awful is a prerequisite for membership of the Liberal Party is not a mitigating factor.
Just more signs of a creeping dictatorship.