World Opinions Débats De Société, Questions, Opinions et Tribunes.. La Voix Des Sans-Voix | Alternative Média
Cascading scandals of alleged rape, sexual misconduct and discrimination inside Australia’s parliament have destabilised the conservative government as accused ministers are sidelined and assault victims, women’s groups and female politicians demand a shakeup of what they describe as an endemic culture of ‘toxic’ masculinity within politics.
It’s almost been a week since the #March4Justice protests and I wanted to acknowledge all the women and men who took time out from their busy lives to advocate for a safer, more equitable Australia. Truly, from the bottom of my heart thank-you.
— Brittany Higgins (@BrittHiggins_) March 21, 2021
📷: @mpbowers & @DomLorrimer pic.twitter.com/zVariIWYdh
Repeated reports of sexual misconduct, abuse and harassment of women by Australia’s political elite have triggered the biggest mass women’s rallies the country has seen. Using the #March4justice hashtag, hundreds of thousands of women gathered all over the country in a second-wave #Metoo moment that galvanised women – from the very young to the elderly – and from all political stripes.
At the march on the capital, the wives of former prime ministers Malcolm Turnbull and Kevin Rudd stood hand in hand in a show of solidarity with Australian women, despite their allegiances to opposing political parties.
Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins said she’d “never seen any moment like this”.
But by Monday, the fury unleashed at the March 15 demonstrations boiled over as Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that two of his ministers caught in the eye of the storm of the Canberra allegations – defence minister Linda Reynolds and attorney general Christian Porter – would lose their high-profile portfolios but remain part of the cabinet.
It’s almost been a week since the #March4Justice protests and I wanted to acknowledge all the women and men who took time out from their busy lives to advocate for a safer, more equitable Australia. Truly, from the bottom of my heart thank-you.
— Brittany Higgins (@BrittHiggins_) March 21, 2021
📷: @mpbowers & @DomLorrimer pic.twitter.com/zVariIWYdh
The PM’s decision not to force the implicated ministers to resign has played into public perceptions of an entitled political class.
Professor Catharine Lumby, a researcher and consultant on workplace cultures at Sydney University, says that like many countries, Australia has huge issues with sexual assault and harassment that have been ignored for decades despite women consistently raising them.
“Unfortunately there is a culture of masculinity in this country that can be toxic,” Lumby says. “There’s what’s called a ‘rape myths acceptance’. What that is about is men placing blame on women for their decision to sexually assault, thinking ‘Well, she deserved it, she was drunk or she was wearing provocative clothing.’ The reality is there’s a deeply entrenched culture of misogyny among our so-called leaders and it’s born out of a culture of entitlement and privilege.”
Lumby’s assessment is reflected in the shocking and widespread allegations of abuse and mistreatment of women that have emerged from the highest political offices in the country.
The allegations detail a range of abuses from the use of the parliament’s chapel for sexual relations, signing sex workers into Parliament House, to a ministerial aide sacked after video footage emerged of him masturbating over the desk of a female minister’s desk and to the story of a woman who committed suicide after reporting to police a historical rape involving then Federal Attorney General Christian Porter. The woman had alleged the assault occurred when she was 16 years old in 1988, when both were still students.
Porter has denied the allegations and launched defamation proceedings against Australia’s public broadcaster ABC, which first aired the claims.
Another MP, Dr Andrew Laming, accused over the weekend of ‘upskirting’ and other inappropriate behaviour towards female staff and constituents, has agreed to undergo empathy training.
But it was the story told by a former young staffer to the government, Brittany Higgins, that first burst the bubble shielding Canberra and the several male ministers and staffers whose transgressive behaviours had been allowed to go unchecked. Higgins went public on February 15 with accusations that a senior colleague had raped her inside a government minister’s office in March 2019.
Higgins, who was 24 years old at the time of the alleged rape, said she did not receive adequate support after she reported the incident and that she was called ‘a lying cow’ by then defence minister Reynolds. The minister was forced to apologise and is to pay damages to Higgins. Since Higgins went public, three other women have come forward to accuse the same man of sexual assault or harassment.
World Opinions Trends – France 24
