‘Enough is enough’: that is the motto of the tens of thousands of protesters who took to the streets in Australia today. Across the country there were major demonstrations against sexual violence against women and gender inequality in politics. The cities of Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, as well as smaller rural towns, were crowded with demonstrators. Organizers call it the “biggest women’s uprising ever” in Australia.
It is estimated that there were about 100,000 demonstrators. They are very concerned about an unsafe working culture for women in parliament. “There are many stories that this is a woman-unfriendly place and that there is little room for women in politics. When things happen, they are often not supported,” says correspondent Meike Wijers.
Recently, two new stories have come out about abuse. “They have rekindled the discussion about sexual harassment and abuse, which has been going on for a long time,” says Wijers. “It is an accumulation of incidents and for the women the measure is full now.”
Rape
The first story is about Christian Porter, the 51-year-old Attorney General who is is accused of rape of a 16-year-old student in 1988. Porter, former Minister of Social Affairs, contradicts the allegations. He’s got ABC News, the broadcaster that got the news out, charged with defamation. The woman who sued Porter took her own life last year.
Then there is the story of Brittany Higgins, a former political adviser to the Liberal Party of Australia. Last month, she announced that she was raped by another staff member in 2019. She had told the minister she worked for, Linda Reynolds, but didn’t feel supported. She also felt she had to fear for her job.
Higgins was at the demonstration in the capital Canberra and addressed the crowd. “We are all here, not because we want to be here, but because we have to be here. The system is fundamentally broken,” she said. She added, “I told my story because otherwise I would be an accomplice. I did it in hopes of protecting other women.”
Watch in the video below how Higgins talked about the difficult time after the rape:
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