Two distinguished advocates for sexual abuse survivors have lashed out at Australia’s prime minister calling his statements ‘weasel words’ and a reaction that ‘didn’t measure up’ in the face of pervasive abuse.
Brittany Higgins, a former government aide whose claim that she was molested by a colleague in parliament prompted nationwide outrage, said, ‘too little has changed’ since she surfaced publicly a year ago.
Higgins was regretful and caustic about the conduct of a conservative administration she had served, in a nationally viewed address.
Higgins asserted that Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s reaction, which summoned his daughters and wife, had been ‘shocking and at times, admittedly, a bit offensive’.
‘I didn’t want his sympathy as a father. I wanted him to use his power as prime minister,’ she said.
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‘But his words wouldn’t matter if his actions had measured up.’
According to Higgins, the public discourse about stopping abuse, harassment, and violence has stalled.’trading off offensive, tone-deaf statements for a convoluted mix of appeasing weasel-words’.
Grace Tame, the 2021 ‘Australian of the Year,’ spoke beside Higgins and took a swipe at the prime minister’s leadership over the past year.
‘It rots from the top,’ Tame said.
‘Unless our leaders take full responsibility for their failings, abuse culture will continue to thrive inside parliament, setting a corrupt standard for the rest of the nation.’
Africa Today News, New York reports that in Australia, the predicament of these women provoked national debate and introspection, as well as various government investigations.
One of them, the 450-page Jenkins Review, discovered that one out of every three employees working in parliament and other federal government offices has been sexually harassed.
Morrison was unable to attend Higgins and Tame’s speech because of prior commitments, although other members of his government were present, including Ruston.
Morrison was asked about the advancement his administration has made on the subject of women’s safety in parliament later Wednesday.
Among other things, he mentioned a forthcoming 10-year strategy for women’s protection.
Higgins said the plan’s ‘aims are so lofty and vague that it’s impossible to disagree with and equally difficult to examine’.
Tame has advocated for enhanced financing for school-based consent education. She recounted that the government would invest between 2020 and 2022.
Both women said they have no intention of contesting for political offices in the future.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK