“I was raped inside Parliament House by a colleague,and for so long it felt like the people around me only cared because of what happened and what it might mean for them,” she told the crowd of more than 5000.
“These are the people making our laws and governing the country.
“If they aren’t committed to addressing these issues in their own offices,what confidence can the women of Australia have that they will be proactive in addressing this issue in the broader community?”
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She said there was a “confronting sense of banality” and horrible acceptance of sexual violence against women in Australia that had to change.
“We are here because it is unfathomable that we are still having to fight this same stale,tired fight,” she said.
Ms Higgins sparked a national conversation about sexual harassment and abuse when she went public a month ago with her allegations a colleague raped her in March 2019 in the office of their then-boss Senator Linda Reynolds. She said on Monday she felt at the time she wasn’t treated as a person who had experienced a life-changing traumatic event but a political problem.