2021 Australian Parliament House sexual misconduct allegations
 | It has been suggested that Parliament House rape allegations be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since March 2021. |
The Australian Parliament rape scandals refers to the events following allegations made public on 15 February 2021, of a rape of a ministerial staff member that occurred in Parliament House in March 2019, and the subsequent claims of historical rape allegations by senior government members, and of a parliamentary workplace culture described as "sexist and misogynistic".[1]
Following the initial publicity, at least three other women reported having been sexually assaulted by the same man both before and after the event that was initially reported.[2]
Around 26 February 2021 a letter was sent to the Prime Minister and several other members of parliament by the friends of a woman who died in 2020. She had provided her lawyer with a detailed statement alleging that she had been raped in Sydney in 1988 by a man who had subsequently been elected to parliament and was a member of Cabinet at the time of her death. The letter was forwarded to the New South Wales Police, South Australia Police and Australian Federal Police.[3] Christian Porter revealed on 3 March 2021 that he was the member of parliament described in the statement, but denied the accusation.[4]
References
- ^ Osborne, Paul (18 February 2021). "Timeline of Higgins incident and response". northweststar. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
- ^ Maiden, Samantha (22 February 2021). "Fourth woman makes claim about former Liberal staffer". News.com.au. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
- ^ Australian Associated Press (26 February 2021). "Letter to PM reveals new rape allegation against cabinet minister". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
- ^ Worthington, Brett (3 March 2021). "Christian Porter identifies himself as the unnamed Cabinet minister and strenuously denies historical rape allegation". ABC news. Retrieved 3 March 2021.