In an Australian Parliament House hearing on Wednesday, a government employee who had been the victim of a colleague’s rape spoke about her fears of not being believed because of the difference in their positions in society.
In the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court, Bruce Lehrmann, 27, entered a not guilty plea to a charge of engaging at sexual activity without consent in a minister’s office in March 2019. Brittany Higgins was the first witness to testify against Lehrmann.
If found guilty, he may receive a 12-year prison sentence.
Higgins stated that Lehrmann held a more senior position as a ministerial adviser while she was a 24-year-old staff member in an administrative position in the office of the then-Defense Industry Minister Linda Reynolds.
One Saturday morning, the two returned to Parliament House after spending the previous evening drinking heavily with coworkers.
According to Higgins, Lehrmann raped her after she fell asleep on a couch in Reynolds’ office and thought she was there to collect paperwork.
Higgins said how Lehrmann hovered over her, making noises and made her feel “trapped, not human.” She claimed that as she began crying, she requested him to stop, but he persisted.
The jury heard Lehrmann’s videotaped police interrogation from February 2021 on Wednesday after Higgins chose to charge Lehrmann last year.
She admitted to police that she was afraid she would lose her job when she reported to work on Monday, two days after the alleged rape, because she and Lehrmann’s entry into the minister’s office had been marked as a security breach.
She stated, “I knew what had occurred to me was wrong, and I knew I hadn’t consented.
She admitted to police that she didn’t think anyone would accept her account and that she believed Lehrmann’s statements held more weight than hers due to his more senior position.
“On Monday, he was at work.
He didn’t seem embarrassed or upset, according to Higgins. Just the feeling that he didn’t want to address it.
The moment she alerted her former chief of staff that the encounter was a sexual assault, she claimed, “the gears moved.”
It sort of shifted away from being about me and became more political, she claimed.
Higgins’ claims had not been verified or tested, according to defence attorney Steven Whybrow, and Lehrmann had not engaged in sexual activity with her.
More than 50 potential witnesses have been flagged by prosecutor Shane Drumgold for the trial, which is anticipated to span four to six weeks.
Reynolds and former government ministers Michaelia Cash and Steven Ciobo are among the witnesses.
Higgins has made the decision to identify herself in the media as a sex assault victim.
A complaint of rape at the Australian Parliament House is made.
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