{"id":28149,"date":"2024-08-02T07:22:04","date_gmt":"2024-08-02T11:22:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=28149"},"modified":"2024-08-02T07:22:04","modified_gmt":"2024-08-02T11:22:04","slug":"australian-senator-linda-reynolds-sues-alleged-rape-victim-for-defamation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2024\/08\/02\/australian-senator-linda-reynolds-sues-alleged-rape-victim-for-defamation\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian senator Linda Reynolds sues alleged rape victim for defamation"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><b class=\"ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">An Australian senator is suing a former staff member who says she was raped inside Parliament House for defamation, over claims the politician helped cover it up.<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Brittany Higgins made global headlines in 2021 when she alleged she was sexually assaulted by a colleague at work, then pressured by her superiors to keep quiet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">In a high-profile trial beginning Friday, Senator Linda Reynolds is arguing Ms Higgins sullied her reputation with a series of social media posts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">But Ms Higgins is defending the accusations that her former boss tried to &#8220;harass&#8221; and &#8220;silence&#8221; her as true.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The trial is the latest chapter in a case which sparked massive protests, a string of legal battles, and several high-level inquiries over the conduct of the judiciary and culture in parliament.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Bruce Lehrmann has always denied raping Ms Higgins and a criminal verdict on the allegation has never been delivered. However, a judge in a separate defamation suit earlier this year found Mr Lehrmann did rape Ms Higgins, though he ruled accusations of a cover up were &#8220;speculation&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-12l5xzx-LinksComponentWrapper e3eyuya0\" data-component=\"links-block\">\n<section class=\"ssrcss-msolhr-LinksWrapper e3eyuya5\">\n<ul class=\"ssrcss-mh3hvv-InContentLinksGrid e3eyuya3\" role=\"list\">\n<li class=\"ssrcss-r2yl4r-PromoItem e3eyuya1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-nw19pv-Promo e1vyq2e80\" data-testid=\"promo\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1enzf19-PromoCompact e18gnqux0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1d68cot-PromoContent exn3ah99\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1f3bvyz-Stack e1y4nx260\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-15dlehh-PromoHeadline exn3ah96\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-australia-68814811\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span aria-hidden=\"false\">Judge finds Australia parliament rape reports were true<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Speaking as she walked into court on Friday, Ms Reynolds said: &#8220;It\u2019s well and truly time for the truth.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Her lawyer said Ms Higgins and her husband David Sharaz had concocted a &#8220;fictional&#8221; story involving ostracization, harassment and threatening conduct by the senator.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;Every fairy tale needs a villain,&#8221; lawyer Martin Bennett said in his opening address.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The case stems back to an interview on national television in February 2021, though the network that aired it is not being sued.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">In that programme, Ms Higgins said Ms Reynolds &#8211; who was defence minister at the time &#8211; did not offer adequate support after she disclosed the alleged rape in 2019.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The senator says the criticism of her was unfair and backlash over it caused her physical and mental health to suffer greatly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">In the public fallout that followed, Ms Higgins, in Instagram and X posts, accused Ms Reynolds of continuing to &#8220;harass&#8221; and &#8220;silence&#8221; her.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">She also accused Ms Reynolds of &#8220;questionable conduct&#8221; during a criminal trial over the rape allegation in 2022. That trial was aborted as a result of juror misconduct, and a retrial abandoned over concerns for Ms Higgins&#8217; mental health.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">After several failed attempts at mediation, over the next five weeks the Supreme Court of Western Australia will hear from a bevy of high-profile witnesses, including former government ministers and potentially the former prime minister who was in charge at the time, Scott Morrison.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Ms Higgins is also expected to give evidence and be cross-examined about the alleged rape &#8211; for the third time in as many years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">She did not appear in court on Friday, but in a previous statement a spokesperson said she had been forced to sell her home in order to fund her case and &#8220;defend herself again&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;The price of speaking out about sexual assault remains unspeakably high,&#8221; they said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Ms Higgins has tendered evidence that shows Ms Reynolds repeatedly leaked confidential information about her to the press. She also points to an interview in which she says the senator questioned &#8220;the veracity&#8221; of the rape claim, then accused the staffer of stealing her designer jacket.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Ms Reynolds&#8217; legal team, however, has submitted text messages and photos which they say contradict Ms Higgins&#8217; claims of ill-treatment by the senator.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/cv2g2p2w4xwo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\">An Australian senator is suing a former staff member who says she was raped inside Parliament House for defamation, over claims the politician helped cover it up. Brittany Higgins made global headlines in 2021 when <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2024\/08\/02\/australian-senator-linda-reynolds-sues-alleged-rape-victim-for-defamation\/\" title=\"Australian senator Linda Reynolds sues alleged rape victim for defamation\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28150,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[350,109,2,6],"tags":[819,8887,1023,1846,1584,2587,1312,6398],"class_list":{"0":"post-28149","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-australia","8":"category-headline","9":"category-news","10":"category-world","11":"tag-australia","12":"tag-bruce-lehrmann","13":"tag-defamation","14":"tag-rape-allegation","15":"tag-sexual-assault","16":"tag-sexual-harassment","17":"tag-social-media","18":"tag-supreme-court-of-western-australia","19":"pmpro-has-access"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28149"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28151,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28149\/revisions\/28151"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}