“Rape is a crime steeped in power & control, so it’s not at all surprising to hear that young women are reporting experiences of sexual violence taking place in locations where male privilege & power is encoded in the very walls.” me in @nytimes today https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/15/world/australia/raped-parliament-house.html?smid=tw-share

Would-be offenders do not select locations based on privacy alone. They deliberately seek out locations where their sense of domination, entitlement & control is encoded within the space. It's extremely telling that this happened in the Defence Minister's own office. #LetHerSpeak

Telling Brittany Higgins to simply 'report to police' not only misunderstands the nature of trauma (including the shock, denial, self-blame, intense fear, confusion and shame) which many survivors experience... it also misunderstands police power & what police can & cannot do. /1

Ignoring the incredibly low conviction rates in sexual offences & the fact police cannot guarantee justice... EVEN WHEN police can lay charges, they cannot:
-address the systemic factors within a culture, workplace or political party which enabled the violence
(cont)

-address the root causes of sexual violence or intervene beyond the level of the atomized individual offender
-change culture
-hold leadership accountable
-overhaul policies

Nor can they:
-guarantee your safety
-protect your privacy (from gossip)
-guarantee your friendships

They also can't guarantee:
-your job
-your sense of self
-OR the fact that your story will lead to any kind of systemic outcome or reform.

BASICALLY they MAY or MAY NOT intervene at the level of one individual. MAYBE.

So stop telling survivors to merely 'go to police', as though police offer a panacea for healing, justice and reform.

Stop assuming survivors just want to see 1 person locked up, when what many survivors really want is systemic reform FROM THE TOP DOWN.

As creator of the #LetHerSpeak campaign I ask @ScottMorrisonMP this:

You would stand with Grace Tame on the national stage. Now will you stand with Brittany Higgins?

I & the campaign stand shoulder-2-shoulder with Brittany.

Where do you stand?
#IStandWithBrittanyHiggins