Brittany Higgins says she has been forced to sell her new home in France to defend a defamation action brought by Liberal senator Linda Reynolds which has already cost her more than $1m in legal fees.
The former defence minister is suing Higgins in the Western Australian supreme court for damages over a series of social media posts she says damaged her reputation.
Despite an apology from Higgins earlier this year, mediation has failed and Reynolds, Higgins’ former boss, is taking the case to trial.
Earlier this year Higgins’ former colleague Bruce Lehrmann lost a defamation case he brought against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson, with Justice Michael Lee finding that, on the balance of probabilities, Lehrmann had raped Higgins on the minister’s couch in Parliament House in 2019.
“This will be Brittany’s third court case and one of numerous legal processes surrounding her rape at Parliament House,” a spokesperson for Higgins told Guardian Australia.
“The legal costs have already amounted to well over $1m and will continue to grow with the defamation action brought about by Senator Reynolds.”
Reynolds says she wants to defend her reputation from the allegation she had “failed to support Ms Higgins” after the alleged rape and had instead “subjected her to a dreadful and damaging political cover-up”.
Higgins, who married her partner, David Sharaz, last month, and announced her pregnancy last week, moved to France to start a new life after she was subjected to severe media scrutiny and online bullying.
“Brittany relocated overseas to heal and escape the online attacks she received, particularly in the wake of the Channel 7 Spotlight program that elevated her rapist,” the spokesperson said.
“Brittany is now forced to sell her home in order to defend herself again.
“The price of speaking out about sexual assault remains unspeakably high.”
In December 2022, Higgins signed a deed of settlement with the commonwealth of Australia, seeking compensation in light of the alleged rape.
The settlement was originally confidential, but was made public as part of the defamation case.
The documents show that Higgins received $2.445m, more than half of which was in respect of her loss of earning capacity, as well as legal costs, medical expenses, domestic assistance and “$400,000 for hurt, distress and humiliation suffered by Ms Higgins”.
After Lee’s judgement was handed down Higgins said she was “devastated a rapist was given a nationwide platform to maintain his lies about what happened” and she hoped people who contributed to the Channel Seven program “will reflect on their decision”.
In 2022 ACT prosecutors dropped charges against Lehrmann for the alleged rape of Higgins, saying a retrial would pose an “unacceptable risk” to her health.
Lehrmann has maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty to one charge of sexual intercourse without consent, denying that any sexual activity had occurred.
