Tanya Plibersek has urged survivors of assault to reach out for help after her daughter revealed her own story of sexual and domestic violence.
In an extract from Margaret Simons’ book Tanya Plibersek: On Her Own Terms, published in the Good Weekend magazine on Saturday, the former Labor deputy leader revealed part of the reason she did not run for leader of the party in 2019 was because her daughter was involved in legal action related to the abuse at the time, and would be appearing as a witness in court.
“And the thought of not being able to be there for her through that was just too much,” Plibersek, now the environment minister, is quoted as saying.
Posting to Twitter on Saturday morning, Plibersek said she and her husband, Michael Coutts-Trotter, were “devastated” when they found out what happened to their daughter and urged other survivors to seek help.
“She has chosen to share her story because it might help someone else. I’m so proud of her,” Plibersek wrote.
“Anna is sharing her story today because since then she and some friends have set up a peer support volunteer-run organisation called The Survivor Hub, to try and help other people who are going through what they experienced.”
Statistics reveal this type of violence is far too common in Australia, with one in five women experiencing sexual violence since the age of 15, she said.
“Those statistics are just devastating. This is an opportunity for people to reach out and get help from The Survivor Hub of course and 1800RESPECT. There is help out there.
“We hope this story makes someone else’s journey a little easier.”
After Labor’s 2019 election loss, Plibersek pulled out of the leadership contest, citing family responsibilities.
In the book extract, she said the looming court case was a key reason for her withdrawal.
“I couldn’t imagine saying, ‘Sorry, I can’t be with you today. I’ve got to fly somewhere for a conference’,” she said.
Asked whether she could have clinched the leadership from Anthony Albanese at the time, Plibersek said “we’ll never know” but that she was confident “that if I had run, I would have won”.
At a press conference in Melbourne on Saturday, Albanese did not respond directly to that assertion when asked, except to say: “Tanya Plibersek is doing a great job as the environment minister. She has been a friend of mine for a very long time.
“I was elected unopposed after the 2019 election; I won in 2022 and I’m very proud of the amazing team that I have.”
Plibersek said despite knowing abuse could happen to anyone, it “doesn’t alleviate the guilt of not protecting” her daughter.
In the book extract, Anna spoke about trying to help other survivors of sexual assault through her not-for-profit.
“This is what I do with what happened to me. I try to use it,” she told Simons.
• In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org
