A teenager who was allegedly assaulted and subjected to offensive behaviour by the former vice-chancellor of the University of New England at an International Women’s Day event last year has told a court that the incident left her feeling “ degraded and belittled”.
Prof Brigid Heywood, 65, a British-Australian biological scientist, is alleged to have wiped her saliva on a teenager’s face and commented on her skin colour at a council-run International Women’s Day event in March 2022. She was a panellist at the event.
Heywood pleaded not guilty in September to charges of common assault and offensive behaviour near a public place or school. She has strenuously denied there was any truth to the allegations and said she will defend them.
Five witnesses, including the complainant, who was 15-years-old at the time of the alleged incident, are expected to give evidence at a hearing which began at the Armidale local court on Tuesday.
The complainant, who appeared via video link, told the court that she had attended the event.
She said she approached one of the event speakers, UNE graduate Dr Brooke Kennedy, an Indigenous woman from the New England region, who the complainant says had been talking with Heywood and a few other guests.
“During the event, she [Kennedy] mentioned some things about racism that she experienced in Armidale, and being one of the only people of colour in the room I wanted to thank her,” the complainant said.
“I approached and I started to talk to her, as a brown person myself … then I was interrupted by the defendant.
“She said, ‘oh really, I didn’t notice you were brown’, and then she licked her finger and wiped my face twice.”
When asked by the police prosecutor to describe the alleged action, the complainant said the defendant was “ … basically trying to rub something off”.
She told the court the alleged incident left her in a state of shock.
“I felt degraded and belittled.”
Heywood’s lawyer, Jack Pappas, then cross-examined the complainant, focusing on the sequence of events involving the complainant and the defendant, and others who attended the event. The court heard that attenders had been milling around after a series of speeches while group photographs were taken and food was served.
The court was also shown a photograph in which Heywood and the complainant stood next to each other and posed for the camera at some point during the afternoon.
Earlier, Pappas asked Detective Keith Aiken, who was assigned the case in May 2022, about a letter sent to police by Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall, which allegedly called for “urgent action” in the investigation.
The hearing continues.
• This article was amended on 5 July 2023. An earlier version incorrectly said the alleged incident took place in May, rather than March.
