Reports of the Australian #MeToo movement’s demise, or the suggestion that it has somehow been mortally wounded by recent events following the trial of Bruce Lehrmann, are misguided. The entirely predictable backlash we are currently experiencing – a backlash driven by actors intent on preserving a culture that has always punished complainants – can’t take away from the movement’s many gains.
And, I firmly believe, there will be more to come.
Brittany Higgins alleged Lehrmann, a former colleague, raped her in Parliament House in 2019. Lehrmann, who pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual intercourse without consent, has always denied the allegation and no findings have been made against him. He was tried by the ACT supreme court in October last year, but a mistrial was declared due to juror misconduct.
Last week, the final report of the so-called Sofronoff inquiry into the handling of the case – which was supposed to restore faith in the criminal justice system that was badly eroded after allegations and counter-allegations between police and prosecutors – was leaked to journalists at the Australian and the ABC. The Australian was provided with a copy of the final report before it was first handed to the ACT’s chief minister, Andrew Barr, by the inquiry’s head, Walter Sofronoff, as he was obliged to do.
The whole thing has been, to be brief, a schemozzle.
There are some who want to use the ongoing fallout from the Lehrmann case to argue that the MeToo movement has been wounded. That would be a mistake for two reasons.
One is that the Sofronoff inquiry has shone a light on the longstanding failure of the criminal justice system to deliver anything resembling “justice” to complainants. It is representative of the way the system retraumatises; representative of the way rape myths reign supreme, clouding the judgement of the police who investigate these cases and decide which have “merit”; and representative of the extent to which rape myths pervade media reporting when a case is deemed “high profile”.
What’s more, the events following the case are representative of the shameful way complainants have consistently been thrown under the bus as the #MeToo movement in Australia unfolded. As Jess Hill wrote in her Quarterly Essay, The Reckoning, “Unlike #MeToo stories in the United States, which were often characterised by careful reporting, many of Australia’s most high-profile #MeToo stories represented yet another violation of the woman’s consent”.
One could understand why Higgins might have been nervous about coming forward and, perhaps, feared a similar fate as other complainants. On that matter, I have just three words: leaked text messages. It is truly ironic that after the events of the last few weeks there are now fresh concerns these recent events could have a “chilling effect” on potential rape complaints.
It’s all very typical and instructive of the longstanding issues in Australia that need to be addressed. There’s no separating the two.
That said, here’s my second reason I think it would be a mistake (and disingenuous) to disentangle Higgins’ allegations from the #MeToo movement: when we pull back the lens and look at the charred landscape in full, the progress and continued march forward is remarkable.
It is ironic that the deserved controversy surrounding the Sofronoff inquiry reached a fevered pitch last week while at the same time the Albanese government was introducing the first set of legislations recommended by former sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins in her landmark report into sexual harassment and assault into parliamentary workplaces. The new legislation will create the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service (PWSS), which will provide an independent HR support function to parliament so staff will be able to come forward and report bad behaviour in a safe and confidential way.
None of this would have happened if Higgins hadn’t come forward. Nor would we have seen the full implementation of the 55 recommendations from Jenkins’ other, broader landmark inquiry into sexual harassment, Respect@Work, which was delivered to the former Coalition government in early 2020. The report languished in then attorney general Christian Porter’s drawer for more than a year until the explosive Higgins allegations – and the firestorm they created, including historic Women’s Marches – forced a Morrison government on the back foot with female voters to act.
The implementation of all the recommendations from both those reports – Respect@Work and Set the Standard – will be transformative … and enduring. And try as some might to undo that progress, they have already failed.
I hope Brittany – and all the other women watching and wondering if anything they do will make a difference – knows that. This undeniable momentum is precisely why those on the wrong side of history, those agents of backlash, are working themselves into a lather. That’s always the case.
• Kristine Ziwica is a regular contributor. She tweets @KZiwica
• In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. If you or someone you know is affected by sexual assault, family or domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000. International helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org
