Melbourne: In an explosive claim, a female Australian lawmaker said she had been sexually assaulted in Parliament and that the building was “not a safe place” for women to work in.
Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe made the allegations in course of a tearful address on Thursday, AFP reported.
Lidia, the first Aboriginal senator from Victoria state, claimed that she had been subjected to “sexual comments,” cornered in a stairwell, “inappropriately touched” and “propositioned by “powerful men.”
A day earlier, Lidia accused fellow senator David Van of “sexually assaulting” her, before being forced to withdraw the comment as she was threatened of Parliamentary sanction.
However, today she didn’t hold back and made detailed allegations against the Conservative senator.
Van strongly denied the claims, saying that he was “shattered and battered” by the allegations which were “utterly untrue.”
Lidia said that while the allegations were protected from Australia’s severe defamation laws, Van had engaged lawyers which forced her to restate her case to navigate Parliamentary rules.
“What I experienced was being followed, aggressively propositioned and inappropriately touched. I was afraid to walk out of the office door. I would open the door slightly and check the coast was clear before stepping out,” she told lawmakers.
“It was to the degree that I had to be accompanied by someone whenever I walked inside this building,” she added.
“I know there are others who have experienced similar things and have not come forward in the interests of their careers,” Lidia further claimed.
