New Delhi: We hear of sexual assault against women in India almost every day, and wonder when these will stop.
But such detestable crimes against women take place in countries like Australia, too.
Even a Member of Parliament (MP) is not safe!
Brittany Lauga, assistant minister for health, claimed that she was drugged and sexually assaulted during a night out recently.
She took to Instagram to share about her ordeal in her constituency Yeppoon.
“This could have happened to anyone and tragically, it does happen to many of us,” she said.
The 37-year-old Queensland MP went to the police and then to the hospital on April 28, the Telegraph reported.
“Tests at the hospital confirmed the presence of drugs in my body which I did not take,” she said in a statement posted on Instagram.
Brittany said that the drug impacted her significantly. Some other women also contacted her who “may have been drugged.”
Brittany made her stand clear.
“It’s not OK. We should be able to enjoy socialising in our town without the risk of being drugged or assaulted,” she stated.
Queensland Police Service has launched an investigation following the sexual assault complaint. Police have not received any other report in the same area, but are requesting anyone with information to contact them.
Queensland Housing minister Meaghan Scanlon said the allegations were “shocking” and “horrifying”.
“Brittany is a colleague, a friend, a young woman in the Queensland parliament and these are really shocking things to read. It is unacceptable that women are disproportionately the victims of domestic, family and sexual violence. Our government is going to continue to do everything we can to protect women and stop violence from occurring,” Scanlon was quoted as saying by local media.
Australia has seen a series of high-profile gender-based violence in recent weeks.
