After a Federal Court judge found on the balance of probability that Brittany Higgins was raped by Bruce Lehrmann, Higgins said it was “time to heal.”
On Saturday afternoon, Ms. Higgins used social media to voice her opinions about Justice Michael Lee’s decision in Mr. Lehrmann’s defamation lawsuit against Lisa Wilkinson and Network Ten.
On Monday, five years after Ms. Higgins, a Liberal staffer at the time, was sexually assaulted inside Parliament House, Justice Lee announced his conclusions.
“I experienced sexual assault. This reality would never be altered by judgment, Ms. Higgins declared.
Like so many other victim survivors, I struggled with the humiliation, shame, and dread of what publicizing my experience would entail for my job and life.
“I was afraid no one would believe me or stand by me. It wasn’t my imagination that Parliament House had a poisonous culture.
“Women employed by Parliament House have not received equal treatment for decades. I had to share my experience.”
Ms. Higgins continued, saying that her “rape has affected my health, memory, and relationships” and that she was “devastated that a rapist was given a nationwide platform to maintain his lies about what happened.”
“For his trauma informed approach, recognising that reactions to assault can vary wildly,” she continued, thanking Justice Lee.
“In doing so, I hope he has set a new precedent for how courts consider the testimonies of victim survivors of sexual assault,” said Ms Higgins.
Ms. Higgins, however, stated that she disagreed with every decision made by Justice Lee in this particular case.
“While I do not agree with all of Justice Lee’s findings, I do respect his observations about the many people scarred and damaged in the aftermath of my rape,” she stated.
“All the various people who have been unwittingly wrapped up in years’ worth of media discourse and legal battles in relation to my rape.”
Thanking her family for their “incredible support,” Ms. Higgins said they had endured “a seemingly unrelenting barrage of hate” while remaining “so strong.”
She added that Senator Linda Reynolds and Fiona Brown “have also been hurt” and expressed her “sorrow” for them.
“My perceptions and feelings about what happened in the days and weeks after my rape are different from theirs,” said Ms Higgins.
“I hope we can resolve our differences with a better understanding of each other’s experience.”
“I was 24 when I was raped in Parliament House,” Ms. Higgins said in closing.
“The truth has finally been heard after five years of government inquiries, criminal prosecutions, and civil cases. The moment to heal is now.”
Judge Lee concluded that there is “more likely than not” evidence that Mr. Lehrmann sexually assaulted Ms. Higgins in 2019 on a couch in parliament by willfully ignoring her incapacity to give consent.
