Brittany Higgins: What we know and don’t know about the former Liberal Party staffer’s rape allegations

From what Brittany Higgins has claimed to when the Prime Minister found out, these are the key questions surrounding her rape allegations.

Canberra has been rocked by allegations former Liberal Party staffer Brittany Higgins was raped at Parliament House.

This is what we know about Ms Higgins’ case, and some key questions that still need answers:

WHAT HAS HIGGINS ALLEGED?

Ms Higgins alleged she was raped at Parliament House in Defence Minister Linda Reynolds’ ministerial office by a colleague.

The alleged sexual assault occurred in the early hours of March 23, 2019, after a night of drinking with workmates.

Ms Higgins was just 24-years-old at the time of the alleged incident, which happened just weeks before Prime Minister Scott Morrison called the Federal Election on April 10, 2019.

She said her alleged attacker bought “lots of rounds of drinks” at the event, and later offered to drop her home in a taxi because they lived in the same direction.

Former Liberal Party staffer Brittany Higgins, who alleged she was raped at Parliament House. Picture: Supplied

Instead, they went to Parliament House, where Ms Higgins remembered entering the Defence Minister’s office, and lay down on a couch after she began to feel unwell.

She then “woke up mid-rape”.

“I told him to stop. I was crying. He wasn’t even looking at me. It felt like I was sort of a body that was there. It didn’t feel like it was anything about me,” she told news.com.au.

Photos Ms Higgins took of her leg following the alleged incident appeared the show bruising which she said was the result of her allegedly being “crushed”.

WHO IS THE ALLEGED ATTACKER?

Ms Higgins said the man was regarded as a “rising star” in the Liberal Party.

He was dimissed from Senator Reynolds’ office over the “security breach” in that days after the alleged incident.

After she went public with her story last week, sources said the alleged perpetrator checked himself in to Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney, seeking psychiatric care.

In the days since, two more women have come forward and alleged the same man sexually assaulted them.

The second woman said she had met the man during the 2016 federal election campaign and they had stayed in touch.

Ms Higgins was working for Defence Minister Linda Reynold’s office at the time of the alleged rape. Picture: Getty Images

She claims they caught up for dinner in 2020, where the former staffer bought her several drinks.

She said they then went back to her home where she was allegedly raped.

The third woman, a Liberal Party volunteer, also alleges she was assaulted after a night of drinking with the man, who offered to “look after her” at his nearby hotel.

She claimed when she woke up, her blouse buttons were undone and her jeans pushed down and the man “lying on top of her”.

The former staffer has not been charged over any of the alleged incidents.

A fourth woman has also claimed she was the target of inappropriate advances by the same man allegedly involved in the Brittany Higgins scandal.

The woman made a report at a police station on Sunday according to Four Corners.

She alleges the man stroked her thigh under the table at Canberra’s popular Public Bar in 2017.

HOW HAS THE GOVERNMENT HANDLED THE ALLEGED INCIDENT?

Not very well, according to Ms Higgins.

She said a meeting to discuss the incident was held in the same room where she was allegedly raped.

Ms Higgins claimed Senator Reynolds never brought up the alleged rape again following their meeting, which felt like “they were ticking a box”.

“That they had to have this conversation with me in order to say on the record ‘We told her she could go to the police’,” Ms Higgins said.

While she did speak to the police including the AFP Unit at Parliament House, she decided not pursue a complaint at the time.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said both his office and himself personally were not made aware of the alleged sexual assault until recently. Picture: Getty Images

Ms Higgins last week accused Scott Morrison of “victim-blaming rhetoric” and said she had only been made aware of key details of the incident after going public with her story.

“I have only been made aware of key elements of my own sexual assault as a result of coming forward publicly with my story,” Ms Higgins said in a statement.

“I didn’t know that security guards let me into Minister Reynolds suite. I didn’t know that a security guards [sic] came into the office multiple times seeing me in a state of undress. I didn’t know they were undertaking an internal review into how the matter was handled at the time. I didn’t know that they debated calling an ambulance at the time of the incident.

“The continued victim-blaming rhetoric by the Prime Minister is personally very distressing to me and countless other survivors.

“A current senior staffer to the Prime Minister and my former Chief-of-Staff refused to provide me with access to the CCTV footage from that evening and continually made me feel as if my ongoing employment would be jeopardised if I proceeded any further with the matter.

“The Government has questions to answer for their own conduct.”

WHEN DID THE PRIME MINISTER FIND OUT?

Mr Morrison claims his office was unaware of the alleged rape until February 12 this year, and that he only learned of it personally when news.com.au first reported Ms Higgins’ story.

However, doubt has been cast on this timeline.

Fiona Brown, Senator Reynold’s then chief-of-staff who primarily handled Ms Higgins’ case at the time, has worked in Mr Morrison’s office following the 2019 federal election.

Ms Higgins also claims that Yaron Finklestein, a top adviser to Mr Morrison, had “checked-in” with her at the time an ABC Four Corners investigation into the culture at Parliament House aired in 2020.

Mr Morrison said the workplace cutlure at Parliament House would be investigated. Picture: Supplied

Text messages also emerged last week that showed a colleague of Ms Higgins’ had messaged her on the morning of April 3, 2019, within a fortnight of when the alleged rape occurred.

The fellow Liberal staffer said they had spoken directly with a member of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s office.

“Spoke to PMO. He was mortified to hear about it and how things have been handled,” the text message, obtained by The Australian, said.

“He’s going to discuss with COS — no one else. I flagged need for councillor (sic) and desire to be closer to home during election.”

During question time last week, Mr Morrison said the first time his office was told of the alleged rape was on April 5, just two days after Ms Higgins’ text message exchange. However, Mr Morrison then said his “misread” the date, and corrected himself saying his office was not made aware of the allegations until February 12, 2021.

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said last week that it was “incredible” Mr Morrison did not have prior knowledge of the alleged assault, and “inconceivable” that senior staff in his office were unaware until recently.

And ex-prime minister Tony Abbot’s former chief of staff, Peta Credlin, said there was “no way” a minister “would not have advised the prime minister’s office”.

WHAT ACTION IS BEING TAKEN?

Mr Morrison announced last week that the workplace culture at Parliament House would be probed, which Ms Higgins said was a “welcomed first-step” but “long overdue”.

He has also asked Philip Gaetjens, the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, will review his office’s records on the alleged rape.

“If there was anything different here, I would like to know,” Mr Morrison said last week.

“I want to know and that is why I have asked the secretary of my department to actually test that advice that I received.”

Ms Higgins is also set to meet with the Australian Federal Police this week to make a formal statement about the events surround her alleged attack.

She said last week the AFP has assured her that they would “handle this matter thoroughly and transparently”.

“I would also ask that they handle it in a timely manner as to date, I have waited a long time for justice,” Ms Higgins said in a statement.

“Secondly, given my experience, I am determined to drive significant reform in the way the Australian Parliament handles issues of this nature and treats ministerial and parliamentary staff more generally.”