QandA: Consent and Facebook dominate discussion

A QandA panel of women focused on the allegations surrounding Linda Reynolds and Christian Porter.

The QandA on Thursday night.

Ahead of International Women’s Day, QandA offered a panel of women on Thursday: Labor MP Anne Aly, Microsoft principal researcher Kate Crawford, LNP Senator Susan McDonald, News.com.au political editor Samantha Maiden, former LNP staffer Dhanya Mani and author Isabel Allende.

Discussion began over Defence Minister Linda Reynolds calling Brittany Higgins a “lying cow”.

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Senator McDonald was quick to defend Senator Reynolds, describing her behaviour as “robust” and telling the crowd she has also said things she has regretted.

“I think what her behaviour demonstrates is she is very human,” she said.

“Parliament and the performance of the Senate is incredibly tough and she’s a very kind and decent person who was caught saying something that she has said later that she regretted.”

Other panel members disagreed. Maiden said while she noted Senator Reynold claimed the comments were not in relation to allegations, she should take responsibility for them.

“I will tell you who had a bad week in the office — it was the staffer who got raped. Not Linda Reynolds,” she said.

“She should answer to Brittany Higgins for those remarks. And she hasn’t.”

Ms Mani, who has worked in parliament, said senior politicians needed to look in internally and ask themselves whether they are part of the problem.

“A lying cow? Really? That’s meant to be language that we’re meant to look on as a woman’s kindness and compassion?” she asked.

She added: “I think for there to be an environment that exists in which an extremely senior woman in politics felt that she would be able to say that somebody who is extremely traumatised and has come forward with rape allegations is a lying cow is a reflection of just how broken our Parliaments are, of just how misogynistic our parliaments can be, and of the gas lighting and abuse that parliamentarians are prepared to put at the feet of survivors,” she said.

“It’s one thing to say in her statement, ‘Well, I didn’t call hear a liar about the allegations.’ You are trying to smear her about everything else.

“What does that say about the respect that women in the most senior officers in this country have for women who are coming forward about these things?”

Next, the panel discussed the allegations against Attorney-General Christian Porter.

“I am infuriated by this because I’m sick and tired of the lip service that we hear in parliament about hearing victims’ voice, about listening to women, about respect for women, and right now is a moment,” said Dr Aly.

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“Right now is a moment for the Prime Minister to show leadership here and action. Not just words.”

“And what did he do? He came out and he said, ‘Well, I have asked him if he did it and he said no, and that’s enough for me’.”

Senator McDonald backed Mr Porter’s comment that he was not given the allegations prior to reading them in the newspaper.

Asked what can be done for survivors of sexual abuse beyond telling them to go to the police, the panel agreed the current process is subpar.

“Well, this is actually one of the most complicated and deeply personal issues that we have to contend with,” said Ms Crawford.

“I think we have to come up with much more — frankly — accountable processes in terms of how men are actually going to be treated in these sorts of situations, and how women can

actually support each other,” she continued.

“But what you’re raising is one of the hardest questions. There, sadly, is no easy straightforward answer to it.”

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Ms Mani, a friend of the complainant who accused Mr Porter of rape, is also a survivor of alleged assault in politics.

“This society absolutely tolerates and enables sexual crime being committed against women and we see the literal casualties that come from the failures of that system,” she said.

Speaking of the complainant in Mr Porter’s case, she said, “the reason she isn’t here is because every part of this system is stacked against survivors, from the police, through to the legal system and through to the conversations that we have in society and how our politicians speak about it.”

Ms Mani said when she spoke with a senior staff member in the Prime Minister’s Office about her alleged assault, she received “denial”.

“What system is really justly there for survivors?” she asked.

“I think the first thing we need to do is realise that there is no just place, whether it’s the most senior areas of our political sphere or whether it’s the police, or anywhere else.”

“We just don’t have anything for survivors and we need to start from scratch and build something,” she continued.

“We don’t need an inquiry. We just need for politicians to finally commit to enabling a suite of reforms a — suite of reforms across the justice, health care system and beyond.”

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