Brittany Higgins ‘sorry for hurt’ to Liberal senator Linda Reynolds over Lehrmann rape

Responding to the Bruce Lehrmann defamation judgment, Brittany Higgins says she’s sorry for ‘hurt’ to Liberal senator Linda Reynolds over the handling of Ms Higgins’ rape complaint.

Brittany Higgins arrives to meet face to face with former defence minister Linda Reynolds as part of a court-ordered mediation. Ms Reynolds is suing for defamation. Picture: Colin Murty

Brittany Higgins says she is sorry for “hurt” caused to Liberal senator Linda Reynolds and former chief of staff Fiona Brown in the aftermath of her rape allegations against Bruce Lehrmann, citing “different perceptions”, and regrets having “not yet found common ground” with the two women about the events and since refuted “cover-up” claims.

In her first comments since judge Michael Lee on Monday found, on the balance of probabilities, Mr Lehrmann raped her in Senator Reynolds’ office, Ms Higgins criticised the “toxic culture” of Parliament House which had been “ignored for too long”.

She also thanked Justice Lee for a “trauma-informed” judgment, which she said would hopefully “set a new precedent for how courts consider the testimonies of victim survivors of sexual assault.”

Justice Michael Lee of the Federal Court.

Network 10 and presenter Lisa Wilkinson on Monday won their defamation case against Mr Lehrmann, who had sued over an interview on The Project in which Ms Higgins detailed her assault but did not name him as her attacker.

Ms Higgins said she felt “compelled” to tell her story after she was raped by Mr Lehrmann in March 2019.

“I lived with the shame, humiliation, and fear of what telling my story would mean for my life and career, like so many other victim survivors,” she said in a statement posted to Instagram.

“I was scared I wouldn’t be believed or supported. The toxic culture in Parliament House was not something I just imagined.

“For decades, women working in Parliament House have not been heard. There was no safe space for them to speak up or raise serious complaints. I felt compelled to tell my story.”

Ms Higgins made reference to “thousands” of workers who came forward to tell stories of harassment and discrimination in the landmark Jenkins Review into workplace culture of Parliament House.

“Their stories, like mine, have shone a light on the conditions that have fed such a toxic culture and been wilfully ignored for too long,” she said.

“My health, memory and relationships have been impacted by my rape.”

Ms Higgins said she was “devastated” when Mr Lehrmann was “given a nationwide platform to maintain his lies about what happened’’.

Mr Lehrmann last year gave two interviews to Seven’s Spotlight program, in which he maintained his claims that he and Ms Higgins never had sex.

The Spotlight interviews were drawn into Lehrmann’s defamation matter in the final days of the case, with former producer Taylor Auerbach giving new evidence that Mr Lehrmann gave the confidential documents he had obtained as part of his criminal trial to the program.

“I trust that those who contributed in any way to the program will reflect on their decision,” Ms Higgins said.

As part of his judgment, Justice Lee found there was no political conspiracy to cover-up Ms Higgins’ assault, despite claims made in The Project interview.

Ms Higgins said she was “sorry” for hurt caused to Senator Reynolds and Ms Brown, who were said to be at the centre of the reported cover-up.

Former minister Linda Reynolds arrives at David Malcolm Justice Centre in Perth to meet face to face with Brittany Higgins and her partner David Sharaz as part of a court-ordered mediation. Reynolds is suing the couple for defamation. Picture: Colin Murty

“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 said.

“All the various people who have been unwittingly wrapped up in years’ worth of media discourse and legal battles in relation to my rape.

“I want to particularly point out my family, who have been such an incredible support. They’ve been so strong, faced a seemingly unrelenting barrage of hate and have consistently held me together at times when I thought I would fall apart.

“Senator Reynolds and Fiona Brown have also been hurt and for that I am also sorry. My perceptions and feelings about what happened in the days and weeks after my rape are different from theirs.

“I deeply regret we have not yet found common ground. I hope we can resolve our differences with a better understanding of each other’s experience.”

Ms Higgins said she would now take time to heal.

“I was 24 when I was raped in Parliament House,” she said.

“It has been five years of criminal and civil trials and government inquiries for the truth to finally be heard. It is now time to heal.”