CANBERRA (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of women gathered outside Australia's parliament and towns and cities across the country on Monday to take part in rallies calling for gender equality and justice for victims of sexual assault.
The March 4 Justice rallies were spurred by a recent wave of allegations of sexual assault, discrimination and misconduct in some of Australia's highest political offices.
Women wore black to signal "strength and mourning", carried banners with slogans including "Shatter the silence. Stop the violence" and joined "We will not be silenced" chants.
Protestors in Melbourne carried a metres-long white banner bearing the names of all the women killed in Australia from gendered violence since 2008, while those outside Parliament House in Canberra prepared to deliver two petitions demanding change.
A delegation of organisers rejected an invitation to meet with Prime Minister Scott Morrison in private, while leaders of the major opposition political parties came out to join the crowds.
"We've come to his front garden," Janine Hendry, one of the organisers, told Reuters outside Parliament House. "We are 200 metres from his office and it's not appropriate for us to meet behind closed doors especially when we are talking about sexual assault which does happen behind closed doors."
A spokesman for Morrison said there was a standing offer for a private meeting and declined to comment further.
Recently reported scandals include rape allegations against Attorney-General Christian Porter, who has strongly denied the alleged 1988 assault, saying it simply did not happen.
Porter lodged defamation proceedings in Australia's Federal Court on Monday against the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) over a news article on the alleged rape, his lawyer said. The ABC did not immediately respond to the legal action.
A senior political adviser for Morrison's Liberal Party has also been accused by several women of rape or sexual assault. The man has not been named, nor commented publicly on the allegations.
The public anger over the government's handling of alleged incidents of sexual assault mirrors the sentiment on display in London over the weekend, where protests were held following the killing of 33-year-old Sarah Everard, who disappeared while walking home at night-time.
In Australia, women gathered not only in major cities, but also in smaller centres like the seaside town of Torquay, where protesters lined up on the beach to form the word "justice".
Black-clad women rally in Australia to demand gender violence justice
Deirdre Heitmeyer, aged 68, said she drove for more six hours to attend the protest outside Parliament House.
"I can’t believe we have to still do this. We were out in the 1970s calling for equality and we are still here," she told Reuters.
The allegations involving people in Morrison's government and political party are expected to dominate parliamentary proceedings over the next two weeks.
Both Porter and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds - who has been criticised for failing to report an alleged rape of one of her former staff members by another - are both on sick leave.
Reynolds on Friday apologised "unreservedly" and reached a financial settlement with her former staff Brittany Higgins over the latter's allegation of rape by the unnamed former Liberal Party employee in Parliament House. Reynolds had called Higgins a "lying cow" in front of staff, a comment she said referenced comments by Higgins related to her treatment after the alleged assault, not the assault itself.
"Together, we can bring about real, meaningful reform to the workplace culture inside Parliament House and, hopefully, every workplace, to ensure the next generation of women can benefit from a safer and more equitable Australia," Higgins told women at the Canberra gathering.
(Reporting by Colin Packham and Jill Gralow, writing by Jonathan Barrett; editing by Jane Wardell)
The #March4Justice rallies were held in more than 40 Australian cities and towns, with a major demonstration in Canberra following allegations of sexual assault in the nation's parliament.
Dressed mostly in black, the crowd gathered outside Parliament House holding aloft placards with slogans including "You're Not Listening", "How Many Victims Do You Know?" and "I Believe Her".
Protester Kathryn Jamieson, who travelled from Melbourne to take part, said she was "fuming with rage".
"I wanted to be at the heart of the matter, I've completely had enough," she told AFP. "We need immediate change -- I'm sick of women not being believed."
Former government staffer Brittany Higgins alleged publicly last month that she had been raped by a colleague in a minister's office in 2019.
And earlier this month, Attorney-General Christian Porter vigorously denied swirling accusations he had raped a 16-year-old girl in 1988 when they were both students.
The controversy has placed growing pressure on Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who critics say has fumbled the government's response to the scandals.
The latest gaffe came Monday when he told parliament: "Not far from here such marches, even now, are being met with bullets, but not here in this country" -- drawing furious interjections from opposition politicians and stunned reactions online
"The prime minister thinks women should be grateful that we weren't shot for rallying for our own safety," Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young tweeted.
Public anger at Morrison's government was reflected in a new opinion poll Monday showing voter support has fallen to levels not seen since 2019 when he vacationed in Hawaii while massive bushfires were raging in Australia.
Australia: Women protest against sexual violence and inequality
The government has ordered an independent inquiry into parliament's workplace culture and established new staff support services but activists say systemic change is now needed -- not just in politics but across Australian society.
Higgins told the crowd in Canberra her story was "a painful reminder to women that it can happen in Parliament House, and can truly happen anywhere".
"We fundamentally recognise the system is broken, the glass ceiling is still in place," she said.
"We are here because it is unfathomable that we are still having to fight this same stale, tired fight."
- 'Toxic' workplace culture -
No senior government ministers attended Monday's rallies and organisers refused Morrison's offer to speak in private, saying a closed-door meeting would be "disrespectful" to alleged victims.
"I think the prime minister, if he really cared about women, really cared about our voices... he (could) open the door, walk across the forecourt and come and listen to us," organiser Janine Hendry told the ABC.
An estimated 10,000 joined the protest in Melbourne, with thousands more in major cities including Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane. Several thousand also rallied in Porter's hometown of Perth on Sunday.
"Evil thrives in silence," sexual abuse survivor and Australian of the Year Grace Tame told a crowd in the Tasmanian capital, Hobart.
"Behaviour unspoken, behaviour ignored, is behaviour endorsed."
The #March4Justice is demanding a raft of measures including independent investigations into all cases of gendered violence, a boost in public funding for prevention and the implementation of recommendations from a 2020 national inquiry into sexual harassment at work.
Australia's parliament has been repeatedly criticised for a "toxic" workplace culture that has allegedly spawned persistent bullying, harassment and sexual assault.
The ruling coalition has been accused of not doing enough to support female party members, including after a spate of women quit parliament ahead of the 2019 election, with several citing bullying as a factor.
Local media also reported that women in the opposition Labor party had recently set up a Facebook page that details alleged sexual harassment by male colleagues and politicians.
A group of independent and minor-party female politicians on Monday announced they would attempt to amend a "loophole" in legislation that shields members of parliament and the judiciary from liability for workplace sexual harassment.
"It seems crazy that we would be, in 2021, having to present an amendment to a legislation that is vital to ensure all workplaces in Australia are safe and secure and respectful," independent MP Zali Steggall said.
On Monday, Porter launched defamation proceedings against public broadcaster ABC, which first published the allegations against an unnamed senior minister, with lawyers saying the attorney-general was "easily identifiable" in the article and has since been subjected to "trial by media".
Porter remains on medical leave in the wake of the allegations, as does Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, who is accused of mishandling the Higgins case.
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