Enough is Enough: Calls to End Australia’s Epidemic of Misogyny
Written by Gemma Raso
Graphics by Wendy Lan
CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses sexual misconduct, sexual violence and rape.
Tens of thousands took to the streets across Australia on March 15, from capital cities to halls in small rural towns, with cries of “enough is enough.”
On March 4th, Justice organised protests nation-wide against the sexual abuse and harassment of women in the country, calling for immediate action in Parliament to set a precedent for all other work places. These were spurred on by revelations a week prior of Attorney-General Christian Porter, becoming the subject of a rape allegation from 1988. The police quickly closed the case as a result of its lack of evidence— due in large to the anonymous woman killing herself in 2020. Brittany Higgins, an ex-political adviser for the Liberal party, also came forward and claimed she was raped in a minister’s office in 2019. When she spoke to coalition staffers about what had happened, they neglected to support her and instead suggested she keep quiet about it, so as to not hurt the party’s attempt of winning the election.
The Melbourne protest saw the Treasury Gardens filled with women and allies, to make sure Australia could “hear [them] roar.” Marginalised women and non-men took to the stage to rally the crowd and speak out against the “horrible societal acceptance of sexual violence experienced by women in Australia.” There were specific calls to action for Prime Minister Scott Morrison to launch an independent inquiry into Attorney-General Christian Porter, and to take the necessary action following Brittany Higgins' allegation. With a focus on magnifying Indigenous voices, Sue-Anne Hunter made it explicitly clear that it was the invasion of Australia in 1788 that brought the patriarchy onto these shores. Julia Banks, ex-Liberal staffer, (who quit because the treatment of women in Parliament was “years behind” the business world) also made her plea for the need to have “equal representation” within the biggest platform in Australia: Parliament House. Toward the end of the event in one chilling moment, a long, white piece of fabric was lifted just in front of the stage. Scrawled along it was the 868 names of the women and children who had been killed by their male partners since 2008 in Australia.
News of Christian Porter’s defamation case against ABC and the reporter, Louise Milligan, hit while the crowd was still surging, and were met with cries of shame. The Attorney-General made the bid for aggravated damages, arguing that the article written by Milligan and published by ABC contained false and defamatory allegations, including that he had raped a 16 year old girl in 1988. Porter has been on mental health leave since the allegations came to light in early March. While originally supporting his position, Scott Morrison has now deliberately left the future of his role as Attorney-General in doubt.
When asked his opinion about the nation-wide protests, which specifically focused on calling for more action from the PM, Scott Morrison said that it was a “triumph of democracy” that these protesters weren’t being “met with bullets” like in countries “not far from here.” When later asked why he made these comments, he said he’d been working closely with the Foreign Minister on international issues that had “the absence of the right to protest.” Despite this, he received criticism for being dismissive towards the larger issue of women’s rights, and specifically for holding ignorance toward the misogynist acts committed by his own party members.
But the nightmares for the coalition government didn’t end there, as a Canberra insider leaked footage of coalition staffer’s committing lewd sex acts within Parliament house, including images of one male staffer masturbating over a female’s desk. Finance Minister Simon Birmingham said,
“in my opinion, any individuals who engaged in such activity ought to prepare to pack their bags and leave the building for good. They should also think intently about apologising not just to their employing member or senator but to the Parliament and to the Australian public.”
The man was immediately fired, but has left behind questions of workplace culture and respect.
In a press conference the next day, Scott Morrison said these acts were “absolutely shameful” and are “something that has been the lived experience of Australian women for a very long time, and I welcome the spotlight that has now been placed on [them].” Despite explicitly stating that he has heard Australians and accepted that “many may have not liked or appreciated some of [his] own personal responses over… the last month,” the press conference was met with criticism from many media outlets and greater calls to action. Senator Larissa Waters responded by saying “Australian women don’t want words from the PM, we want action.” She also made it clear that “he must stand down Minister Porter and initiate an independent inquiry, and appoint a Cabinet that is half women and introduce quotas in his party.” As of 2018, the number of women elected into Parliament sat a little above 30%.
These issues have brought to light Australia’s deeply rooted misogyny, present in all political parties. This is only propelled by these events happening on the anniversary of the infamous calls to “ditch the witch” against the first woman PM in the country, Julia Gillard. A PM who faced independent inquiries and an onslaught from the media, not just for her policies but mostly for her fashion, family, and figure. But even eight years after her infamous misogyny speech, which has racked up nearly 4 million views on youtube, Australia’s epidemic of sexism seems to be as rampant as ever. And Australian women, people and allies are making it clear that enough Is enough.