The former political adviser, who alleges of being raped by a senior colleague in the Australian Parliament, says she will formally lodge a complaint.
Brittany Higgins spoke in a television interview on Monday that sparked shock and anger at her treatment.
Brittany Demands A Comprehensive Investigation
In the interview, she said he was afraid of losing his job after the 2019 attack and did not receive any support from his superiors.
Ms Higgins called for a “thorough investigation”.
Speaking to Network Ten, she said she told hher employer and the minister told her she would be supported if she continued with the police complaint, but she felt pressured not to do so, believing it would end her career.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has apologized for the government’s handling of the case and called for a review of Parliament’s environment.
In a statement on Friday, Ms Higgins said: “I want a thorough police investigation into what happened to me … and for my perpetrator to be brought to justice.”
She called on Australian police to take immediate action over the alleged attack “in what should be the safest building in Australia”.
“I believe that getting to the bottom of what happened to me and how the system failed me is critical to creating a new framework for political staff that ensures genuine cultural change and restores the trust of staff.”
The Allegation
Ms Higgins, who was 24 years old at the time of the attack, said she had only a few weeks left in her new “dream” job with Defense Industry Minister Linda Reynolds when she went out for a drink with a group including her alleged attacker, an elderly co-worker.
She said the man was driving her home at night, but took her to Parliament where she fell asleep in the minister’s office drunk.
The 26-year-old said she then woke up to the man sexually abusing her. “I woke up in the middle of a rape,” she told Network Ten. “I started crying … I told him to stop.”
She said he left immediately afterwards.
Ms Higgins said a discussion about the incident with her boss was held in the room where the alleged attack took place, prompting her trauma to “loop” in her mind.
She worked for another minister in Mr Morrison Liberal Party’s party before retiring from politics.
