Lidia Thorpe has claimed her allegations of sexual assault inside Parliament House were not believed until a ‘white woman’ also spoke out.
The independent senator sensationally claimed she was harassed and assaulted by Liberal senator David Van on Wednesday.
Later that evening, she withdrew those comments for parliamentary reasons, only to double down on Thursday. Hours after her second Senate speech, former senator Amanda Stoker came forward with her own allegations against Mr Van.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who took steps to remove Mr Van from the Liberal party room, has since confirmed there are further allegations beyond Ms Stoker and Ms Thorpe.
Mr Van vehemently denied the allegations on Wednesday, insisting ‘it is simply not true’, prompting Senator Thorpe to storm out of the Senate. Above with his partner Nerilee
Lidia Thorpe has doubled down on her allegations she was sexually assaulted under parliamentary privilege, claiming she was ‘followed aggressively, propositioned and inappropriately touched’ – but insisted she would not make a complaint with police
‘I have raised another allegation with Senator Van but I’m not going to comment in relation to those matters otherwise. I made a decision yesterday based on all of the information that was available to me,’ he said.
Mr Van issued a statement on Friday stating his ‘good reputation’ had been ‘wantonly savaged without due process or accountability’.
Ms Thorpe told ABC RN on Friday: ‘it wasn’t until a white woman stood up and said, ”yeah, this happened to me, too”, that the media took notice,’ she said.
‘I think that is a great example of the media landscape in this country and that is systemic racism.
‘I was not believed. I was questioned. I was absolutely demonised that day, by everybody. And you wonder why women don’t speak out. You wonder why we are silenced. It’s because of that kind of behaviour.’
Former Liberal senator Amanda Stoker released a statement on Thursday night alleging the Victorian senator ‘inappropriately touched’ her ‘at an informal social gathering in a parliamentary office’ in November, 2020
Former Liberal National senator Amanda Stoker released a statement on Thursday night alleging the Victorian senator ‘inappropriately touched’ her ‘at an informal social gathering in a parliamentary office’ in November, 2020.
‘He did so by squeezing my bottom twice. By its nature and repetition, it was not accidental,’ she claimed.
Mr Van said he had no memory of having had such an encounter with Ms Stoker.
She claims to have informed a senior female colleague of the alleged incident but did not feel the need to take it any further, confident the matter had been dealt with.
In light of Ms Thorpe’s allegations in the Senate on Wednesday – in which she said under parliamentary privilege that Mr Van was a ‘perpetrator’ – Ms Stoker felt it was ‘no longer tenable’ to remain silent.
‘I believe all women should be free from unwanted advances and confident to speak up immediately and be respected for doing so,’ she said.
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Ms Thorpe claims she was subjected to inappropriate behaviour in Parliament House, ‘followed aggressively, propositioned and inappropriately touched’ by an unnamed man.
Mr Van vehemently denies Ms Thorpe’s allegations, saying they are all untrue.
Peter Dutton expelled Senator David Van from the Liberal party room after a second woman came forward with allegations against him
The former Green and now-independent senator tearfully told Parliament she never spoke publicly about her alleged experiences, which she said happened around the time Brittany Higgins came forward with rape allegations, to avoid taking focus off that case.
Instead, she placed her faith in the Liberal Party that her complaint was being taken seriously. Ms Thorpe said she has no intentions of taking the complaint to the police.
During her emotional Senate speech on Thursday, Ms Thorpe said parliament ‘was not a safe space for women’ when she arrived in 2020.
‘You are often alone in long corridors, with no windows, in stairwells hidden from view where there are no cameras.’
She said there are ‘different understandings of what amounts to sexual assault’ and that when she raised her complaint with the government of the day – the Coalition – ‘it was recognised as such’.
‘I was afraid to walk out of the office door. I would open it slightly and make sure the coast was clear before stepping out,’ she said. ‘I had to be accompanied by someone – that is how the Greens supported me and I thank them for that.’
Ms Thorpe told the Senate she was sure the then prime minister Scott Morrison had been informed. He said in a statement on Wednesday he did not recall if this was the case.
The allegations prompted Liberal leader Peter Dutton to suspend David Van from the party room while the Parliament Workplace Support Service conducts an investigation
‘I was convinced the government believed me… my faith in the Liberal Party was not the right decision,’ Ms Thorpe said.
‘Until yesterday, I thought they took the issue seriously.’
Saying ‘silence is violence’, Ms Thorpe said she was prompted to speak out on Wednesday when Mr Van ‘had the gall to stand up in parliament’ to address the handling of Ms Higgins’ complaint in parliament this week.
She will not pursue legal action or go to police, but vowed to ‘continue to speak out against the abuse and harassment that happens in this building’.
‘That is my choice. I want to focus on making this place safe for everyone,’ she added.
‘And at this moment, it is not a safe place for women and I call on the government to immediately increase the number of security guards in the building and cameras in the corridors and to consult women who work here on what measures can and should be taken.’
