Independent Lidia Thorpe cried as she addressed the Senate, claiming that “powerful men” had “proposed” to her, made “s*xual comments,” cornered her in a stairwell, and “inappropriately touched her.
Prior to being forced to retract the claim under pain of parliamentary repercussion, Thorpe had yesterday accused a fellow senator of “s*xually assaulting” her.
David Van, a conservative, has vehemently refuted Thorpe’s accusations, but she reiterated them today.
Van told local media today that he was “utterly untrue” and that the accusations had left him “shattered and battered.”
Thorpe claimed that although the accusations were shielded from Australia’s strict defamation laws, Van had retained attorneys and had to restate her case in order to comply with parliamentary regulations.
Thorpe discussed her experiences in the trial by fire of Australian democracy while acknowledging that the term “s*xual assault” meant many things to various people.
“What I experienced was being followed, aggressively propositioned and inappropriately touched,” she said.
“I was afraid to walk out of the office door. I would open the door slightly and check the coast was clear before stepping out,” she told lawmakers.
“It was to the degree that I had to be accompanied by someone whenever I walked inside this building,” she added.
“I know there are others that have experienced similar things and have not come forward in the interests of their careers.”