SYDNEY: An Australian legislator was suspended by his party on Thursday after a fellow senator accused him of a sexual assault in Parliament House, she declared it was “not a safe place” for females to work.
The opposition Liberal Party’s Senator, David Van, strongly denied the accusations, terming them as “scandalous”.
But Peter Dutton, the leader of the Liberal Party suspended Van, saying that “further allegations” had been levelled at him, AFP reported.
Later Thursday, an ex-Liberal Party senator accused Van of squeezing her bottom twice in 2020, informing local media the incident happened at an office party.
In a tearful Senate speech earlier, independent senator Lidia Thorpe said that she had been targeted with “sexual comments,” cornered in a stairwell, touched and propositioned by powerful men.
Australian crucible of democracy a bastion of sexism
Thorpe’s accusations have rekindled allegations that the Australian crucible of democracy is also a bastion of misogyny and sexism.
Thorpe on Wednesday had initially blamed Van of “sexually assaulting” her before being compelled to withdraw the remark under risk of parliamentary sanction.
But on Thursday, she restated the core of her accusations against Van.
In a speech to the Senate, Thorpe acknowledged that sexual attack meant different things to different persons, continuing to describe her experiences in the power corridors.
In 2021, Van was forced to shift his parliamentary office away from Thorpe’s after an unspecified complaint against him, both legislators have acknowledged.
