Australians rally for justice for women

CANBERRA－Australians rallied in the capital and other cities on Monday demanding justice for women and calling out misogyny and dangerous workplace cultures as the government reels from two rape allegations.

Outside Parliament House in Canberra, the crowd of hundreds was mostly female and most wore black. They carried placards including "Justice for Women" and "Men, Own Your Guilt".

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison refused organizers' demand that he address the crowd, and organizers said they would not meet him in his office.

"We have already come to the front door, now it's up to the government to cross the threshold and come to us," organizer Janine Hendry said. "We will not be meeting behind closed doors."

Morrison later told Parliament that he shared the protesters' frustration and concern.

"This is not to suggest that good faith and genuine efforts are not being made whether by this government or (other) governments…Those efforts are being made. But the outcomes still elude us," he said.

Morrison is standing by his Attorney-General Christian Porter over an allegation he raped a 16-year-old girl when he was aged 17 in 1988. Porter denied the allegation. His accuser took her own life last year after withdrawing a complaint to police.

Separately, Defense Minister Linda Reynolds has been criticized for failing to adequately support a young staffer who alleged she was raped by a more senior colleague in the minister's office in Parliament House in 2019.

Brittany Higgins said she felt she had to make a choice between reporting her allegations to police or continuing her career. She quit her government job in January and reported her allegation to police.

Higgins told the crowd in Canberra her story was "a painful reminder to women that it can happen in Parliament House, and can truly happen anywhere".

"We fundamentally recognize the system is broken, the glass ceiling is still in place," she said.

Public anger at Morrison's government was reflected in a new opinion poll Monday showing voter support has fallen to levels not seen since 2019 when he vacationed in Hawaii while massive bush fires were raging in Australia.

The government has ordered an independent inquiry into Parliament's workplace culture and established new staff support services but activists say systemic change is now needed－not just in politics but across Australian society.

The protests, which also took place in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Hobart, coincide with the first sitting of Parliament since the allegation against Porter became public in early March.

Porter remains on medical leave in the wake of the allegations, as does Reynolds.

Agencies via Xinhua