Crossbench MP Georgie Purcell alleges harassment in parliament

Purcell said she had also reported being sexually harassed in the chambers of parliament and did not feel her complaints were taken seriously by her parliamentary colleagues.

“The immediate questions were: What was he waiting for?” he said.

“Look at how he dresses, look at his tattoos, look at his background. You cannot sexually harass a stripper.”

“As I walked down the hall I heard the whispers, I heard all the rumors and I know how to slut shame.

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“Members of this place are not beyond that, and we need to reflect on that today.”

Purcell also spoke about harassment going beyond physical offices or workplaces and beyond the 9 to 5 hour.

She said someone else in the Victorian parliament had been harassing her with late-night texts, phone calls and requests to meet under the guise of work.

“What I’ve learned is that no matter how successful or senior you are, men will always see us as up for grabs,” Purcell said.

The government’s proposed laws would ban non-disclosure agreements from being made to workers who are alleged to have been sexually harassed, unless they ask for it.

Employers will also be prohibited from pressuring or influencing a worker to sign a contract.

Purcell’s comments were based on her experiences with staff and MPs during her seven years working in the Victorian parliament.

She’s not the only woman to share a difficult story of harassment while discussing the government’s legislation.

Last week, Women’s Minister Natalie Hutchins revealed she was groped by AFL football players when she was 15 or 16 and was required to wear short skirts while carrying large trays in her first job as a waitress.

“I was so scared on Thursday nights because there were AFL players who came to train at my restaurant and came every Thursday night and they were running their hands up my legs while I was carrying the trays,” he said.

“Actually, I was about two weeks into my job when this happened, and I dropped a tray of food, and my boss at the time told me I might have to pay for what I dropped, even though I had complained about it before.”

Hutchins said he should take matters into his own hands by arranging for his brother and cousins ​​to sit at a nearby table the following Thursday; They also made sure it would never happen again.

Speaking in parliament on Thursday, Treasurer Jaclyn Symes thanked Liberal MPs Bridget Vallence and Moira Deeming, Labor MP Daniela Di Martino and Purcell and Hutchins for sharing their personal stories of sexual harassment as part of the debate.

Mildura MP Jade Benham also spoke about a separate bill that would expand the definition of domestic violence to include persistent abuse, in an emotional speech about her own experiences on Thursday.

“Survivors of tracking … know that feeling of going to the mailbox, for example, and finding an envelope, this is just one example, that doesn’t have a postmark or a stamp or whatever on it,” he said.

“I cannot adequately express this feeling of fear.

“If this happens, please let me know. I can’t express it enough: Don’t try to rationalize this.”

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