The Brittany Higgins’ saga and its trail of destruction
Five years after Brittany Higgins went public with her alleged rape in the Houses of Parliament, lawsuit after lawsuit has damaged egos and reputations as lawyers pocketed millions.
Ms Higgins’ interview with journalist Lisa Wilkinson on The Project in February 2021 led to the cancellation of the criminal case against alleged rapist Bruce Lehrmann, as well as several civil cases and investigations.
As well as affecting the main actors, there were also wider consequences for the general public, including victim-survivors.
Ms Higgins, 31, initially gained huge popularity as she sparked a national debate about sexism and sexual abuse.
Lehrmann’s testimony in the Federal Court defamation case against Network Ten helped prove, on the balance of probabilities, that Lehrmann had raped her.
However, his claims that the federal government covered up the incident were criticized. Judge Michael Lee’s decision as “objectively short on facts, but long on speculations.”
In the eyes of the public, he fared better than Lehrmann, whose reputation was ruined by the unfortunate decision to sue Ten.
Judge Lee described the case as a “multifaceted case” and joked that the 30-year-old, who had escaped from the lion’s den, made the mistake of returning for his hat.
The case is also dismissed on appeal Marking the proposed special leave application to the Supreme Court.
Ms Higgins has paid a heavy financial price since going public and went bankrupt after losing a libel case brought by her former boss Linda Reynolds in the Supreme Court of Western Australia.
a judge Former Liberal Senator awarded almost $350,000 He was fined damages plus interest for defamatory social media posts alleging he mishandled the rape and harassed Ms Higgins.
The 31-year-old actor was also ordered to pay Ms. Reynolds’ legal bill of an estimated $1 million.
These significant sums will be subtracted from what is left of the $2.4 million settlement Ms. Higgins reached with the federal government regarding her alleged rape.
Her husband David Sharaz was also declared bankrupt after Ms Reynolds successfully sued him for libel.
While the former senator emerged victorious from the lawsuits he filed, it is seen in public that he punched a defenseless rape victim.
Lehrmann is on the verge of bankruptcy due to a $2 million legal bill owed to Ten if its Supreme Court appeal fails.
Two other libel suits he filed against the ABC and News Corp were settled without admission of liability, and Lehrmann paid about $450,000 for his legal costs.
The public scrutiny behind the rape allegations has embroiled other figures and tarnished their reputations.
ACT government’s investigation into the Lehrmann case He found the district’s top prosecutor, Shane Drumgold.he had lost his impartiality in the case and knowingly lied about a note regarding his meeting with Wilkinson.
Mr Drumgold resigned and was unsuccessful in challenging these findings in the ACT Supreme Court.
The chairman of this investigation is former judge Walter Sofronoff KC he was found Engaged in serious acts of corruption by leaking confidential material to journalists.
His legal challenge to this finding failed in the Federal Court.
Even Wilkinson was criticized by Judge Lee for his conduct, including missteps in properly examining Ms Higgins’ allegations and the highly publicized Logies speech that caused Lehrmann’s criminal trial to be postponed for months.
The public debate surrounding the case has been a double-edged sword for surviving victims in Australia.
Rape and Sexual Assault Research and Advocacy CEO Dr. Rachael Burgin told AAP that while some rape victims were encouraged to speak out thanks to Ms Higgins’ bravery, others were left in the shadows after seeing how they were treated.
“You can’t look at the Brittany Higgins case and say anything, but every system failed her,” the senior lecturer in criminology said.
Dr. burgin conducted a review Police response to sexual assault allegations in the ACT after Higgins’ allegation emerged.
It made a number of recommendations to the ACT government to improve the rate at which sexual assault cases are investigated and charged, and to improve police practices in this area.
Workers at the Federal Parliament House now have better workplace protection thanks to recommendations An investigation triggered by Higgins’ claim.
A report on this issue was published four years ago in November 2021 by Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins.
Political scientist Maria Maley said the new rules and bodies created since then were large and required negotiation between the parties.
“It was very challenging, it was a big institutional change,” he told AAP.
Dr Maley said the government had not implemented all of Jenkins’ recommendations and had not carried out a progress review in 2025 as promised, despite saying it would do so.
The ANU senior lecturer said it was still unknown whether the changes actually made a difference.
More information may become available in the first quarter of 2026, when the results of the inaugural survey conducted by the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service are expected to be released.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Resolution Support Service 1800 211 028
