• Karen Andrews has alleged that she was subjected to persistent harassment.
• The harassment included being breathed on and having crude comments made to her.
• Andrews is not the only woman who has made allegations of sexual misconduct.

A well-known Australian lawmaker claims she has experienced persistent harassment inside the national legislature.

Former cabinet member Karen Andrews claims that in the lower house, an unknown male colleague used to “breathe on” her neck and utter crude comments.

There have been numerous allegations of pervasive sexual misconduct in Australia’s parliament.

New behavior standards for lawmakers and staff members were approved by both houses in February.

“I’d just be sitting there minding my own business and I would have the back of my neck breathed on and if I asked a question, it would be: ‘That was a great question, thrusting and probing,'” Ms Andrews told the Australian media.

“But do you know what the issue is? Well, there would be people that would say: ‘Can’t you take a joke?’… and sometimes I do call it out, but sometimes I just go: ‘I can’t be in every fight.'”

As the minister for both industry and home affairs in Scott Morrison’s last coalition government, Ms. Andrews was one of the most powerful women in that administration.

She has criticized the severe treatment of women in federal politics on numerous occasions, and early this year she declared she would step down from her position at the next election, which would be held by 2025.

Former mechanical engineer Ms. Andrews worked in fields with a large male population before entering politics, but she claims that it was only in parliament that she experienced prejudice based on gender.

“I went to politics and it was the first time I’ve ever felt I had to fight for things simply because I was a woman,” she told the media.

Senator David Van, a former Liberal Party colleague of Ms. Andrews, was accused of sexual harassment three times earlier this year, including twice by fellow lawmakers Lidia Thorpe and Amanda Stoker.

Even though he was expelled from the party, Mr. Van vehemently refuted the accusations and is still a member of parliament.

The allegations reignited a debate that has raged for years in Australia concerning the safety of women employed in the public sector.

Brittany Higgins, a former Liberal party employee, claimed in 2021 that in 2019, a coworker had sexually assaulted her outside the prime minister’s office.

An independent workplace investigation conducted in response to the accusation by Kate Jenkins, a former sex discrimination commissioner, revealed that one in three parliamentary staff members had experienced sexual harassment.

The report also covered instances of pervasive bullying and attempted or actual sexual assault.

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