MELBOURNE, Australia — A former government staff member’s account of being raped in Australia’s Parliament building sent shock waves through the country’s halls of power on Monday, with the governing conservative party coming under intense criticism for the way it had handled the case. Women’s rights advocates called it an extreme example of what has long been described as a culture of misogyny that has pushed several women out of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s coalition government. They said the case reflected an environment that was stubbornly resistant to change driven by the global #MeToo movement, one where men make sexist remarks about women’s appearance and bully female co-workers, or worse. The former staff member, Brittany Higgins, now 26, said she was attacked nearly two years ago after a night out drinking with colleagues. Ms. Higgins, who came forward in an interview published on the news site news.com.au on Monday, had been weeks into a new job as a media adviser for the defense minister, Linda Reynolds.

Source: New York Times February 15, 2021 10:44 UTC