by Brittany Higgins has told a court she wore the white dress she was allegedly raped in six weeks later to a Liberal executive in an attempt to “claim it back” and “disassociate it from the rape”.
But her “favorite” pencil dress that she wore “all the time” was never reclaimed and never worn again, Higgins told the federal court on Friday.
Higgins appeared in court on Friday for a second day of cross-examination in a defamation case brought by former Liberal party staffer Bruce Lehrmann. Lehrmann is suing Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson over an interview with Higgins on Ten’s The Project in which she alleged she was raped by a Liberal staffer in the Houses of Parliament. The case is being defended by Network Ten and Wilkinson and Higgins is a witness for the defence.
In December, ACT prosecutors dropped charges against Lehrmann for Higgins’ alleged rape, saying a retrial would pose an “unacceptable risk” to her health.
Lehrmann pleaded not guilty to one charge of sexual intercourse without consent, denying that any sexual activity took place in the first trial that was dropped due to juror misconduct.
Higgins told the court on Thursday that she accepted a job in Perth with Linda Reynolds after the alleged rape, but said she was isolated and suicidal and felt shunned by the senator.
In court on Friday, Whybrow asked Higgins: “Do you have any recollection of your thought processes when you were wearing the outfit you say you were sexually assaulted at the birthday party of the person you say was isolating you for several weeks and treating you badly?’”
“I guess I wanted to reclaim it,” Higgins told the court. “I never wore it after this event. I thought maybe I could disassociate it from the rape, but I never could.”
Higgins broke down again on Friday when her evidence that she reported her rape to her new employer, Liberal Senator Michaelia Cash in 2019 was questioned.
“I don’t think I went to the level [giving details about the venues] but I told them about sexually assaulting them,” Higgins said, before correcting herself to say “rape”.
“I’m sorry, I want to be honest – rape on the sofa. I told them that and then the next morning.”
Parts of an hour-long preliminary interview with Wilkinson and her producer Angus Llewellyn were played in court in which Higgins and her partner, David Sharaz, discussed the timing of the story and its political impact.
One of the exchanges involved whether then opposition leader Anthony Albanese could help push the issue forward, in which Wilkinson said he was “a bit of a dead duck at the moment”.
Sharaz then suggested in the recording that Labor Senator Katy Gallagher could bring it up in parliament.
Higgins denied suggestions from Whybrow that she leaked her story to the media to damage the Liberal party ahead of the 2022 federal election.
Related: Brittany Higgins visibly angry and in tears as Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyer accuses her of lying about the alleged rape
Whybrow asked Higgins: “Are you seriously claiming to his Honor that one of your motivations for this story was not to cause political damage to the Liberal party?”
Higgins said it was not “about the Liberal party”, but “about women in politics”.
“I had no intention of influencing the election, but I wanted to change the culture in Parliament House,” Higgins said.
“I was angry at the culture of the House of Parliament and the Liberal party hurt me, but I was still a Liberal.
“[I am] no longer, but it was still for a long time.”
Higgins said that while she was hurt by Reynolds and Brown, she did not see them as villains in her story.
“Fiona Brown was just following instructions and I never blamed her and I don’t blame her,” Higgins said.
“Linda Reynolds avoided me in my opinion, and she didn’t fulfill her duty of care … but I don’t count them as villains in this story. I don’t think they did the right thing by me.”
Higgins was cross-examined on the media strategy, including briefing news.com.au journalist Samantha Maiden and providing a background document for a timeline of events to multiple journalists in the Canberra press gallery on 15 February 2021.
“David sent to, like, half the press gallery,” Higgins said.
Higgins told the court they had to spread the timeline widely because the press had taken so much interest in his story and were “inundated” with enquiries.
Higgins said she inadvertently included Lehrmann’s name in the briefing document distributed to journalists and that the date she went to police, March 26, 2019, was incorrect on the timeline document.
Her initial report to officers in Parliament House was withdrawn in 2019, days after the alleged rape, and then a second report was made to officers in Belconnen in 2021.
Higgins returns to the witness box on Tuesday.
• In Australia, the Lifeline crisis support service is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
