The Australian police have launched an investigation after the complaint of the Queensland MP, Brittany Laugawhich revealed to have been drugged and sexually assaulted during a night out in his constituency of Yeppoon. Lauga, who serves as assistant minister of health of the Australian state, He sought police and hospital help on April 28 after his terrifying experience.
“The tests at the hospital confirmed the presence of drugs in my body that I did not consume”, he said on his social networks. This alarming revelation motivated other women who suffered similar situations to contact her and tell their stories.
Lauga’s alarming statement highlights a broader problem of gender violence in Australiawhere a woman has been murdered every four days on average this year. This pattern of violence is further underlined by the tragic incident involving Joel Cuachi, who murdered six people in a Sydney shopping centre, five of them women, in an attack that the New South Wales Police Commissioner described as targeted. towards women.
In the face of this growing crisis, the Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, stated that domestic violence is now a “national crisis,” and pledged to confront misogynistic content online. “We need to change the culture. We need to change attitudes. “We need to change the legal system.”Albanese mentioned at a rally against gender violence.
Brittany Lauga, 37, who has served in Parliament for almost a decade after being First elected to the Keppel seat in 2015requested time to heal physically and emotionally, asking for privacy during this difficult period.
“Not well. We should be able to enjoy socializing in our city without the risk of being drugged or assaulted“said the deputy.
“No one should have to go through what Brittany is going through.”stated the premier Steven Miles.
Queensland Police Service has confirmed that it is investigating the allegation of sexual assault related to the incident in Yeppoon, although no further allegations have so far been reported in the same area. However, they have appealed to anyone with information to contact them in an effort to address this and potential similar cases.
“The QPS takes all complaints seriously of excessive alcohol consumption and investigates allegations of excessive alcohol consumption on a case-by-case basis, and often in conjunction with other crimes such as sexual assault,” said the Queensland Police Service.
Even the Queensland Housing Minister, Meaghan Scanlon, described the accusations against his partner as “shocking” and “horrifying,” according to Australian media reports. “Brittany is a colleague, a friend, a young woman in the Queensland Parliament, and reading these things is really shockingScanlon stated.
“It is unacceptable that women are disproportionately the victims of domestic, family and sexual violence. Our government will continue to do everything possible to protect women and end violence“, closed the minister.
The protesters asked that gender violence be declared national emergency and that stricter laws be enacted to protect it. Additionally, it is worth remembering that the Queensland Criminal Code Bill that was introduced in 2020 made changes to sexual assault laws in the area.
These changes include that Silence alone does not equal consentconsent initially given can be withdrawn by words or conduct, and the defendant’s voluntary intoxication is irrelevant to determining whether it was reasonable for a defendant to believe he had consent.
