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Former MP in Australia accuses minister of sexual assault: What you need to know
Julia Bank, a former member of Parliament in Australia has accused a current cabinet minister of sexual assault. She reported the incident in her memoir and says that the incident happened back in 2017.
She said that the male MP moved his hand up her leg during a vote session in the parliament before moving away.
She says, "For a minister to do this in the prime minister's wing, which was full of Coalition [government] MPs, he had to be astoundingly brazen. I found it unbelievable”.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison's office said that they were not aware of these allegations before and added that such behavior is "completely inappropriate”.
This incident again brings forward the treatment of women in the Australian parliament. Earlier this year a rape allegation against a senior government official prompted a wave of protests in the country.
This is not the first time that Julia Bank has spoken about sexism in the Australian parliament. She quit the liberal party in 2018 after the former Prime Minister was deposed in a coup.