Brittany Higgins has warned of an orchestrated “backlash” to the #MeToo movement in her first speech since returning to public life.
During her keynote address to the fourth Conversations That Matter event in Geelong on Thursday, Higgins also urged the Albanese government to use its election mandate to “transform how sexual assault is handled in Australia”.
Reflecting on the legacy of the #MeToo movement – which began in the United States in 2017 and peaked in Australia in 2021, when Higgins went public with allegations of rape inside parliament house – she said momentum had shifted.
“Movements don’t just provoke change. They also promote backlash. And if we look around today in 2025 it’s clear we’re witnessing a concerted pushback, not only against survivors, but against the very idea that sexual violence deserves to be taken seriously as a systemic cultural crisis,” she said.
Higgins said the backlash was “well funded, sophisticated and at times, deeply embedded within the institutions which are meant to protect us” and cited media coverage of her case as an example.
“I’ve spoken to victim-survivors who said they had to turn away from the coverage of my assault as it was triggering for them. I don’t blame them, because inadvertently, they were seeing the same old rhetoric that taught them to be shamed in the first place.
“Suddenly, they saw subsections of the Australian public discount their pain, whether their rape, assault or harassment would or could be attributed to their actions.”
Higgins also pointed to high-profile international cases to illustrate what she called a broader “cultural regression”.
She said social media algorithms were feeding young men “extremist, misogynistic” content and criticised attacks on diversity and inclusion programs, under the guise of opposing “wokeness or identity politics”.
“Make no mistake, this is an indirect repudiation of the very programs that help get more women and other marginalised groups into positions of power,” she said.
Higgins also slammed the Queensland government for indefinitely delaying sexual harassment protections that were due to be strengthened this month.
She called on the new federal attorney general, Michelle Rowland, to support the Australian Law Reform Commission’s recommendations after its review into justice responses to sexual violence was tabled in March.
“We have yet to hear a meaningful response from the new government regarding the actual recommendations of the report, whether they have any intention of accepting or enacting on any of it,” Higgins said.
She said Labor “proudly preached its credentials as progressive, inclusive party that has the interest of women front and centre in their policy agenda”, but said they need to “use this [election] mandate to act and to implement meaningful reform”.
“We’ve marched, we’ve signed petitions, we’ve had inquiries, we’ve exercised our power at the ballot box … This right now is the once in a generation opportunity not just to tinker, but to transform how sexual assault is handled in Australia,” she said.
The attorney general’s office said following the ALRC review, the government had provided $21.4m in funding to improve victim and survivor experiences in the justice system, and to support other consultations to inform the longer-term responses to the report.
Higgins, who earlier this week announced a return to the workforce with PR agency Third Hemisphere, was joined at Thursday’s event by husband David Sharaz and three-month-old son, Frederick.
The couple returned from France before Frederick’s birth in March.
During a Q+A segment, she shared how having her son “definitely made me appreciate my own mum so much more”.
Higgins told the audience that shortly after Frederick was born, he needed surgery. Watching him in pain, she said, shattered her heart “into a million pieces” and made her realise what it must have been like for her mother to watch her go through her recent experiences and “not being able to do anything”.
The event was hosted by the Give Where You Live Foundation. Its chief executive, Zac Lewis, said conversations about “confronting” issues such as sexual assault were necessary to drive change.
• Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
This article was amended on 6 June 2025 to add a statement from the attorney general’s office that was provided after publication.
