As the impact of harassment allegations against NSW Labor’s Luke Foley is assessed, and re-assessed, a huge focus is going to be put on a young woman whose whole life is going to be under intense scrutiny.
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ABC journalist Ashleigh Raper’s decision to make a public statement outlining her version of what occurred in a Sydney bar in November 2016 has come after ongoing attempts to keep the matter confidential.
The allegations were made public by Corrective Services Minister David Hill, who raised them under parliamentary privilege.
In her statement, Ms Raper said she had not previously made a public comment because she feared for both her position as a state political reporter and what impact any negative publicity would have on her and her young family.
This impact was already being ‘profoundly’ felt, she said.
Ms Raper is not the first woman to have chosen to remain quiet on questions of harassment and, sadly, she won’t be the last.
As debate rages about Mr Foley’s career, who knew what and when, and what impact it will have on the upcoming state election, there is also going to be massive attention on Ms Raper herself.
We will hear the defenders and the deniers and debate about just when an inappropriate touch becomes bad enough to topple a leader.
It happens too often that the victim of harassment becomes a target.
Ms Raper is not the first woman to have chosen to remain quiet on questions of harassment and, sadly, she won’t be the last.
Time and again, women who make allegations are accused of lying, of trying to get attention or to extort hush money from a powerful man with too much to lose.
In our increasingly adversarial political system, throwing dirt around is becoming a great way of hiding your own policy and performance shortcomings.
There will be implications for the March state election in this. It’s inevitable.
But before anyone in the Coalition hits upload on those inevitable YouTube political ads, we can only hope they remember that there is a real young woman, who did not want to take this into the public arena, but who could be left scarred for life by what happens next.