Brittany Higgins has told the Federal Court she tried to "reclaim" the dress she alleges she was sexually assaulted in by wearing it at a Liberal Party function in the months afterwards.
Key points:
- Brittany Higgins is being cross-examined for a second day as part of Bruce Lehrmann's defamation action
- She told the court she re-wore the same white dress she alleges she was raped in to "reclaim" it
- Lawyers for Mr Lehrmann have put to Ms Higgins that she was not sexually assaulted
CONTENT WARNING: This article contains graphic details of sexual assault allegations.
Ms Higgins is back in the witness box for further cross-examination as part of defamation action her former colleague Bruce Lehrmann launched against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson.
Mr Lehrmann is suing them over an interview, which aired on The Project in 2021, where Ms Higgins claimed she was raped at Parliament House in 2019.
There are no findings against the former Liberal staffer after a criminal trial was aborted due to juror misconduct.
Ms Higgins is a key witness for Network Ten as it seeks to prove the truth of its reporting.
Brittany Higgins couldn't 'disassociate' white dress from alleged rape
Mr Lehrmann's barrister Steven Whybrow asked Ms Higgins about the white dress she was wearing during the alleged assault, and why she decided to wear it again at a birthday function for Senator Linda Reynolds, who both she and Mr Lehrmann had worked for.
"It was my favourite dress, I used to wear it all the time, and I guess I was trying to reclaim it," Ms Higgins told the court.
"I thought maybe I could disassociate it from the rape, but I never could."
Mr Whybrow also referred Ms Higgins to text messages she sent her close friend, Ben Dillaway, from the night of Senator Reynolds's birthday, including photos of her wearing the dress.
Ms Higgins told the court she and Mr Dillaway were "rekindling" a romantic relationship at the time.
"You didn't indicate to him that you were reclaiming your agency," Mr Whybrow said.
But Ms Higgins said she "didn't have that sort of relationship" with Mr Dillaway.
"I wouldn't go through and talk about my inner most feelings about how I wanted to reclaim my favourite dress," she told the court.
Mr Whybrow again put to Ms Higgins that she was not sexually assaulted.
"I understand that that's what you're putting to me, you are incorrect," she replied.
'I didn't think I could change the course of an election'
Later, Mr Whybrow suggested that in deciding to go public with the allegation, Ms Higgins was motivated to affect the outcome of the federal election due about a year later.
She rejected that, and described herself as "a Liberal through and through".
"I was still a Liberal — no longer — but I was still for a really long time."'
"I had no intention of impacting the election, but I did want to change the culture of Parliament House," Ms Higgins said.
"When I came forward I was angry at the way my rape was handled.
"I didn't have that big of an ego to think that I could change the course of an election."
But Ms Higgins did accept she sought to coincide the publication of her story in 2021 with a parliamentary sitting week.
"I wanted it to get as much traction as possible," Ms Higgins said.
"I was really concerned that I had blown up my life for a story that would run for a day."
Ms Higgins has also rejected claims by Senator Michaelia Cash — whom she subsequently worked for after Senator Reynolds — that she and her chief of staff Daniel Try did not know about the alleged assault until shortly before the allegation became public.
She told the court she informed them in October 2019, after a journalist at the Canberra Times made an inquiry to Senator Reynolds's office about an alleged incident between two staffers.
"I went to them about my panic attacks, I went to them when I was concerned about Bruce [Lehrmann] having a staff pass in 2020," Ms Higgins said.
"I spoke to Michaelia Cash extensively."
Lawyers question inconsistencies in Brittany Higgins's story
On Thursday, Ms Higgins was visibly emotional and at times became angry as she faced assertions from Mr Lehrmann's lawyers she lied about her rape allegations and changed her story multiple times.
At one point on Thursday, Ms Higgins began weeping after it was put to her that her allegation was untrue, and the court adjourned for almost 15 minutes after Network Ten's barrister Matthew Collins KC said he was "concerned about the welfare of the witness".
Throughout the day, Mr Lehrmann's barrister Steve Whybrow tried to pick holes in Ms Higgins's version of events, suggesting to her the alleged rape did not occur and that she had changed or altered her "narrative" repeatedly.
Ms Higgins described any assertions the alleged rape did not occur as "insulting" and disputed she had changed her story over time to account for new information she received.
Mr Whybrow also asked her about differing accounts about how Ms Higgins was found in Senator Linda Reynolds's office the morning after the alleged rape and questioned whether her recollections were "potentially unreliable".
In particular, this related to whether her dress was around her waist or on the ground.
"As I was being raped, it wasn't my primary concern where my dress was," Ms Higgins told the court.
"I was deeply more concerned about the penis in my vagina that I didn't want there."
On Thursday, Mr Whybrow had accused Ms Higgins of having a "financial interest" in maintaining the rape allegation.
But she refuted this, telling the court she would donate any money she earned from a potential future book deal to charity.
She had already received more than $108,000 as an advance.
Cross-examination of Ms Higgins continues.