Amy Remeikis on selective empathy for survivors of sexual assault

 Podcast from The Guardian

Scott Morrison responded last week to Brittany Higgins’ allegations of sexual assault in parliament by a former Liberal party staffer by saying he was taking the advice of his wife to think about what he would want to happen ‘if it were our girls’. Amy Remeikis has heard this rhetoric before – after her own assault. On this episode, she shares her story as an assault survivor and explores the problems with selective empathy.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/audio/2021/feb/23/amy-remeikis-on-selective-empathy-for-survivors-of-sexual-assault

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Reported by Amy Remeikis and presented by Laura Murphy-Oates. Produced by Ellen Leabeater and Joe Koning. The executive producers are Gabrielle Jackson and Miles Martignoni

Tue 23 Feb 2021 03.30 AEDT

In Australia support for sexual assault survivors is available at 1800 RESPECT or 1800 737 732. Children and young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, and adult survivors of child sexual assault can seek help at the Blue Knot Foundation.

You can read the columns Amy Remeikis discusses in the episode here:

• Too many men need to imagine a woman they love to feel empathy
• A man raped me, another tried to. They were not animals. They were men

Illustration: Sarah Mazzetti