Right-wing media likes to target women who call out men. Why?

Yesterday former federal Liberal MP Lucy Wicks was exposed as the complainant relating to the abusive behaviour of NSW upper house MP Taylor Martin. The outing was entirely against her wishes. Wicks released a statement saying:

I am distressed today to learn that I have been named by Radio 2GB as the person who made a formal and confidential complaint regarding abuse by a NSW member of Parliament spanning more than five years …

I am beyond distressed that I have had to disclose even a small portion of these details. I sought to create a confidential process that would enable natural justice and provide me with safety as I navigate this process.

2GB right-wing shockjock Ben Fordham defended his outing of Wicks: “I’m not in the business of suppressing information.”

This isn’t the first time a female complainant against a Coalition MP has been outed by a media outlet. In 2018 Catherine Marriott, who alleged sexual harassment by Barnaby Joyce — allegations that remain unresolved and without a satisfactory investigation by the Nationals — was outed against her wishes by The Weekend Australian after lodging a complaint with the federal National Party and asking for a confidential investigation.

She described being outed as “one of the most frightening things that you will ever have to live through … The control that I had over my own identity was taken away, and that’s something that I will live now with for the rest of my life, and I think was … you know, I think it was really unfair, and it was really horrific.”

The case of Brittany Higgins is different, given she chose to reveal her alleged experience, but she too has had her privacy and control taken away by a long-running smear campaign by The Australian, using illegally leaked texts provided to the Australian Federal Police and lawyers for the man she alleges sexually assaulted her.

Three examples of women who have complained about sexual harassment or assault by male Coalition figures being outed and exposed by the media. In each case, right-wing media outlets. In two cases, their identities were leaked by the party involved.

We know from the statements of the women concerned that being outed against their wishes is at the very least distressing and likely much worse, and a violation of the confidentiality they sought. We know Higgins has repeatedly called for the media and politicians to stop using her personal material — which has no public interest or probative value — as part of their campaign against her.

And we know confidentiality is a vital part of complaints-handling processes for sexual harassment and for the appropriate handling of sexual violence allegations, not merely to protect the privacy of the victims concerned, but to protect them from potential retribution. Protecting them also helps to focus on the alleged perpetrator, not the actions of the victim. That’s why the media is urged to get full and informed consent before identifying victim-survivors of harassment and omit any identifying details in coverage of violence against women.

The outing of female complainants against their wishes, and their harassment by the media afterwards, strongly risks a chilling effect for victims of sexual violence, abuse or harassment holding perpetrators to account. Moreover, the higher the profile of the complainant, the greater the impact. If even a former Liberal MP won’t have her request for confidentiality honoured, with her name paraded in right-wing media, what hope for any other victim of abuse or harassment?

The treatment of Higgins by The Australian and Sky’s far-right grubs was clearly intended as exemplary punishment for a woman who so profoundly exposed a toxic culture within not merely Parliament but also the Coalition and Morrison government. Was the outing of Marriott and Wicks by right-wing media for making allegations about the behaviour of federal and state Coalition figures any different in intention to what has been done to Higgins?

It certainly won’t be any different in effect — to intimidate women from calling out high-profile conservative men.