I have been following Brittany Higgins case for some time. This is the second lawsuit in relevance to the same case. Earlier, the case was jeopardized upon the misdoing of one of the jurors. This time around the case has been re-opened from another angle. God knows what Lehrmann was thinking when he decided to put a defamation case against one of the media companies but I’m glad he did. At least this story might as well get a closure.

Before penning down my point of view, I wish to tell my readers that I’m not a law expert but I am very keen to share my thoughts. Law arises out of reasoning that is stemmed from logic and then justice is imparted. My views are derived from logic. You may agree to disagree.

And for those who don’t know the case, I’ll give a quick recap.

In 2021, Brittany Higgins filed a case against Lehrmann for raping her at the Australian Parliament House. The case was filed two years after the incident and few days before the elections. Lehrmann was her colleague and of course both the parties were working for the then running government As a quick mitigation, the then prime minister apologized to Brittany for the alleged rape. He didn’t went into the details whether Brittany was right or wrong, but he did say sorry (if only it meant anything but anyway).

Lehrmann denied the allegations. That case couldn’t close properly as one of the jurors didn’t comply with the proceeding rules. Then we read that Brittany’s mental health is so bad that she won’t pursue the case anymore. There was a strange quietness on her part.

Then, on one fine day, Lehrmann woke up from hibernation, and sued one of the tv media companies for an interview where Brittany had talked about her alleged rape and the interviewer looked all convinced. Lehrmann’s point of view is that since no charges were laid against him and the interview was on-aired just days before his first case was going into the court, he earned a lot of disrespect from his colleagues and the people around him (as if he was a very respectful dude already). He says that although his name wasn’t mentioned but all things said were so lucid that everyone got to know that it was him. Bingo!

Defamation cases are always about re-claiming your social status and respect in the society as well as charging an enormous amount from the opposite party for causing mental grievance. So, this is not a direct case about solving a rape trial – it is about money as well.

After reading all the witness statements, I must say that this is a twisted case. Cases opened from the past are twisted; cases opened from the people who are working for the politics are twisted too for there is a ripple effect of anything and everything they say. Plus many agencies are involved; it becomes a money game as well. Power gets a chance to play its part. Agencies would want to silence the parties and pressurize them to change the narrative for their own good and what not.

Hence, these cases are definitely tricker than the cases originate from the civilians. Civilians are usually simple people- they do wrong in anger or pride. How can we forget that both Brittany and Lerhrmann were a part of the sitting government; they both themselves are quite political people. I’m not saying that they both are wrong; definitely the nature of this case is such that one has to come out clean and the one has to pay the price; plus it is also true that one of them is actually guilty or may be both!

Anyway, the incident happens at the parliament house in the room of the girl’s boss. They both had drinks with their friends; a colleague also witnesses them sharing a kiss and getting all cosy in the bar. The same colleague then texts another friend telling her that she thinks Brittany and Lerhmann are hooked up. Then Lerhrmann and Brittany bid farewell to their friends and go home on a shared uber.

Once out, Lerhrmann tells Brittany that he needs to show her a Whisky bottle which is at the Parliament House (his office)…and this is where both their accounts start differing.

Lerhmann says that he went to the office to grab his apartment key that he had forgotten there. Although he gave three different reasons to three different people and one of them mentioned “whisky” as well but at the end, Lehrmann wanted to stick to the “home key” version so I’ll stick to this  as well.

In this case, I don’t see a reason as to why Brittany had to go inside with him and moved past all the security gates just to accompany him. After all, this office was THE Parliament House where strict security mechanisms are in place to let you in. She could have stayed outside until Lehrmann was out.

But Lehrmann says that she wanted to go in for she wanted to work as well…at 245 AM while being heavily drunk….(two minute silence over this statement).

Then Lehrmann took 41 minutes to find the home keys? This is another weird thing. But then he said that he had some work to finish as well. Well, he was drunk too but anyway, after reading Brittany/Lehrmann story I now believe that human efficiency is surely increased when they are drunk 🙂

Then Lehrmann comes out after finishing his work, without seeing Brittany and leave in haste. This is his version.

But then again, one hour ago, it was the same Lehrmann who thought that it was very gentleman of him to accompany a drunk lady back to her home and 41 minutes later, he was in such a haste that his gentleman-instinct took a U-turn and decided to dump her without saying good bye. Him leaving the building without Brittany is actually a deal breaker of this case.

Brittany was found nude in her boss office when a welfare check was done on her by the security guards some time later. The first respondent, who saw Brittany, claimed that Brittany didn’t say a word when she saw the guard. Not even that she was raped. She wasn’t crying or in distress. She was quiet?

But I wish to pause here.

Brittany told the court that quite astonishingly all her mobile data got lost and all of the pictures and watsapp text messages were gone days after the alleged incident and she thinks that the government agency has used some tricks to wipe off her data. This is a question mark.

Also Brittany lied about seeing a doctor within a week after the alleged assault to record her evidence (although her then boyfriend asked her to get herself checked) but she didn’t. This is the second question mark.

The only evidence from her side is one picture of her leg which got bruised, which she claims, came out when Lehrmann was forcing himself upon her. Quite miraculously the government agency left this one picture safe for Brittany to fight a case – rest they decided to clean. This is the third question mark.

Lehrmann could be a monster but Britanny came out very smart as well. Her timing was perfect  when it comes to going public with her allegations. She remained silent for two years for she wanted to keep her job safe. It was her choice to prioritize her job over her self-respect but then, as she narrates, her inner demons kicked in. She couldn’t accept this new version of her. She became withdrawn; she didn’t want to go to the same place where she was allegedly raped and she started taking anti-depressant pills.

Now, if we just look at the 2019 Brittany  and the 2023 Brittany – the difference is all over her face. The side-effects of the anti-depressants are definitely playing their part, her face is more swollen, the weight is not coming from aging – it is the weight of her depression. That girl is not lying in some parts but the problem is, the girl is not fully truthful either.

With the election coming, her job was going anyway. Giving a final blow to her party in this way could have been financially rewarding and she knew this too. So she played her cards well.

Brittany has taken maximum financial benefit out of this incident, which is very rare for a rape victim… Until meeting Brittany, I always thought that rape victims want justice more than anything else but when she decided not to fight the case because her mental health was very bad, it was not just about her mental health. She was also getting a huge amount of compensation from the government to stay quiet.

This girl has lied so many times that now every move looks like a question mark.

We must all accept that this case is in the court not because of Brittany – Brittany is all good when she got the compensation money. We are hearing this story for the second time because of Lehrmann because now Lehrmann wants money as well.

Lehrmann didn’t come out as a gentleman throughout – for sure.

But before, I move to the last part of my post; I wish to add another angle to this narrative.

This is a modern world where vogue culture prevails. People meet their life partners in many different ways here; they meet them at the college, at work, at bars and on the dating apps. Many people take a one-night-stand and during these meet-ups, many people find their soul mates and many more people get a heartache because the night didn’t go as per plan. They take the heat of their decision and then they move on.

When this thing happened, both Brittany and Lehrmann already had partners with them. Yet, Lehrmann started eyeing Brittany.

Well, this is also not an alien thought that even though people have partners or spouses they do end up liking someone else. Most of them come back to their old love and consider this as a mere infatuation. But sometimes, the second fling is so hard that people end up breaking their old ties and move on with lover number 2.

In this case, they both started a plutonic relationship. Britanny, did encourage Lehrmann where she shouldn’t have. But Brittany was bold and curious and loved her job and didn’t mind a bit of flirt here and there. Lehrmann wanted Brittany and he was definitely not a gentleman. Even where Brittany would have hinted upon keeping her personal space in the mildest possible way ever, Lehrmann just shoved this idea off his mind because he was, in no way, planning to take up this as a normal organic relationship. It was definitely a physical stunt from his side at least.

In this incident, two things were very unusual. One was when Lehrmann left alone at the end and other thing is the location. Who chooses to go to the Parliament to rape their colleagues? This idea and level of bravery I cannot expect from Lehrmann, he is not the gladiator-type – he is more of a coward-looking, opportunistic. He wont choose a Parliament House for a girl who doesn’t want him.

Then the question is…What kind of people think it is okay to use their office? People, who are involved – equally? Or people where just one party is involved and the other party has the full liberty to scream and gather all the security?

So here, I would definitely give a weight to the notion that Brittany and Lehrmann were equally comfortable going to Parliament House to try this new whisky Brittany was talking about. If Lehrmann had the slightest idea that Brittany wouldn’t cooperate or would scream for help then he would not have picked the office.

This little meet-up at the Parliament House can never be a dream location for any girl especially if this is her first time (imagine the number of cameras and security you have to pass through). But we all saw Brittany going there – on her own feet with a smile on her face at around 245 am to check out a Whisky bottle… For me, they were not using the office for the first time for a little make-out session.

Brittany and the lip-reader guy have already established that she was heavily drunk. And that Brittany wanted to go home but it was Lehrmann who kept offering her drinks and forcing her to finish them. If Brittany knew that she was already drunk and have had enough of them, why did she even agree to going to the office to check yet another bottle of whisky. What was she thinking?

Had this been Brittany’s or Lehrmann’s house, then this case would not have gotten even five minutes of the judge’s attention and he would have dismissed it. It was a sex-went-wrong scenario. But the location  in itself has made this case a bit tricky. The place is so off for the purpose of doing rape. This is not gulping down my throat.

So here goes my full view.

1. Brittany dress was never tore; there were no signs of force on the dress. It was so perfect that she wore it later as well. She sat on the sofa on her own will, the things started escalating on a natural course. May be, she had not thought of the sex part before but until the moment, the whole night was flowing in one direction and Brittany had not objected once.
2. Brittany herself had removed all her mobile data for it was very provoking and making her case weaker. She definitely was flirting with Lehrmann and all the messages were leading up to a physical stint. Her case becomes really bad if the content was available.
3. Brittany did have a bit of a sub-conscious as well. She had a partner. Whatever was pulling her away from Lehrmann was, may be, partly her guilt. She was not 100% convinced that she wanted Lehrmann. However, she never stopped him. So, on the face of it, Brittany was involved.
4. Lehrmann already had the privilege of stealing a few of her kisses. Picking up the Parliament House as their meeting point was a comforting idea for him. He thought she was already sold to him. It never came across as a rape when he decided to take her there. Hence, he denies the charges until now.
5. Lehrmann was an idiot. He was so blind in his own thoughts that he couldn’t see that Brittany was not an easy pill to swallow. She was still taking her good time to play cat and mouse. When Lehrmann took Brittany to the office, he wasn’t thinking that he was forcing himself on her. To him, Brittany was ready. At least her body language was positive.
6. When Brittany was going to the office, she wasn’t sure if she was ready for the deed but she was flirtatious beyond reasonable doubt.
7. And then the deed happened. I don’t know at what time Brittany came to her senses and found herself in an objectionable state but during the deed somewhere or may be once they were done, she raised an alarm and, through her body language, signalled her real disgust and discomfort.
8. Lehrmann understood her signal – shoved this idea off his mind. It was too late already. But he knew at that very instant that Brittany and him were not on the same page.
9. He finished the deed and left her naked in the office and flew away. Brittany had, quite successfully, signalled her disapproval and at that point, he had no choice but to leave her alone. So he did.
10. There could be other reasons of Brittany’s disapproval as well. It could be Lehrmann’s way of doing the deed; it could be her own demons; it could be anything. But when she was hinting 12 things positive towards doing the deed, Lehrmann could have ignored (totally a human instinct) her last node of disapproval. It could have been anything.
11. But whatever the reason may be, Lehrmann had not started the deed as a one-way ticket.

Him leaving the scene left more scars than the deed itself. Guards saw Brittany in an objectionable state; and she couldn’t handle that bit as well. One scene after another traumatized her. After the incident, all the memories especially the ending part made Brittany question all this. It had not started as a rape…but it definitely became one by the end.

Lerhmann was a predator but it is also true that Brittany threw a lot many loose balls at him. On a professional front, putting your job on stake and throwing flirtatious jags here and there is, of course not illegal, but definitely doesn’t say much good about you.

When I heard that the government paid Brittany more than 2.0 million dollars (when she became awkwardly silent) as a settlement; I felt so much pain for the taxpayer money. Brittany was raped (as I think of course) but she was involved too. The act was done by an idiot colleague who could not control himself AFTER she had been nursing and encouraging him for some time. Of course there is no mobile data to support this but Brittany’s colleague’s comment and her coming to the Parliament House does have some weight.

1. Lehrmann should have accepted that there was a consensual sex involved. He should have presented the texts and messages to support this. He would have won the case in convincing the court that Brittany was involved and never shushed him away. It was her encouragement that led him go one step ahead in their relationship. It was a sex that went wrong. May be, Brittany’s inner conscious had kicked in, may be she didn’t like Lehrmann (there are a million of may bes that can come here) but until that very point, Brittany was standing beside him. This was an open and shut case. But Lehrmann being Lehrmann denied the act and made it even trickier. This can earn him a punishment for lying to the court.
2. This defamation case should be won by Lehrmann for he was discussed and jibed at in a tv interview before his trial began. Whether he had committed this offence or he hadn’t; this show went on air to make some money and get the ratings before this man got a chance to prove his innocence. The ‘good’ purpose of the show was buried under the real motive of selling a hot story which was making waves in the country at that point. This was very insensitive of the media house. They should be fined. Some pieces of news should be left to the authorities who are trained and accountable for breaking them. You and me cannot play justice-justice, otherwise, this country will be run by media clowns who have no conscious and do EVERYTHING to make money.
3. The money which Lehrmann would get in winning this case should go to the court. Because, deep down, the media house wasn’t showing insensitivity to Lehrmann, they showed it to the Court whose job was hi-jacked by the honourable lady reporter. Lehrmann had already become the talk of the town; his friends and colleagues already knew it was him. This tv show didn’t put a dent to an already dented ecosystem in which Lehrmann was breathing. Hence, in my opinion, the media house didn’t defame Lehrmann as much as it defamed the Court.
4. Lehrmann should be fined for lying to the court and not stopping when the girl signalled her disapproval in the act. Even if during the act, a woman raises a flag then the man should stop. Because beyond this line, every act becomes an assault. However, I also feel that Brittany took too much financial benefit out of this. Only God knows at what time, they both disagreed to the deed; it could have been after the whole thing – in that case Lerhmann is totally innocent.
5. When I look at Brittany and at her face which tells me how many tablets she has taken to kill her depression, I feel for her. Somewhere in the act, this woman did show her discomfort and disapproval and may be it hit her soul too hard. After all, we are all different people and take the blow of pain in different way. She has paid a big price for encouraging a man like Lehrmann. She was flirtatious and never discouraged Lehrmann. However, if she had raised a signal during the deed, then definitely whatever happened to her from that point onward was an assault. And her memory tells her so as well. However, I still believe that she took Lehrmann to that point and Lehrmann alone should not be blamed. She walked to the office on her own feet; she perched on the sofa on her own will; her dress was carefully withdrawn with no sign of force – this means something.
6. However, when I hear that 2.0 plus million dollar has already been awarded to Brittany from the Commonwealth as a compensation (without doing any investigation) then I think that this is may be too much of a compensation. This amount should be taken back or reduced. In fact, Lehrmann should be fined to pay Brittany.
7. Brittany should be sent to the correction centre; the lady needs to learn few lesson on professionalism and family morals before starting her new career. And I’m not writing this as an insult. Honestly, she will definitely benefit from such programs. She has taken maximum financial benefit from all of this and it shows that she never lost her brains during this whole journey. If Lehrmann is an opportunistic then so is she!

This is a very time-sensitive case. This whole case depends upon assessing the time at which Brittany raised the flag. Because before that point, this was not a rape. If it becomes somehow clearer to the honourable judge that Brittany was all in and the whole deed was over and then she had some after thoughts much later then Lehrmann should come out clean. But if Brittany was fairly assertive at the beginning than Lehrmann should be served his next breakfast at the jail.