Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

[by video link] The Jenkins report revealed some pretty ugly truths about this place. I just want to take the time to pay heed to all the women who came forward and shared their stories. In particular, though, I want to recognise the women of colour who came forward with their stories, to reveal how gendered violence and harassment are also racialised for them.

In particular, I want to recognise Danya Manning. Danya launched a campaign to end sexual violence, and has advocated to make workplaces safer for women since 2018. She is a former LNP staffer and is one of the first women of colour to speak out about her own experiences. Despite reaching out to the Prime Minister, she has not been acknowledged and she was not invited to the apology.

Since then, many staffers who are women of colour have contacted me. The other side to this ugly truth is that, historically, the voices of women of colour have been sidelined and silenced in important gender dialogues in this nation. The women who have contacted me are fearful that history is going to repeat itself. Too often, women of colour have been told to wait our turn. But our turn never comes. We've been told that we, too, will reap the benefits that other women have gained, but that never happens—at least, not without us having to take up our own fight.

Right now, women of colour who have shared their experiences of sexual violence in the workplace and in public are fearful. They are just as fearful as other women, because they experience that same sexualised violence, but it has an intersectionality to it, an intersectionality based on their race and their colour. I urge everyone here not to ignore that; don't ignore those racialised experiences of the women of colour who, bravely, have come forward and told their stories as part of the Jenkins review. We should consider those in the implementation of the Jenkins review, because it is only when we all stand together and it's only when we all raise our voices together that our voices gain a momentum and grow stronger. We cannot move forward for women as a nation if we do not consider the experiences and the different experiences of all women, and we need to acknowledge those differences.

To all the women of colour and the staffers who came forward, I want to tell you that I'm here for you and that if you need me, call me.