In Australia, tens of thousands took to the streets across the country today amid a recent wave of allegations of sexual assault and discrimination against high-level political figures, including Australia’s attorney general. A former staffer for the Liberal Party, Brittany Higgins, recently went public with an accusation of rape against a former colleague. Other women have since come forward to say they, too, survived sexual assault by the unnamed man. Brittany Higgins spoke at today’s rally in Canberra.

Brittany Higgins: “I was raped inside Parliament House by a colleague. And for so long, it felt like the people around me only cared because of where it happened and what it might mean for them. It was so confusing, because these people were my idols. I had dedicated my life to them. They were my social network, my colleagues and my family. Then suddenly they treated me differently. I wasn’t a person who had just gone through a life-changing, traumatic event; I was a political problem.”