In a blistering speech that ricocheted around the world, then-Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard stood in parliament after months of attacks on her for her gender and accused opposition leader Tony Abbott of misogyny.
Nearly nine years on, Prime Minister Scott Morrison is under fire for his handling of a series of rape scandals involving lawmakers. Women rallied across Australia today, protesting continued sexism in politics and in workplaces in general. Morrison’s government has hit a 13-month low in opinion polls.
He’s not the only politician under pressure as women demand their leaders not only enact greater protections for them at work, at home and in their daily lives, but also behave better themselves.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called on New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to “look inside his heart” and ask whether he can still do his job, with top Democrats urging him to resign over allegations of sexual assault and harassment. The House this week is scheduled to consider legislation aimed at combating violence against women.
In the U.K., Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a backlash after a weekend vigil in London for a woman who was abducted while walking home alone at night and murdered, allegedly by a police officer, turned violent as women attempting to speak were arrested.
In highly awkward timing, parliament today is debating a bill that would crack down on noisy protests.
There are calls to investigate police actions at the event, while the Labour opposition says it will oppose the protest bill.
In news that passed quietly, the weekend marked a year since police officers shot and killed Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, in her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky.
