Bruce Lehrmann Lost, But We Watched A Survivor Torn Apart. Is This What Justice Looks Like?

Yesterday, in between tech issues and references to the Zapruder film, Judge Michael Lee handed down his verdict in the defamation trial brought against Channel 10 by Bruce Lehrmann.

When it became clear that Judge Lee would find in favour of Channel 10 and journalist Lisa Wilkinson, there was no victory cry to be heard. What there was, was a palpable relief for survivors around Australia that hopefully this would now be over. That maybe this chapter of vicious and cruel public debate could finally be closed. Because while some people had countdowns and shared public excitement about watching the proceedings, there are those of us that know better. Those who remember there is a real person who was put on trial, whose whole life was laid out for us to dissect and judge. Those of us who acknowledge that Brittany Higgins is not a political pawn, not a character in a story, but a friend, a family member, a survivor.

We’ve heard lots of talk recently on the importance of the presumption of innocence. That we can’t possibly know what happened between these two people, that we need to give Lehrmann a fair go. The rapist (on the balance of probabilities) himself, Bruce Lerhmann, was meant to will be talking at a conference about ‘restoring the presumption of innocence’ on June 1 (it has now been cancelled).

I wonder if the peddlers of this discussion — The Australian, Bettina Arndt, Janet Albrechtsen — have ever thought to apply that presumption to a survivor. To think that maybe we aren’t lying. To give us the space to tell our stories without deciding we are calculated and deliberate actors. To presume I am innocent in the act of my own rape.

If there is any good that can come out of this whole debacle, it’s that a spotlight has been shone directly on how our justice system treats survivors of sexual violence. With this case being held entirely in the view of the public, I have seen people outraged by how Brittany has been treated, how the worst moments of her life have been ours to devour. Maybe this will spur more people into action, more focus on our injustice system and more badly needed changes for survivors who choose to engage with it. We can make this process better, and after watching this horrible torture for weeks on end, how could anyone turn away again?

The other good is, of course, a bad person getting their comeuppance. Is there anything more satisfying than watching the person who initiated this whole bogus proceeding get their ass handed to them so resolutely it makes you feel like you’re watching an episode of Law & Order SVU.

The ego that consumes Bruce Lerhmann is the very same ego that sent him to start this case in the first place. Lerhmann was sure that he and his legal team could filter through all the muck and find the truth in this case. Unfortunately for him, he was right.

While we celebrate this as a win for survivors, a win for truth, I think of my friend. Someone who tried to do what we are told is the right thing. Someone who was pushed out of this country, away from her friends and family. Stalked by paparazzi, hounded by journalists.

Someone who deserved more kindness and grace than this country had ever been willing to give.

Hopefully this will change our culture for the better. This could allow us to have more nuanced conversations, dig deeper in our values of sexual violence and the many intersections within it. The world may well become a better place because of all of this horror. The question then is a classic trolley problem that I’d like you to consider; is all that a good enough reason to sacrifice Brittany Higgins?

To all survivors today; the pursuit of justice brought us here, the pursuit of a good life will keep us here.

Saxon Mullins is Director of Advocacy at Rape and Sexual Assault Research and Advocacy.