SYDNEY, June 15 (Reuters) - An Australian senator on Thursday said she was followed, aggressively propositioned and inappropriately touched by another senator in parliament house, and called on the government to make the building safer for women.
"I experienced sexual comments and was inappropriately propositioned by powerful men," Thorpe told the Senate, where her comments are protected by parliamentary privilege.
Thorpe made the comments on Thursday, after the previous day accusing Liberal Party senator David Van of harassing and sexually assaulting her during the previous parliamentary term.
"I will fully cooperate with the investigators and answer any questions that they may have of me and Senator Thorpe should do the same," Van said.
Thorpe's claims follow numerous reports of sexual abuse and misconduct in parliament, which led to an independent inquiry into parliamentary workplace culture which found one in three people working there had experienced sexual harassment.
Persons:
Lidia Thorpe, Thorpe, David Van, Van, Peter Dutton, Dutton, Thorpe's, Praveen Menon, Lincoln
Organizations:
SYDNEY, Senate, Liberal, Liberal Party, Thomson
Locations:
Australian