Australian MP, 37, Allegedly Drugged and Assaulted, Sparking Outcry

The 37-year-old Queensland Member of Parliament, Brittany Lauga, has reported to the Australian Police that she was allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted by unidentified individuals.

Lauga mentioned that the incident occurred during a night out in her constituency of Yeppoon, as reported by BBC.

The incident involving Lauga, who also serves as the Assistant Minister for Health, has triggered protests in response to recent instances of violence against women in Australia.

“This could have happened to anyone, and tragically, it does happen to many of us,” she stated after reporting to a police station and receiving medical attention on 28 April.

“Tests conducted at the hospital confirmed the presence of drugs in my body, which I did not consume,” she explained in a social media post, noting the substantial impact of the substance on her.

The Queensland Police Service (QPS) has confirmed an ongoing investigation into a sexual assault complaint related to an incident in Yeppoon on Sunday.

Reports suggest that Lauga has been contacted by other women who claimed they were also drugged on the same evening.

“It’s not OK. We should be able to enjoy socializing in our town without the risk of being drugged or assaulted,” Lauga emphasized, expressing the need for time to recover physically and emotionally.

While police have not received additional reports from the same area, they urge anyone with relevant information or similar experiences to come forward.

“The QPS treats all reports of drink spiking seriously and investigates them on a case-by-case basis, often in conjunction with other offences such as sexual assault,” they stated.

Lauga has served in parliament for nearly a decade, first elected to the seat of Keppel in 2015.

Queensland Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon reacted to the allegations, describing them as “shocking” and “horrifying,” as reported by Australian media.

“Brittany is a colleague, a friend, a young woman in the Queensland parliament, and these are shocking things to read,” Scanlon remarked.

“It is unacceptable that women are disproportionately the victims of domestic, family, and sexual violence. Our government will continue to do everything possible to protect women and prevent violence.”

Recent weeks have seen a surge in high-profile gender-based violence in Australia.

In April, an assailant stabbed six people to death in a Sydney shopping centre. Five of the victims were women, prompting the New South Wales police commissioner to highlight the perpetrator’s apparent focus on harming women.

This spate of incidents led to widespread rallies, with demonstrators advocating for gender-based violence to be recognized as a national emergency and calling for stricter laws to combat it.

So far this year, on average, a woman has been killed every four days in Australia.

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