Australian of the Year Grace Tame has taken aim at the rhetoric used by Australia's male leaders, including Prime Minister Scott Morrison, to discuss sexual assault and abuse.
In an address to the National Press Club this afternoon, Ms Tame said she was not surprised by the recent rape allegations which have rocked Australian politics.
"Cover-up culture, the abuse of power, is not unique to Parliament…it happens everywhere," she said.
READ MORE: Now all of Australia knows Grace Tame's name
The response of Australia's political leaders to the allegations was also characteristic of the current culture, she said.
Ms Tame was questioned about Mr Morrison's reaction to rape claims made by former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins against a male colleague, in which Mr Morrison talked about speaking to his wife Jenny who helped him "clarify" how he felt "as a father" about the allegations.
"It shouldn't take having children to have a conscience," Ms Tame said in response.
"And, actually, on top of that, having children doesn't guarantee a conscience."
Ms Tame also criticised comments made by Defence Chief Angus Campbell, who reportedly told the new recruits at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra to protect themselves by avoiding the attention of would-be predators.
General Campbell said "young attractive people" needed to be aware of risk factors such as alcohol and being out and alone after midnight.
Ms Tame said the remarks were "really unhelpful".
"I'm not judge, jury and executioner, but that's not helpful rhetoric at all," she said.
"That feeds the idea that this is something that a victim has to foresee and stop themselves, if they're to blame," she said.
Ms Tame, 26, was groomed and raped by her 58-year-old maths teacher when she was 15.
He was convicted and jailed, however under Tasmania's sexual-assault victim gag laws, Ms Tame couldn't legally speak out about her experience – despite the perpetrator and media being free to do so.
Ms Tame urged State and Federal governments to undertake policy reform on sexual assault on a national level.
She called for more education in schools on grooming and a national system that supports survivors.
"We need to agree on something as absolute as what consent is," she said.
"We need a uniform, state and federal, national standard definition of consent. Only then can we effectively teach this fundamentally important principle consistently around Australia."
If you, or anyone you know is struggling, please contact: Lifeline 13 11 14; beyondblue 1300 224 636; Domestic Violence Line 1800 65 64 63; 1800-RESPECT 1800 737 732
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