A conference titled Restoring the Presumption of Innocence is being advertised to occur in June in the Rushcutters Bay area, with the aim of discussing “what’s needed to achieve a fair system”. The event page claims that the presumption of innocence, a legal principle which imposes the burden of proof on the prosecution, no longer exists in Australian law, and that domestic violence laws, and the criminal law system in general, benefit women and victims at the expense of male perpetrators.
The conference is being organised by Bettina Arndt, a former sex therapist and educator of the 1970s who refocused her career on men’s rights activism from the 1990s. Arndt has since attracted controversy and criticism, most notably for defending and platforming convicted child sex offenders and perpetrators of domestic and sexual violence. Critics also point to her use of false and misleading evidence, and how she supplies exaggerated claims about the impact of sexual and gender-based violence.
The conference is being supported by Australians for Science and Freedom, an organisation founded on opposing COVID-19 public health measures that has since expanded to support the supposed fight against the ‘war on men’. Australians for Science and Freedom notably support Dr David Richards, banned from working with female patients by the Health Ombudsman in 2023. The nature of the misconduct allegations have not been released to the public. He is still registered as a medical practitioner by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Authority’s website, and restrictions on his practice are not mentioned.
Richards is also the promoter of the Arndt conference on the Australians for Science and Freedom webpage.
The conference has five advertised speakers, three of which are named. One of the named speakers is Bruce Lehrmann, the man accused of sexually assaulting former parliamentary staff member Brittany Higgins. Criminal charges brought against Lehrmann in 2019 were withdrawn in 2022 after the trial resulted in the discharge of the jury, and a second trial was deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to Higgins’ life . Lehrmann has also been charged with two counts of rape in a sperate matter alleged to have occurred in Toowoomba in 2021.
Lehrmann is suing Channel Ten and reporter Lisa Wilkinson on their coverage in relation to the 2019 allegations.
Professor Augusto Zimmermann and Chris Merrit are the other named speakers for the conference. A former Law Reform Commissioner from WA, Zimmerman now devotes his time to writing articles for the Quadrant; criticising reforms to domestic violence laws – claiming they are too subjective and offer victims too much legal power – as well as writing against no-fault divorce. He has also claimed that false accusations of domestic violence are common. The other speaker, Merritt, is a regular contributor to Sky News and The Australian, and the Vice President at the Rule of Law Institute Australia. Merrit authored commentary on Christian Porter’s defamation case, in which he characterised media reporting as a “lynch mob” and questioned the merits of the allegations against Porter.
Why this event must be stopped
This event contributes to harmful and untruthful rhetoric on sexual and gender-based violence in Australia, putting women and other victim-survivors at risk. The questioning of survivors and their lived experience normalises rape culture and myths, influencing not only individual attitudes and beliefs but also the framing and responses to sexual and gender-based violence in the legal sector.
An inquiry by the NSW Mental Health Commission in 2019 found that exacerbating factors for poor mental health for victim-survivors included shame and negative responses to disclosures. Arndt’s event fosters attitudes that shame survivors for coming forward and perpetuates myths on false reporting and the functioning of the criminal legal system.
The sentiment that men and accused perpetrators of sexual assault are treated unfairly is disproven by the very fact that Arendt and media organisations are able to repeatedly contribute to rape culture and myths concerning sexual assault, and platform accused and convicted perpetrators whilst scrutinising victim-survivors.
Pushing purposefully inflammatory false narratives is now a method to grow their careers in the conservative, ‘free-speech’ space.
Arndt and USyd
Dangerous rhetoric such as this was the reason protests occurred when Arndt was invited to speak at the University of Sydney (USyd) in 2018 as a part of her ‘Fake rape crisis’ campus tour. The Sydney University Liberal Society (SULC) hosted Arndt with an audience of approximately forty people. The Women’s Collective organised a protest against the event, barricading the entrance. There were reports of protestors being roughly handled by security and event attendees. Despite this, USyd defended its decision to host Arndt on the basis that all ideas should be freely discussed. It is alarming that the USyd would allow for the platforming of a woman who had claimed that there is no sexual assault crisis in Australian universities and that incident reports were being inflated.
Arndt was invited to speak again at USyd in March by the University of Sydney Conservative Club for an event titled ‘Lawfare in Australia’. The event was a discussion on the same topics advertised for Arndt’s upcoming conference: the supposed undermining of the presumption of innocence, freedom of speech, and the media. Arndt’s invitation was eventually rescinded by the NSW Young Liberals.
Action to stop the conference
Despite the harmful and untrue rhetoric of the conference, there has been a sizable amount of support demonstrated for the event. As of Saturday April 13, the online fundraiser for the conference has raised $6,925.
A petition from the organisation What Were You Wearing (WWYW) has gained over 5,500 signatures. The petition, although unable to compel governmental action, is calling on independent MPs Allegra Spencer and Alex Greenwich to take action as the conference is set to take place in their local government area. Neither Greenwich or Spencer have made a formal statement, however both have responded in the comments to a post made by WWYW. Alex Greenwich stated that he would not be attending the event if it were to happen, but beyond that he claims he does not have power to cancel the event. Rather disappointingly, Spencer, who has advocated for victims of domestic violence, has repeated Greenwich’s statement that there is nothing she is able to do.
Collective community action may happen as a counter to the event if it goes ahead. More information to come.
Resources:
- National Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence Counselling line: 1800 737 732
- Lifeline: 13 11 14 (Lifeline provides 24-hour crisis counselling)
- Blue Knot Foundation Helpline: 1300 657 380 (Blue Knot Foundation provides support and resources to adult survivors of child abuse and complex trauma)