This article contains references to allegations of rape and sexual assault.
Brittany Higgins has told the Federal Court she was "waterlogged" and couldn't call for help after waking up drunk while Bruce Lehrmann sexually assaulted her.
Higgins gave detailed evidence on Wednesday about what she says happened in Senator Linda Reynolds' office in the early hours of 23 March 2019.
She alleged Lehrmann sexually assaulted her in the Parliament House office after the pair had been out drinking with colleagues.
"I was lodged in between the armrest and the back of the couch. My head was jammed in the corner," she told the Federal Court.
During Lehrmann's defamation trial against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson over a report on The Project on the rape allegation, an emotional Higgins said she had woken up with Lehrmann "lurched over" her.
"He was very much in the throes of it," she told Justice Michael Lee.
"It just felt like he was doing it and it didn't matter, like I was an afterthought."
Higgins gave detailed evidence on Wednesday about what she says happened in Senator Linda Reynolds' office in the early hours of 23 March 2019. Source: AAP / Bianca De Marchi
Higgins told the court that after the alleged rape Lehrmann got off her and left without saying a word. Higgins then passed out again, the court was told.
She said when she woke in the morning, she threw up in Senator Reynolds' bathroom, tried to make herself look presentable, ate a box of chocolates from the staff kitchen, and grabbed a jumper from a goodwill box before leaving Parliament House.
Higgins said she didn't immediately tell anyone of the alleged sexual assault because she was still processing what had happened and instead spent the weekend holed up at home ordering take-out.
"I didn’t leave the house all weekend, I only emerged when I had to go to work on the Monday," she said.
Back at work, she was in a "very weird fugue state" and was disassociating herself from what had happened.
She first referred to the rape allegation in a meeting with then chief of staff Fiona Brown on 26 March 2019, and then to her friend and former boyfriend Ben Dillaway by text on the same day.
Initially, she said she had tried to give Lehrmann the "benefit of every doubt", believing that he may not have heard her saying no or that she may have led him on.
Despite this, she still wondered how he could leave her inebriated and passed out in the minister's office, the court heard.
Bruce Lehrmann is suing Lisa Wilkinson and Network Ten for defamation in the Federal Court. Source: AAP / Bianca De Marchi
On the Friday night in the hours before the alleged sexual assault, Higgins described Lehrmann as being "handsy" while at '80s-themed nightclub 88mph.
"I was dealing with him touching me. I didn't want it but I was tolerating it," she said.
Lehrmann was criminally charged in August 2021 over the alleged rape in Senator Reynolds' office in March 2019, which he denies.
His criminal trial in the ACT Supreme Court was derailed by juror misconduct and prosecutors did not seek a second trial, citing concerns for Higgins' mental health. Lehrmann has always asserted his innocence, and no finding has been made against him in relation to the allegations.
Earlier this year, a landmark report into the ACT legal system and the Higgins case in August made damning findings against former director of public prosecutions Shane Drumgold, which he has sought to challenge.
If this story has raised any issues for you, there is help available at Lifeline on 13 11 14.
If you or someone you know wants to talk about sexual assault or harassment, family or domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit
In an emergency, call 000.
