Lidia Thorpe says she was 'followed', 'inappropriately touched' in ...

Addressing the Senate a day after withdrawing allegations accusing Senate colleague David Van of harassment and sexual assault - a claim he vehemently denied - Lidia Thorpe says she was inappropriately touched while in a stairwell in Canberra's Parliament House. The independent senator says she was 'inappropriately propositioned by powerful men' and 'cornered' in a stairwell, and that 'most of this was witnessed by … staff and fellow members of parliament'.

'No one witnessed what happened in the stairwell as there were no cameras in stairwells,' Thorpe said. 'There are different understandings of what amounts to sexual assault, what I experienced was being followed, aggressively propositioned and inappropriately touched.' Thorpe said she did not make the incident public 'because it was during the time Brittney Higgins had made her experience in this building public ... but then yesterday I had to listen to a senator who has made me feel unsafe speak on how important it is to keep women safe in parliament'

Lidia Thorpe withdraws accusation made in parliament of sexual assault against senator David Van