Women should be able to walk into work and not have to wonder if they will be raped.
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Just as they should be able to walk the streets alone, or go for a run in a park at night without looking over their shoulder in fear of a potential attacker.
This year sexual abuse survivor Grace Tame was recognised for her fight against her attacker when she was named Australian of The Year.
It was recognition for not only the physical but mental battle's survivors like Grace have to endure. But her fight and the fight of others is far from over.
This week, former federal ministerial staffer Brittany Higgins accused a colleague of raping her in the office of then defence minister Linda Reynolds. The allegation alone is shocking, but it is the reaction of the Prime Minister that could be seen as part of a more widespread cultural issue.
The PM said at a press conference on Tuesday that his wife had given him advice on how to tackle the situation.
"She said to me, 'You have to think about this as a father first. What would you want to happen if it were our girls?'," he said.
A man, more specifically the man in the nation's top seat, should not need to be a father to understand that women deserve better than to be at risk of rape in the workplace.
It is a reactive attitude and points to a wider cultural problem, not only within government departments, but society. It was Mr Morrison standing beside Grace Tame last month, acknowledging her bravery.
Yet Brittany Higgins was allegedly raped in 2019, and it has taken two years and her going public for the story to come to light.
Ms Higgins said she did not go to the police, because she thought her job would be at risk. So what kind of workplace has been created, that allows a man to allegedly rape a colleague, and the alleged victim is the one that feels she is in the wrong?
Whether it be sexual assault, bullying or harassment work places must be safe and the standard should be set at public office. Unfortunately for Ms Higgins the standard fell short, but hopefully good will come from her speaking her truth.
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