Queensland: MP Claims she was Drugged and Sexually Abused

Police in Australia have opened an investigation following Queensland MP Brittany Lauga’s complaint that she was drugged and sexually assaulted.

The assistant minister for health said she was attacked on a night out in Yeppoon, her electorate.

“This could have happened to anyone and tragically, it does happen to many of us,” she went on to say.

The event occurred during rallies in response to recent brutality against women.

Ms Lauga, 37, went to the police station and subsequently to the hospital on April 28th.

“Tests at the hospital confirmed the presence of drugs in my body which I did not take,” she claimed in a statement shared on social media, adding that the substance had harmed her “significantly”.

The Queensland Police Service (QPS) said that police were investigating a sexual assault complaint following an incident in Yeppoon on Sunday.

Ms Lauga was reportedly approached by other ladies who said they had been drugged on the same occasion.

“It’s not okay. “We should be able to socialise in our town without fear of being drugged or assaulted,” she added, adding that she needed time to “physically and emotionally heal.”

Police said no more reports in the same area had been made, but they urged anyone with information or who had witnessed something similar to contact them.

“The QPS takes all reports of drink spiking seriously and investigates reports of drink spiking on a case-by-case basis, and often in conjunction with other offences such as sexual assault,” it stated.

Ms Lauga has served in parliament for nearly a decade, initially being elected to the Keppel seat in 2015.

According to Australian media, Queensland Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon described the charges as “shocking” and “horrifying”.

“Brittany is a colleague, she is a friend, she is a young woman in the Queensland parliament and these are really shocking things to read,” he said.

“It is intolerable that women are disproportionately affected by domestic, family, and sexual violence. Our administration will continue to do everything possible to safeguard women and prevent violence from occurring.”

In recent weeks, there has been an increase in gender-based violence across Australia.

Joel Cuachi fatally stabbed six people in a Sydney retail complex in April.

Five of the victims were female, and the New South Wales police commissioner told Australia’s ABC News that it was “obvious” he targeted women.

In response to the incident, a wave of marches occurred, with people demanding that gender-based violence be declared a national emergency and tighter legislation enacted to prevent it.

So far this year, one woman has been killed every four days across the country.