Lisa Wilkinson reveals she was the victim of sexual assault

Lisa Wilkinson has revealed that she was the victim of sexual assault as a teenager. 

The Project Host, 61, is speaking out about the ordeal – which she suffered at the hands of a friend’s father – for the first time ahead of her upcoming memoir. 

Wilkinson says she was inspired by the bravery of Brittany Higgins, a former Liberal staffer who alleges she was raped in Parliament House in March 2019. 

‘I wasn’t actually going to write about that and I only made that decision earlier this year after witnessing the incredible courage of Brittany [Higgins],’ Lisa told Stellar Magazine on Saturday. 

‘I thought, if [women] don’t come forward and don’t show how incredibly common these experiences are, then the perpetrators win.’ 

‘And I couldn’t be a party to that,’ she added. 

Inspired: Wilkinson says she was inspired by the bravery of Brittany Higgins (pictured), a former Liberal staffer who alleges she was raped in Parliament House in March 2019 

‘I wasn’t actually going to write about that and I only made that decision earlier this year after witnessing the incredible courage of Brittany [Higgins],’ Lisa told Stellar Magazine

Past: The Project Host, 61, is speaking out about the ordeal – which she suffered at the hands of a friend’s father – for the first time ahead of her upcoming memoir. Pictured as a teen 

Lisa will document her assault in her new memoir, It Wasn’t Meant To Be Like This.   

Ms Higgins shocked the nation earlier this year when she alleged she was raped by a colleague in former defence minister Linda Reynolds’ office after a boozy night out in March 2019. She made a complaint to police in February. 

Bruce Lehrmann, currently in Queensland, is charged with sexual intercourse without consent at Parliament House in March 2019.

‘I thought, if [women] don’t come forward and don’t show how incredibly common these experiences are, then the perpetrators win. And I couldn’t be a party to that,’ she added

Shock: Ms Higgins shocked the nation earlier this year when she alleged she was raped by a colleague in former defence minister Linda Reynolds’ office after a boozy night out in March 2019. Pictured meeting with the Leader of the Opposition Anthony Albanese in Sydney in April

The 26-year-old faces one charge of sexual intercourse without consent which has a maximum sentence of 12 years in jail. 

Acting for Lehrmann, barrister John Korn told the ACT Magistrates Court in September he was instructed to enter a plea of not guilty. 

Lisa has been outspoken on the case and in March, she appeared at the Australian March4Justic protest, where she read a speech written by Higgins. 

Talking: Lisa has been outspoken on the case and in March, she appeared at the Australian March4Justic protest, where she read a speech written by Higgins. Pictured together 

‘The first phone call I made after I was asked was to Brittany Higgins,’ she said on The Project at the time. ‘I felt it was really important that Brittany’s words be heard’. Brittany Higgins is pictured at the Canberra March 4 Justice on March 15

‘The first phone call I made after I was asked was to Brittany Higgins,’ she said on The Project at the time. 

‘I felt it was really important that Brittany’s words be heard tomorrow.

‘Brittany said yes and she has written the most powerful words for me to deliver in Canberra tomorrow. So I feel extremely honoured to be able to be her voice.’  

In July, Lisa  spoke of her ‘heartbreak’ for Bill Cosby’s victims after the disgraced entertainer was freed from prison on a technicality. 

Family: Lisa and her husband Peter FitzSimons, 60, (right) are parents to three adult children, daughter Billie, 23, and sons Jake, 27, and Louis, 25

She posted Instagram to blast the controversial decision to free the 83-year-old comedian following his 2018 sexual assault conviction.

‘I am heartbroken today for every woman who suffered at the hands of Bill Cosby…

‘And for every survivor of sexual assault who has felt unheard, not believed, or for one of many, many reasons has simply been unable to tell their story. We see you,’ she wrote.

Lisa and her husband Peter FitzSimons, 60, are parents to three adult children, daughter Billie, 23, and sons Jake, 27, and Louis, 25. 

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Read more: In this week’s issue of Stellar Magazine with Lisa Wilkinson on the cover