Brittany Higgins in ‘tug of war’ over ‘desperately’ wanting to report alleged rape and wanting to keep job, court told

Brittany Higgins had only been in the ACT for six months and had come for her ‘dream job’, counsellor Catherine Cripps told Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation trial against Network Ten. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

Brittany Higgins “desperately did want to report” her alleged rape but she did not want to lose her “dream job” in politics, a rape crisis counsellor has told the federal court.

At the end of the third week of the defamation trial, the counsellor, Catherine Cripps, said Higgins was in an emotional “tug of war” between “I want to report but I want my job”.