Bronwyn Hendry: Bunbury prison guard sexual harassment whistleblower rejects judge’s free lawyer offer

A former Bunbury prison officer who is suing her ex-bosses over explosive allegations of unrelenting sexual harassment and bullying has rejected an offer of a free lawyer, vowing to fight the battle herself. Bronwyn Hendry has lodged a statement of claim against the Department of Justice and several senior individuals, including the jail’s superintendent, Kerri Bishop, and department deputy commissioner, James August. The mother-of-six alleges that incessant sexual harassment by multiple male officers included them making bets about who would have sex with her first and exposing her to sexually explicit images. “I was grabbed by one of these respondents and assaulted. He said he was going to f... my brains out,” Ms Hendry told The West Australian. “I got locked in a cell with two bikies. I got threats in the workplace . . . saying that if I reported, I was a dog. “He used those exact words and said that my life would be at risk. “And then, when I finally reported them, I had two dead animals left on my doorstep — a decapitated possum and a decapitated puppy.” When Ms Hendry recently appeared in Federal Court, Judge Darren Jackson offered to advertise for pro bono legal representation. Ms Hendry responded by asking if her statement of claim had met the criteria to be filed, and Judge Jackson replied that he was not saying one way or the other but later said the respondents needed to see it first before it would be accepted. The judge added that he wasn’t trying to pressure her to get someone to act for her. But after Ms Hendry said, “No thank you, your honour”, Judge Jackson suggested it would have been better if she had accepted the offer. She explained outside court why she hadn’t. “If I get a lawyer and it’s pro bono and I win the case, then the State pays whatever my cost of the lawyer is, which could be up to, by the time it’s finished, $250,000,” she told The West. “I realised I could file here for $55 and be self-representing. So it’s an ethical decision that I’m not going to bring litigation forward where it’s a cost to the taxpayer. “I also need to prove to women that we don’t need to be silenced, that as a self-representing litigant, I can speak because there’s nothing under legal professional privilege. “And I can advocate for other women and show them that they don’t have to sell their houses to take further action. We have got the right to represent ourselves in society.” Ms Hendry accepts that she’s “up against a machine” but says she had been furiously researching the judicial system, even basing her statement of claim on one of the Attorney-General’s. “I think my paperwork is on point,” she said. “I’ll fight that battle.” Ms Hendry said the matter had been adjourned six times since it started in December, and she was keen to move beyond “technical arguments” and get to the heart of the allegations. She plans to address the court in a plain-speaking but well-considered manner. “When I write, it is how it is,” she said. “With impact, what exactly happened, explicit details of the sexual assault, everything — and that’s how I believe it should be told, with the evidence. “I don’t cover it up with lawyer-speak or Latin. The truth and the facts will win.” Ms Hendry is also alleging she endured gender and disability discrimination and a failure by management to respond appropriately. She said she left the job — where she was hoping “to make a difference” — after her mental health deteriorated due to the lack of support. Ms Hendry has initiated a petition calling for a parliamentary inquiry into sexual harassment and bullying in corrections, alleging it is widespread and being covered up. She hopes it will reveal a custodial system she describes as “broken,” the same way the inquiry into the fly-in, fly-out mining sector did. Her case will return to court on June 19. If you or someone you know needs help, contact 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732), or Sexual Assault Counselling Australia on 1800 211 028, the WA Sexual Assault Resource Centre on 6458 1828 or 1800 199 888 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.