A popular men’s magazine is under fire for including rape victim Brittany Higgins in its annual Hot 100 women list.
Maxim Australia released a list of its Hot 100 women for its 11th annual edition on Wednesday – day five of deliberations in the trial of Ms Higgins’ accused rapist, Bruce Lehrmann.
The case however was thrown out of court the following day after a juror accessed information that was not presented in court.
At the same time, Maxim was being rolled out for sale on newsagency shelves across the country.
On the list included some of Australia’s favourite personalities including, winner Margot Robbie, followed by Sam Kerr, Ash Barty, Emma McKeon, Grace Tame, Sarah Snook, Ariarne Titmus, Duckie Thot, Delta Goodrem and Abbie Chatfield.
Ms Higgins was placed 12th on the list and despite all the attention on the trial, Maxim defended its decision including her.
They said Ms Higgins was a worthy candidate and the rape trial which gained national traction made her influential.
Gender equality advocate Professor Catharine Lumby, chair of Media and Communications at the University of Sydney said having Ms Higgins’ name on the list was offensive.
“To me, [Ms Higgins inclusion] is offensive because that list is to be read as a list of who is hot and attractive,” she said.
“If it was a list of 100 people who have influenced Australia, I would have no issue with it.
“A magazine such as Maxim has to be far more cautious about who they are including in that sort of list.”
The rape trial was thrown out on October 27 after a juror accessed an academic paper about false rape accusations.
Chief Justice Lucy McCallum notified the court as soon as she found out that a juror had accessed evidence that was not presented in court.
All 12 jurors were called into the ACT Supreme Court and questioned after an academic paper that reported on how often false rape accusations were made was found.
“During routine tidying of the jury room by three sheriff’s officers after the conclusion of proceedings yesterday, one of the officers accidentally bumped one of the juror’s document holders onto the floor,” she said.
She said she had no other choice but to dismiss the jurors despite warning them “at least 17 times” to only discuss the points said in court.
“You must not try to undertake your own research,” she said she told them.
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“You must rely exclusively on the evidence you hear in this courtroom.
“If you are learning something about this trial, and I’m not there, then you should not be doing it.”
Mr Lehmann maintains his innocence and is currently on bail. He will face a retrial on February 20, 2023.
Images: Instagram/Nine
This article first appeared on OverSixty.