DailyExpertNews
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An Australian judge has been widely criticized for asking a breastfeeding mother to leave a public gallery in his courtroom and then defending his decision as “self-explanatory”.
Mark Gamble, a Victoria County Court judge, told the woman, who fed her child under a blanket while observing the trial, to leave because it could be “a distraction for the jury,” reported DailyExpertNews affiliate 9News .
The news network reported that the woman, who wished to remain anonymous, told a local newspaper she felt shocked and humiliated and began to cry after leaving the courtroom in Melbourne.
Naomi Hull of the Australian Breastfeeding Association told 9News she was “completely shocked” by the incident.
“It’s really disappointing to hear that things like this are still happening,” she added.
Ingrid Stitt, Victoria’s early childhood minister, said she understood the state’s attorney general would talk to the courts about the matter, DailyExpertNews affiliate 7News reported.
“I mean it’s goddamn 2023, and women should never (feel) like they can’t really feed their child, which is totally natural and pretty simple,” she said.
“We need to be able to make women feel that there is nothing wrong with taking care of their child, including feeding their child in public places.”
Gamble later explained the decision to the jury, who were not in court when he asked the woman to leave.
“It should all go without saying, members of the jury,” he said, according to 9News.
“What I said was this, and I read from the transcripts, ‘Ma’am, you are not allowed to breastfeed a baby in court. I’m sorry. I’ll have to ask you to leave. At the very least, it will be a distraction for the jury. Thank you,” he added.
In 2016, the Australian Parliament changed its rules to allow female legislators to breastfeed their babies in the chamber, and in 2017 then Queensland Senator Larissa Waters became the first person to breastfeed in the Federal Parliament.
According to the Australian Breastfeeding Association, “a mother’s right to breastfeed her child is protected by law, both federally and in every state and territory”, and according to the country’s federal Sex Discrimination Act 1984, it is illegal to directly or indirectly discriminate. indirectly due to breastfeeding.
In the state of Victoria, discrimination due to breastfeeding is illegal in the areas of “accommodation, clubs, education, employment, goods and services, sale and transfer of land and sport,” the association adds, though courtrooms are not specifically mentioned.
DailyExpertNews has contacted the County Court of Victoria for comment.
