The parliamentary scandal in Australia is expanding, with three more women claiming to have been victims of rape or sexual harassment, the ABC TV channel reports.

Last week, it became known that an employee of the press service of the Minister of Defense of Australia, Brittany Higgins, filed a report of rape with the police. The incident occurred in March 2019 in the parliament building, in the parliamentary office of Minister Linda Reynolds. According to the statement, the girl was raped by a workmate.

Three other women, including a parliamentary aide to the Liberal Party and a woman who worked as a volunteer for the 2016 election campaign, have now been charged by an unnamed member of the Defence Secretary’s office.

Read also: The Vatican, amid scandals, is conducting an audit of its assets worth billions of euros

A fourth woman went to the police about an incident that occurred in 2017 in Canberra at the Public Bar, where representatives of the political establishment traditionally gather. The victim, on condition of anonymity, told the TV channel that it was an unacceptable touch that the accused allowed himself.

The Australian authorities have promised to conduct a quick and independent investigation into the scandal, which is being conducted not only by the police but also by the special parliamentary police.