A mother left in tears after being thrown out of court by a judge for breastfeeding her baby has spoken out about the humiliating experience that continues to draw fierce reaction.
The woman who did not want to be named said it caused her to feel “overwhelming shame and humiliation” after Judge Mark Gamble’s unapologetic unapologetic speech to jury Friday, a day after she was ousted.
Judge Gamble evicted her on Thursday while presiding over a high-profile case in Victoria County Court, saying her breastfeeding was a “distraction”.
She was sitting in the courtroom with her baby watching the trial when he called her.
The controversial eviction has sparked outrage and backlash across Australia, including from former Victorian MP Kirstie Marshall, who was also ordered to leave parliament two decades ago over the same issue.
Former Olympic air skier and politician Kirstie Marshall, who was asked to leave parliament while nursing her newborn daughter Charlotte in 2003, weighed in on the controversy after a mother was evicted from a court.
Judge Gamble addressed the controversy Friday with the 15 jurors who were not in the courtroom at the time, telling them their actions were “self-explanatory.”
But the mother at the center of the controversy said much more education is needed on the issue.
“I don’t want any other mother to have to go through the overwhelming shame and humiliation that I experienced,” she said. herald sun.
“It’s not just about me, it’s about all the other moms who are struggling with breastfeeding and don’t feel supported.”
Judge Gamble doubled down on his stance when he spoke to the jury on Friday, repeating what he had said the day before.
Judge Mark Gamble (pictured) evicted the mother while presiding over a high-profile case in Victoria County Court on Thursday, saying her breastfeeding was a “distraction”.
“Everything should be self-explanatory, jurors,” he said.
‘What I said was this, and I’m reading from the transcripts: ‘Ma’am, you will not be allowed to nurse a baby in court.’ I’m sorry. I’ll have to ask you to leave. At least it will be a distraction for the jury. Thank you”
‘I’m telling you this because it’s something that’s gotten some publicity in the media, and I think you need to know exactly what I said and why I said it.
‘As I said a moment ago, I think it’s self-explanatory.’
Judge Gamble urged the jury not to let the media attention surrounding the courtroom eviction prevent them from making important decisions for the court case, saying to “focus on the issues at hand.”
The mother who walked out of the courtroom in tears Thursday said she respected the judge and was not demanding an apology from him or the courts.
But she is angry that she was singled out simply for feeding her son.
“We’re not where we were 20 years ago … there are many other ways he could have done it,” he said.
Green Senator Larissa Waters (pictured) made history in 2017 for being the first woman to breastfeed in the federal parliament calling for the decision to expel the mother.
Meanwhile, the incident sparked outrage with prominent nursing mothers speaking out on the issue.
Green senator Larissa Waters made history in 2017 for being the first woman to breastfeed in federal parliament.
‘If I can breastfeed in Parliament, mums should be able to breastfeed anywhere. We definitely need more female judges, including those who are breastfeeding!’ she tweeted on Friday.
Senator Waters breastfed her infant daughter, Alia, while introducing a motion on black lung disease in the Senate.
Former Olympic air skier and politician Kirstie Marshall, who was asked to leave Victorian parliament while nursing her then 11-day-old daughter Charlotte, also weighed in on the controversy.
“A woman is just taking care of her baby,” Ms Marshall (pictured) said this week.
“A woman is simply caring for her baby in an institution that is intentionally designed to represent justice, equity and the protection of equality,” she told 10News.
‘The irony is not lost on anyone.’
The presenters of Channel 10’s flagship show The Project called for understanding after the woman was ‘shamed, singled out and humiliated’.
Katherine Feeney told the panel that mothers like her have to answer to their children when they need to feed.
“We can do this while maintaining the dignity of the courtroom as has been done in parliament – the more we see women breastfeeding in public places the better,” she said.
Meanwhile, other presenters were “shocked” that the baby was in the courtroom in the first place.
“If the baby was there and it was that small and it was being breastfed, it will probably make noise, it will need to eat, so there has to be some kind of understanding,” said journalist Georgie Tunny.
Earlier on Friday, Today show host Karl Stefanovic also weighed in on the saga.
Karl Stefanovic criticized a judge for kicking out a nursing mother and her son from the courtroom
“I can’t believe in this modern society,” he said.
“There are going to be people out there who say, ‘Oh, well, she could have gone elsewhere.’ Come on, what’s the problem?
