Pauline Hanson faces backlash over domestic violence remarks
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has drawn sharp criticism from domestic violence advocates after she described domestic violence as a "two-way street" and advised women facing abuse not to "put up with it."
In comments made on Wednesday to radio station 4BC, Hanson said domestic violence in Australia was a "scourge" but argued that society was under "so much pressure." She said, "It is wrong, but it's also a two-way street. I'm not saying that it's just men, women can lose their cool as well. Society is under so much pressure … Everyone is under so much pressure and it's really hard."
Hanson, who said she had experienced domestic violence herself, told women who were being abused by men: "If you're not in a house where you feel safe … Then you shouldn't put up with it. If these women are getting abused by men out there, then don't put up with it."
The comments drew immediate condemnation from advocates who accused the senator of victim-blaming.
Tarang Chalwa, whose sister Nikita was murdered by her partner in 2015, said the responsibility should not fall on the victim. "My sister Niki tried to do what Ms Hanson suggests. Terrible advice. He murdered her," he said. "It is not as simple as 'don't put up with it.' The responsibility isn't on the victim. It's on the person who is abusive or violent. Overwhelmingly, that person is a man."
Brittany Higgins, executive director of the Vida Fund, also criticised Hanson's remarks in a social media post. "'Mutual abuse', 'two way street', 'just leave' – normalising this victim blaming rhetoric in relation to domestic violence when 38 Australian women have already been lost to femicide is atrocious," she wrote.
The Women's and Girls' Emergency Centre called the comments "vile and shameful," with chief executive Nicole Yade saying the remarks did not reflect the fact that violence was gendered, with most family violence perpetrated by men against women and children.
The comments also drew a response from Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek, who said Hanson's remarks sent a message to victims that violence was their fault. "We all experience pressures in life. Violence is never the answer," she said. "Saying women should just leave completely misses the point. It's the most dangerous time. Senator Hanson should focus on how we better support survivors rather than belittling them."
The backlash comes as new research from Anglicare Sydney found that the cost of leaving domestic and family violence has risen 71 per cent in a decade, and follows calls for a royal commission into domestic, family and sexual violence.