In the midst of an ongoing femicide crisis, Australia's sex discrimination commissioner Anna Cody challenged a public framing of domestic violence as mutually shared, insisting that violence is always a perpetrator's choice and that blame directed at victims does not merely mislead — it endangers. The exchange, sparked by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson's characterisation of domestic violence as a 'two-way street,' surfaces a deeper national reckoning: how a society names a problem shapes whether it can solve it.
Sex discrimination chief condemns Hanson's domestic violence remarks as 'harmful'
Femicide described as national crisis; women and children murdered or hospitalized in domestic violence incidents over eight years with no significant decline.
Violence is a choice—blame rests entirely with the perpetrator
Mark
Why does it matter how we talk about domestic violence? Isn't the important thing just to stop it?
Mimi
Language shapes what we fund, who we blame, and what we ask of victims. If you frame it as a two-way street, you're asking the person being harmed to fix it. That changes everything.
Mark
But the data shows self-reported incidents are declining in New South Wales. Doesn't that suggest things are improving?
Mimi
That's the trap. Fewer reports might mean fewer people are calling police—maybe they've given up, maybe they're more afraid. Meanwhile, the actual deaths and hospitalizations haven't budged in eight years. The crisis is still there.
Mark
So what does Cody mean when she says leaving is the most dangerous time?
Mimi
It's evidence. Women are killed at higher rates when they try to leave than at any other point. The violence often escalates. So telling someone to "just go" without understanding that risk, without offering safe housing or support—that's not advice, it's danger.
Mark
What would actually help, then?
Mimi
Safe, affordable places to go. Money to live independently. Recognition that this is not a relationship problem to solve together—it's a crime. The perpetrator chooses violence. That's where responsibility lies.
Mark
And if we keep framing it differently?
Mimi
We keep asking victims to solve it. We keep underfunding shelters. We keep dying.
The Pulse
- Pauline Hanson's 'two-way street' framing ignited immediate condemnation from Australia's sex discrimination commissioner, who called blame-shifting toward victims not just wrong but actively dangerous.
- The urgency is grounded in lives lost — over eight years, the number of women and children murdered or hospitalised in domestic violence incidents has barely shifted, even as reported cases appear to fluctuate.
- Hanson pushed back, accusing media and Labor of distorting her words, but the rebuttal from advocates and officials only widened, with Women's Community Shelters CEO Annabelle Daniel stressing that leaving is not a simple choice without safe, affordable housing.
- Commissioner Cody's intervention draws a hard line: the moment of leaving is often the most dangerous, and the evidence of women killed while trying to escape makes victim-blaming a matter of life and death.
- The dispute now sits at the centre of a broader policy fault line — how Australia frames domestic violence responsibility will determine whether funding, shelter, and support reach those who need them most.
In the midst of an ongoing femicide crisis, Australia's sex discrimination commissioner Anna Cody challenged a public framing of domestic violence as mutually shared, insisting that violence is always a perpetrator's choice and that blame directed at victims does not merely mislead — it endangers. The exchange, sparked by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson's characterisation of domestic violence as a 'two-way street,' surfaces a deeper national reckoning: how a society names a problem shapes whether it can solve it.
On Thursday, Australia's sex discrimination commissioner Anna Cody entered a charged public debate with an unambiguous declaration: blaming people who experience domestic violence is harmful, wrong, and dangerous. Her statement was a direct response to One Nation leader Pauline Hanson's suggestion that domestic violence is a 'two-way street' — a framing Cody said undermines the country's capacity to confront what she described as a national crisis in the intentional killing of women.
Cody was precise in her reasoning. Domestic violence is never the responsibility of the person enduring it, she wrote. The evidence is clear that the moment a woman or child attempts to leave a violent relationship is frequently when danger peaks — too many have been killed in the attempt. Violence, she stated plainly, is a choice made by the person who commits it.
Hanson responded by accusing the media and Labor of twisting her words. But the pushback extended further. Annabelle Daniel, CEO of Women's Community Shelters, reinforced the same argument from a practical angle: domestic violence is a gendered issue, and the question of why someone doesn't simply leave ignores the absence of safe, affordable places to go. Without those options, leaving is not freedom — it is exposure to greater risk.
The exchange unfolds against data that resists easy comfort. While self-reported domestic violence incidents in New South Wales have declined, the number of women and children murdered or hospitalised over the past eight years has not meaningfully changed. The apparent drop reflects shifts in how communities report, not a reduction in the violence itself. The disagreement over language and responsibility is not abstract — it shapes policy, directs funding, and determines whether the people most at risk have the resources to survive.
Anna Cody, Australia's sex discrimination commissioner, stepped into a widening public argument on Thursday with a statement that cut through the noise: assigning blame to people experiencing domestic violence is not just wrong, it is dangerous. Her target was Pauline Hanson's recent characterization of domestic violence as a "two-way street"—a framing that Cody said undermines the nation's efforts to confront what she called a national crisis in the intentional murder of women.
Cody's intervention was direct. She wrote that domestic violence is never the responsibility of the person enduring it. The evidence, she noted, shows that the moment a woman or child tries to leave a violent relationship is often when they face the greatest peril. She cited the grim pattern: too many women have been killed after attempting to escape. Violence, Cody stated plainly, is a choice made by the person who commits it. Blame belongs entirely with them.
Hanson, the One Nation leader, responded to the backlash by accusing the media and the Labor party of distorting her remarks. But the criticism extended beyond Cody's office. Annabelle Daniel, chief executive of Women's Community Shelters, reinforced the same point with a focus on practical reality. Domestic and family violence, she said, is a gendered issue. The question of why someone doesn't simply leave, she explained, ignores a fundamental barrier: the need for somewhere safe and affordable to go, or the means to stay safely on one's own. Without those options, leaving is not a choice—it is a risk.
The exchange arrives against a backdrop of troubling data. New South Wales has recorded a decline in self-reported domestic violence incidents, a statistic that might suggest progress. But the numbers tell a different story when examined closely. Over the past eight years, the count of women and children murdered or hospitalized in domestic and family violence incidents has not moved significantly. The decline in reported incidents reflects a shift in community behavior, not a reduction in the underlying violence itself. The perception that violence against women is rising is understandable given increases in police-recorded reports and media attention, yet the lived reality in homes across the country appears grimmer than the headlines suggest.
Cody's statement and the responses it prompted highlight a fault line in how Australia discusses domestic violence. One side treats it as a shared responsibility, a problem with two sides. The other insists on a harder truth: that violence is not mutual, that leaving is not simple, and that framing the issue as anything other than a crisis of perpetrator choice obscures the path to solutions. The disagreement is not academic. It shapes policy, funding, and ultimately whether women and children have the resources and support they need to survive.
Notable Quotes
Domestic violence is never the responsibility of the person experiencing it. Leaving a violent relationship is not simply a matter of walking away. For many women and children, it can be one of the most dangerous times.— Anna Cody, sex discrimination commissioner
Domestic and family violence is a gendered issue. That requires somewhere safe and affordable to go, or to be able to safely and affordably stay on your own.— Annabelle Daniel, CEO of Women's Community Shelters
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Crime & Justice