Trigger Warning: This article discusses domestic abuse. If you need support, contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
On Wednesday, July 22, Pauline Hanson told Brisbane radio station 4BC that she believes domestic violence is a “two-way street.”
When prompted by host Gary Hardgrave to condemn men who commit violent acts against women, Hanson acknowledged that “it is wrong” before shifting to victim-blaming rhetoric, adding that “women can lose their cool as well.”
While it’s true both men and women can be victims and perpetrators of family violence, the overwhelming majority of family and domestic violence (FDV) is perpetrated by men against women. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), there were 97,800 offenders proceeded against by police for at least one FDV-related offence in Australia in 2024–25. Almost four in five (or 78%) FDV offenders were male.
Hanson continued to shift focus away from perpetrators, suggesting broader social pressures were contributing factors: “Society is under so much pressure than what it used to be … I think today everyone’s sitting on a time bomb because of the pressures of the cost of living and people having to pay the bills … or if you lose your job or the kids. Everyone is under so much pressure.”
She then suggested that if someone felt unsafe, they could simply leave.
“Domestic violence is a scourge, but sometimes, look, I’m not going to go into detail, but I’ve been through it myself in my life, and I just feel that if you’re not in a house where you feel safe, you feel you don’t want to be there, then you shouldn’t put up with it,” she said.
“If these women are getting abused by men out there, then don’t put up with it.”
While there are many reasons women stay in abusive relationships, including fear, shame and a lack of resources, the threat of violence can make it impossible to leave safely.
Tarang Chawla, who lost his sister to domestic violence, hit back at Hanson’s comments on Instagram, writing in part: “Pauline Hanson reckons that women who are being abused by men should just not put up with it. My sister Nikita tried to do that. He murdered her.”
RELATED: Pauline Hanson Says Women Make Up DV & Is Not Fit To Chair Family Law Inquiry
Hanson also faced criticism from Brittany Higgins, who accused the One Nation leader of victim-blaming.
“‘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,” Higgins wrote in a social media post.
A new report from Anglicare found that, over the past decade, the price of leaving an abusive relationship has risen by 71%, with it now costing an average of $7,017 in 2026. The estimate takes into account multiple expenses that victims would need to consider, including a rental bond, at least three weeks’ rent, hiring a moving truck and temporary accommodation in a budget motel.
Hanson’s comments are not an isolated incident, but part of a longer history of minimising the realities of FDV.
In 2019, following her controversial appointment as co-chair of the federal government’s inquiry into Australia’s family law system, Hanson claimed that “there are people out there who are nothing but liars. I am hearing too many cases where parents are using domestic violence to stop the other parent seeing their children.”
However, this claim was challenged by evidence from the Australian Institute of Family Studies, which found that, regardless of allegations made in the Family Court, fathers retained visiting or parenting rights in 97% of cases.
When asked what evidence she had to support claims that women were falsely alleging domestic violence to gain an advantage in family law proceedings, Senator Hanson revealed the personal bias of her views, pointing to her own experience and saying: “From my own personal experience, seeing what happened with my son.”
For context, in 2016 it was reported that Hanson’s son, Adam Hanson, pleaded guilty in a Cairns court to breaching a Domestic Violence Order. Three years later, in July 2019, Hanson spoke about the case in Parliament and accused her former daughter-in-law of perjury.
RELATED: The First Man Has Been Jailed Under NSW’s Coercive Control Laws
In light of the recent deaths of women and children across Australia, Hanson’s remarks feel especially jarring.
In early July, two women and two girls were murdered over the course of four days. The victims were Lavanya Chappa, Jana Armstrong, 13-year-old Layla Jeffery and a 17-year-old Yolngu girl. In each case, a man known to the victim has been charged in connection with their death, with police alleging domestic relationships in several of the cases.
The deaths came just eight weeks after a man was charged over the murder of a woman and two children in a Sydney home, with police alleging the victims were his wife and two children..
This coming Monday, July 27, 2026, at 2:00 pm AEST, a nationwide test of the new emergency messaging system, AusAlert, will take place. For victim-survivors who are concerned their safe phone may make a sound, the Australian Government advises:
“If it’s not safe to receive AusAlerts on your devices, keep them turned off or in aeroplane mode until you need them.”
