Pauline Hanson's 'Two-Way Street' Domestic Violence Comments Spark Widespread Backlash

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has described domestic violence as a "two-way street", while telling women who suffer abuse they should not "put up with it".

On Wednesday, Senator Hanson was asked to respond to comments made by One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce earlier in the day, who said it was not cool to lose control.

She was asked about her message to men who hurt their intimate partners and was urged to call out their behaviour.

"It is wrong, but it's also a two-way street," she responded to 4BC Mornings on Wednesday morning.

"I think today everyone's sitting on a time bomb because the pressures on cost of living and people having to be able to pay the bills, tension that's going on or if you lose your job or the kids, what's happening with the children these days. Everyone is under so much pressure."

She told women who were getting abused by men not to "put up with it".

"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.

Senator Hanson acknowledged that domestic violence was "a scourge" that could not be dismissed and said people needed to communicate better.

"It's really hard. I don't think we communicate enough with each other. We don't explain our feelings, what's happening at the moment. We bottle it all up," she said.

Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said Senator Hanson's comments send a message to victims that violence was their fault.

"We all experience pressures in life. Violence is never the answer," she said in a statement.

"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."

Shadow Home Affairs Minister Jonno Duniam condemned the remarks, saying politicians had to be careful with their words.

"When you're a community leader, when you're a lawmaker. You need to demonstrate empathy. You need to understand people's experiences," he told ABC.

"And I understand the point she's making about how different people will be affected in different ways, but her conveying of the message she conveyed was very poor and can have a detrimental impact, in my view."

Asked whether women were more often the victims of domestic violence, he said it was a "fool's errand" to argue otherwise, given the data.

Roughly a quarter of women have experienced physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner, compared with 7.3 per cent of men, according to the latest Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data.

Advocates label remarks 'insulting and dangerous'

The comments have prompted a quick backlash from domestic violence advocates.

CEO of Sydney-based shelter Women and Children First Michelle Povah said many women were living with coercive partners who closely monitored them and could not just walk out the door.

"Telling women to 'just leave' misunderstands the reality of domestic and family violence," Ms Povah said.

"Their movements may be monitored, their phone calls checked, their finances controlled, and their contact with family and friends restricted. Some women are rarely left alone. In these circumstances, how does a woman ask for help when she cannot safely leave home or pick up the phone?"

Ms Povah said separation was one of the most dangerous times for victim-survivors, with the risk of serious violence and homicide increasing sharply.

Women's Legal Services Australia executive director Adrianne Walters agreed Senator Hanson's comments were unfair on those stuck in a dangerous situation.

"As a society we should be ensuring women get the support they need, when and where they need it," she said.

"Blaming women living in fear, and without the support and financial resources to leave, is a fundamental misunderstanding of reality."

Nicole Yade, CEO of Women's and Girls' Emergency Centre, said given Senator Hanson's experience of domestic violence herself, the lack of empathy was "deeply disappointing".

"Rather than offering empathy and understanding, they reflect a victim-blaming narrative that has no place in conversations about domestic and family violence," she said in a statement.

"Saying 'just leave' ignores proven patterns of behaviour that keep many victim-survivors trapped in abusive relationships.

"Following an abusive incident, displays of remorse, love-bombing, gifts and promises to change often manipulate victims into believing the violence will never happen again. Too often, the cycle then repeats."

Renee Carr, executive director of national women's advocacy group Fair Agenda, described the senator's comments as "insulting and dangerous".

"As most of us know too well, some men respond to a woman trying to escape their abuse with murder," she told ABC.

"We already know how hard it is to find safe and affordable housing — without adding in the complexities of trying to escape someone who is threatening you."

It comes as new research from Anglicare Sydney highlights the cost of leaving domestic and family violence has risen 71 per cent in a decade.

The study, released on Wednesday, found that the immediate costs of leaving, including bond, temporary accommodation and costs of establishing a household had risen from $4,098 in 2016 to $7,017 in 2026.

Ms Carr said Senator Hanson should direct her energies to supporting women in her home state.

"About 620,000 Queensland women have been subjected to abuse by an intimate partner or family member," she said.

"If the senator actually wanted to serve Queensland women, she'd be pushing for investment in the specialist domestic and family violence services that help women establish safer futures and hold men using violence accountable — not speaking down to them."

Brittany Higgins condemned Senator Hanson for the remarks and said she was "normalising" victim-blaming rhetoric.

"'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 on social media.

Thirty-eight Australian women have been killed this year according to Australian Femicide Watch.

Violence against women and children was under the spotlight last week, after two women and two teenage girls were killed in four days earlier this month.

It has renewed calls for a royal commission into how domestic, family and sexual violence can be stopped.

However, it does not have the support of some, like Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner Micaela Cronin, whose team has examined thousands of recommendations already made by more than 25 different inquiries — including royal commissions and inquests

"What we need to see now is action, coordinated action at a national level that is funded commensurate with the scale of the problem," she said.

Responding to the calls last week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese argued the government already has the answers and that the community knew what had to be done on the issue.