1 in 3 Aussie men admit to abusing their partner

New research released by the Australian government has found that more than 1 in 3 average Aussie men freely admit to having committed domestic violence against their partner.

It proves what many women in Australia have known for years – even if it’s “not all men”, it’s more than 1 in 3.

And that is just the men who are happy to say, yep I’m committing violent acts against against people I claim to love. The rest, we are left to wonder about.

These statistics come from the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS), in a longitudinal study that compares men’s health and self-reported behaviour in 2023-24 and 2013-14.

I dislike the name of this study, but I really hate the truths that the study uncovered.

In 2013-14, it was only 1 in 4 Australian men (25%) who freely admitted to having committed domestic violence against their partner.

It is not okay that more Aussie men than ever before are abusing women.

And it’s not okay that more men than ever before think this behaviour is so normal, that they’ll happily admit to committing literal crimes against women.

It cannot be overstated – these are self-reported behavioural statistics, from a huge sample size of 26,000 men.

This means these statistics really do represent what men think and do in Australia.

Continue reading

Today, 10am, King George Square

Please join us!

Today, 10am, King George Square.

I’ll be there early with kiddo, to help people make signs to get their message out there.

We need the government to understand how much their actions are NOT okay:

Cutting funding to DV shelters 👎

Cutting funding to the Vulnerable Persons Unit in Queensland Police 👎

Letting cops arrest victims instead of perpetrators 👎

Allowing violent men to have equal custody rights 👎

Making it harder to access termination of pregnancy after 🍇👎

Making it almost impossible to self represent in court, so women can’t fight for their own freedom and protect their kids 👎

Propping up property investors so that mums and kids have nowhere they can afford to live 👎

Kicking homeless mums and kids out of every park in Queensland, including illegally trashing their belongings and tents (their HOME) 👎

Making it harder to get child support or Centrelink support payments when escaping and recovering from DV 👎

I could go on!
#fyp #today #dvawareness #rally #brisbane

The Socialists have reached Queensland, and here’s how they plan to help you!

This week, I found out the Victorian Socialists, spearheaded by Jordan Van Den Lamb (aka Purple Pingers), have made it to the sunshine state.

Yayyyyy!

As they launch their campaign to build an official political party in Queensland, like the one they have down south, I have joined with gusto. 

I mean, founding members like me pay only $10 a year, which I can actually afford omg.

But I also genuinely think they are so cool, no sarcasm, just a desperate Millennial finding hope in fighting back against the establishment in this, Australia’s version of late stage capitalism. 😎

Some inspiring words from Rebecca, one of their organisers, are below in quotes.

The rest is my own commentary and praise of their efforts. 👏👏🤩

check out the Queensland Socialists on insta

Why Queensland Socialists?

They say – and I agree! – that:

“Queensland desperately needs a political force that stands up to the powerful, and stands with the people who are fighting back.”

The greater Brisbane region has been dubbed the homelessness capital of Australia, and it’s for the worst of reasons:

Soaring rents…

Climbing house prices where no first home buyer has a chance anymore…

Renter’s “rights” that give you just a hint of hope, before you get to the Queensland tribunal – which is run by rich white men who are actually, surprise surprise, landlords…

Oh, and luxury skyscraper apartment blocks popping up so often that they started calling us the City of Cranes, but you can’t afford to live there unless there’s 6 people sharing a 2-bedroom… 🏗️

And all of that nonsense, which is easily avoidable by changing policy, has tragically pushed many people and their families into housing stress.

Tent cities have popped up all across South East Queensland.

But that’s not enough for the fat cats in Queensland parliament. No, in 2025, the city councils of Moreton Bay and Brisbane have “coordinated with the police to forcibly” – and in my opinion illegally – evicted residents of the tent cities in Moreton Bay and in Brisbane’s Musgrave Park.

Rebecca of the Socialists says, “Since taking office in 2024, the Crisafulli LNP government has initiated a crackdown on government spending, whilst pledging $3.8 billion to construct an Olympic stadium over public green space at Victoria Park. They have put forward a government wages policy behind inflation for Queensland’s public servants, threatening to further drive back living conditions for nurses, teachers and paramedics.”

Continue reading

Adolescence “uncovers” the misogyny and violence that women have been talking about for decades

I forgot to post this one in March when I drafted it! Everyone, pretend you already saw it in March! 😅

Image source: compilation of stills from Adolescence on Netflix

Netflix’s popular new 4-episode show, Adolescence, is being hailed as a masterpiece in unveiling incel culture in young boys. And I agree, it is a brilliant performance by talented actors, and it is well-filmed, with each hour -long episode being filmed in one shot.

But even the show’s male producer, Stephen Graham, doesn’t seem to understand how his own misogyny creeps into his performance as Jamie’s father on the show.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Graham claims that his character is just an ordinary Dad, “a hard-working man” who works long hours.

“I didn’t want him to be a violent dad who would raise his hand to his children,” says Graham.

So why do we see this supposedly non-violent male character, being abusive against his wife and children throughout the series, before he violently attacks a young man in public in episode 4?

If this is what the “good guys” think makes a good father… If this is the type of non-violent man who “couldn’t stop” his son from becoming a murder?

Or – more likely – is this series just one more example of a man looking for someone else to blame for men’s violence?

In fact, social media itself isn’t the only scapegoat in this series.

Katie, the girl who was brutally murdered by Jamie, is blamed for her own death.

The detectives and Jamie’s family claimed Katie was “bullying” Jamie, when all she really did was say “no” when he asked her to go out with him, and posting a single emoji – albeit loaded with meaning – on one of Jamie’s posts.

Yes, and this gets cleared up fairly early in the series: In Episode 1, CCTV footage shows Jamie and Katie in an altercation. She pushes him, and he pushes her, and then he stabs her repeatedly.

What’s being said on the internet is not new. This was first all said in grumbling tones by men at the pub, and then shouted at women when those men stumbled home.

Social media isn’t the problem.

Men’s violence is.

Take action against men’s violence today:

  • Sign the petition to the federal government petition to STOP abusers from suing victims who dare to report to police or speak up to warn others.
  • Donate to frontline services who are actively helping women and children leave – and stay out of – violent relationships. I recommend DVConnect for their crisis helpline, RizeUp Australia for providing accommodation and emergency furniture, BRISSC for free counselling and art therapy, and Women’s Health and Equality Qld (WHEQ) for community events and education.
  • Loudly disagree whenever you hear victim-blaming language. (No matter who’s saying it!)
  • Hold boys accountable whenever they hurt girls or women.

Stay safe, friends. xx TJ

Family Court cases you have to read to believe: Josey & Meibos

The Family Court of Australia has made some really odd decisions in the past decade, which it uses as precedents when making decisions now.

There are a long list of cases that will blow your mind, and today, here’s just one of them.

In Josey & Meibos [2009] FMCAfam 470, the Family Court harshly reprimanded a mother when she changed her kids’ school to try to keep herself and her children safe from their father, who had a history of violence and anger against them.

Not only that, but the court ordered her to re-enroll the kids in their original school and creche, and ordered the mum to make all decisions like this jointly together with the dad in future.

Continue reading

Why does it take so long to become a teacher in Queensland?

We continue to have a teaching shortage in Queensland – see the stats below… And I’ve got some big suggestions for how the Queensland Department of Education can encourage and enable people to become teachers.

Specifically, people like me, who already have degrees and decades of work experience. These are career-changers who want to become mature-aged student teachers.

So I’m going to talk about how long postgraduate students need to study at university before they get into Queensland classrooms.

picture of TJ Withers teaching a mock lesson at QUT in August 2024
(Teaching a mock lesson at QUT in August 2024.)

For full disclosure, I recently submitted a written piece similar to this as a policy critique for assessment, as part of my Master of Teaching (Secondary). And I got a surprisingly high mark, given that I’m criticising the fundamental structure of the degree!

Continue reading

We love Queensland teachers and hope their strike wins them the world

I’m so proud and happy for all the teachers and educators and staff who are on strike today across Queensland.

It’s their first strike since 2009, and it’s well and truly needed.

Teaching has become a physically and mentally impossible job in this state over the past 50 years, and they deserve everything they’re asking for! (Scroll down to see the needs they’re asking for from the Qld government.)

As a student teacher (called a preservice teacher in Queensland), I was so hopeful going into my first prac this year.

But although the students were DELIGHTFUL, and the school itself was excellent, and I was receiving positive feedback from my incredible supervising teacher, I’m starting to think I may never be a teacher in this state.

Continue reading

Election: What political parties did when 4 women died in one week in Australia

Horrifically, during 2025’s Australian federal election campaign cycle so far, 4 women have died in one week (see Women’s Agenda).

A 45-year-old woman was murdered and her two young children grievously injured in Sydney.

Louise Hunt (42 years old) was allegedly murdered by her husband in Geham, Queensland.

Kim Duncan (65) was shot in her own living room.

And Claire Austin (38), who died in hospital after fleeing from a man believed to be her abuser. She had a court date set to get an apprehended violence order (a restraining order / protection order).

The men involved were all known or suspected of being violent or abusive before killing these women.

So with the election on this Saturday, and early voting happening at record levels, we should all ask ourselves: What are the political parties doing to keep women and children in Australia alive?

It’s a huge question, but the response from the Big Boys, Peggy Sue (Peter Dutton) and Albo (Hon. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese), has been tiny, and tokenistic at best.

In contrast, the response from The Greens and some keys independents has been massive, and meaningful for victim-survivors.

Want to keep women and children alive? Here’s who you should vote for in the Australian election.

Let’s break it down by political party.

What The Greens are doing to stop domestic violence

The Greens already do a lot to help victim-survivors of domestic and family violence (DFV) and advocate to prevent further men’s violence.

My local Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather puts a huge amount of their own salary into providing free community dinners every Monday, free school breakfasts, and advocating for housing for people at risk of being evicted.

They work with residents to fight against big developers who are trying to force them out of their own homes.

They were in the mud during the floods of Cyclone Alfred, making sandbags together with volunteers, and helping people get back on their feet.

They’re campaigning to stop pubs and clubs from adding more pokies, because we know that along with alcohol, gambling and debt are some of the most common factors in men choosing to commit violence against women.

They even have a free food pantry at their office, so you can come for a free meal, and ask for help with housing or homelessness.

Looking to the future, The Greens have launched a $15 billion comprehensive plan to address the national crisis of family, domestic, and sexual violence.

And it’s all funded by making the big corporations and mining giants pay tax – because they currently pay less tax than I do as a student teacher and support worker.

So the Greens’ plan will protect women and children, without any tax hikes against vulnerable workers like women, non-binary, and child workers.

But they’re not waiting until election day to act!

Continue reading

The Better Blokes podcast is the Aussie version of Andrew Tate, but less intelligent

If you’re ready for a hilarious and engaging listen this weekend, start with Pod Like A Girl’s breakdown of the charity fails by “The Better Blokes” podcast.

You can listen to Pod Like A Girl on all the podcast apps, or visit the website to listen to it there:

Pod Like a Girl: 07. Why are the Australian podcast bros crashing out? With Rach McQueen

Or you can watch this important conversation with video on YouTube:

Image from video of Mia and Rach speaking about how the Better Blokes project has been encouraging men's violence against women.

Or you can even download the mp3 file to listen to it another way.

Full disclosure, it’s not just amazing, it’s also enraging, but only because we’re talking about the unashamed misogyny and idiocy of these two man childs.

And Rach and Mia are absolutely the right women for the job, because they’re intelligent and informed.

They’ve also spent years advocating to eliminate misogyny, sexism, and violence from Australia’s culture – and advocating for victims of this misogyny, which we know also harms men themselves.

The men who are going to The Better Blokes project for advice are more likely to be harmed, not helped, by what these blokes are spouting.

It’s the Aussie brand of the Andrew Tate manosphere, where men are encouraged to be a real man, and women are NOT welcome.

Like their videos telling women to “shut the f*** up” and let men speak (direct quote). 🤢 🤮

Which is a problem, because their governing legal documents, their charity charter, says they exist to improve men’s mental health… Not to indoctrinate men with misogyny and encourage violence against women, non-binary people, and even kids.

Cover image of the Better Blokes podcast.

So are they actually helping men’s mental health?

Let’s see…

Continue reading

Aussie kids say Family Court was meant to help but “they did the opposite”

I just read the most heartbreaking message from 41 children who have been ignored and unheard when going through the Family Court of Australia.

One, 15-year-old said they felt “squashed”.

I just had to do what I was told and be quiet and suck it up, even if it wasn’t what I wanted.

Two sisters were ordered by the court to spend time with their father, even though they told the court they didn’t want to because they would not be safe with him. One of the sisters said:

That was always one of my biggest regrets because I’m like, maybe if I had said something differently, or emphasised it more, they would have understood what I was trying to say and actually listened… It wouldn’t have made such traumatic memories, which happened afterwards, when we were forced to see him.

The main themes they highlighted match previous research that looked into the fundamental flaws in Australia’s national “child-centred”, “DV aware” court.

For example, studies about the Family Court process and judges’ decision-making have found that:

  • “The courts are seemingly prioritising protection of the child from the risk of psychological harm by the mother due to her failure to facilitate meaningful ties with a father over the risk of alleged physical or sexual harm by the father.  We see this as a serious concern.” (Easteal, Prest, & Thornton, 2019)
  • There is a “lack of fit” between the types of cases that end up in the Family Court, which “are invariably complex, and likely to involve allegations of domestic violence and/or child abuse, mental health concerns, high conflict, and substance misuse”, and the court’s repeated focus on shared parenting by both parents, “reflected in decisions that appear not to reflect the system’s overarching principle of the ‘best interests’  of children and may also pay insufficient attention to the safety of women and children.” (Laing, 2017)

So what is the Family Court of Australia actually supposed to be doing for children, and why is it refusing to meet its legal obligations?

Continue reading