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The Hon Anika Wells MP
Minister for Communications
PO Box 182
Nundah, QLD, 4012

Dear Minister,

Subject: ABC On-line Report: "Domestic violence comments to Bettina Arndt puts UTAS lecturer in spotlight" by Ellen Coulter, 22 May, 2025

I write to formally complain about the above ABC article, on the grounds that it displays bias and is misleading. Moreover, the article is unbalanced and is grossly unfair to Dr Girkin. The article all but calls Dr Girkin a liar. It implies both dishonesty and bias on the part of Dr

Girkin in relation to her claim that front-line Tasmanian police officers have advised her that they find evidence of males and females committing acts of domestic violence in comparable numbers.

The article attempts to refute this by quoting ABS statistics showing 81% of those charged with DV related offences in Tasmania are male. That's misinformation because it can certainly be true, as Fiona explained in her video interview with Ms Arndt, that police can find evidence for female violence and even arrest many women, but the evaluation process employed by Tasmanian Police means only a proportion of these will end up being charged.

The video produced by the same journalist, quotes Alina Thomas from the TAS Family and Sexual violence alliance saying that "the idea that just as many women as men perpetrate family and domestic violence is simply completely inaccurate."

Presenting this woman's views as an expert opinion is misleading the public. The most recent Australian large-scale domestic violence survey found that 45.5% of people who had experienced domestic violence were male. This is simply the latest in fifty years of international research reaching the same conclusion.

The ABC article quotes Tasmania Police as saying: 'The opinions stated by Dr Girkin are not in line with the principles Tasmania Police supports in dealing with family violence' yet makes no effort to include information from the video interview in which senior management made it clear they supported Dr Girkin's evidence-based approach both when she was selected for the job and during her ongoing work over the last year.

In summary, the article appears to follow a regrettable pattern of ABC journalism over recent times, particularly the emphasis placed on the gendered nature of domestic violence. 'Statistics' are flagrantly misrepresented, and on occasion simply fabricated. Objective reporting has, to a great extent, been replaced by ideologically driven opinion.

I will be making a complaint about this biased, misleading reporting to the ABC directly but know from previous experience that this is unlikely to lead to any proper response. I trust you to take this matter seriously and ensure action is taken to investigate the matter.

Yours Sincerely,