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Professor Rufus Black
Vice Chanceller
University of Tasmania
Private Bag 25
HOBART TAS 7001

Dear Professor Black,

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

I refer to the above article, concerning Dr Fiona Girkin, a member of staff of the University of Tasmania.

I write to strongly support Dr Girkin, and to urge you to resist unwarranted pressure to sanction her over her expressed views.

To state that the above ABC article is biased and misleading is an understatement.

Its transparent aim is to silence commentary concerning the prevalence, causes or investigation of domestic violence which do not accord to a gendered narrative. The article quotes a spokesperson from 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.'

During the interview upon which the article is loosely based, Dr Girkin advises that Tasmania Police, at a management level, endorsed her evidence-based teaching, and, by inference, the views she expressed in the interview. She has been thoroughly supported in her position by senior police during her ongoing work over the last year.

It seems clear that Dr Girkin's teaching approach was to follow the evidence; an approach which would clearly be endorsed in all areas of police investigation. Adopting this approach in investigating claims of domestic violence is what has led to front-line Tasmania police officers identifying both women and men in equal numbers to be perpetrators.

However, this observation does not necessarily translate into an equal number of women being charged with domestic violence offences. The assessment procedures in practice in the Tasmanian Police system mean far more men end up ultimately being charged in the courts.

Contrary to claims of critics quoted in the article, Dr Girkin's observations are very well supported by numerous international studies. In particular, the most recent Australian large-scale domestic violence survey found that 45.5% of people who had experienced domestic violence were male.

I urge you, as the head of a very respected tertiary institution, and as the custodian of the integral values of academic freedom, to resist the temptation to bow to ill- informed pressure from clearly partisan interests.

I am sure that you will agree that the principle of academic freedom, and its expression in fearlessly and objectively presenting conclusions based on evidence, regardless of where that evidence takes us, is under constant threat. Few of us are called upon to face that threat.

I am confident that you will do so in this case.

Yours Sincerely,