In 2024, after an alarming number of women were killed by violent men they knew, the nation’s prime minister declared domestic and family violence a ‘national crisis’. As the government searched for solutions, one clear barrier was evident to FW: we can’t solve a problem we don’t understand.
Despite the fact that separation is one of the most dangerous times, when a perpetrator is most likely to seriously injure or kill a victim-survivor, too many told us they were still being asked, “Why didn’t you just leave?”
Enter: ‘There’s No Place Like Home: After she leaves’ (TNPLH). The latest season of this podcast had one core aim: to debunk the myth that it’s ever as easy as ‘just leaving’.
In its first two seasons, TNPLH focused on what happens before and during an abusive relationship. Season three was a rigorous, emotional summary of what really happens after she leaves.
FW set out to improve Australia’s collective understanding of these dangers by painting a clear picture of the most common types of post-separation abuse - from pretending to be the ‘real victim’ to weaponising men’s behaviour change programs and murder. This was done by weaving together real stories from victim-survivors, expert testimony, the latest research and FW’s own journalism.
We gauged success through download numbers, how much traction the podcast received in a PR campaign launching the podcast, listener feedback, reach and engagement in FW’s parallel social media and digital campaigns. And - most crucially - feedback from the victim-survivors who shared their stories.
With a significant number of podcasts about domestic violence available, TNPLH set out to create a distinct brand of ‘ethical true crime’ - sharing harrowing stories but ensuring the agency, voice and dignity of victims was at the heart of the work.
In practice, this meant the 11 victim-survivors involved were treated as collaborators, not guests. The team followed a best-practice guide for ensuring this experience was affirming and, hopefully, restorative. In pre-production this involved asking what they wanted listeners to know, the main reasons they were advocating publicly, concerns in speaking out and more. All of this was integrated into how their stories were told, including anonymity and deidentification.
Victim-survivors were also given veto power on all content, multiple reviews/edits of scripts, final content sign-off and access to FW’s legal counsel. Crucially, engagement forms were deliberately not signed. All victim-survivors had and have the power to withdraw at any point.
The team included a full-time executive producer and two contractors - a producer and a lived-experience sensitivity consultant who also served as a policy advisor in the domestic violence space. This mix of journalistic rigor and first-hand experience ensured stories were told with the gravity and drama they warranted. All while never making the people affected a footnote in their own stories. TNPLH also deliberately prioritised a diversity of voices not always heard in mainstream media - namely, First Nations, migrant women and young people.
This eight-episode series began with a worst-case scenario: a woman whose estranged husband had broken into their home and murdered their two young children as they slept. The reason it began here was that this devastating end point is typically where post-separation abuse is made most visible to the general public.
The series later covered lethal and potentially escalating behaviours from stalking to financial and systems abuse and the weaponisation of men’s behaviour change programs. While the subject matter is difficult, the series also kept one eye firmly fixed on solutions - often shared in the words of the victim-survivors themselves.
The two-person producer team distilled more than 50 hours of raw interviews with victim-survivors, researchers, policymakers, police, men’s behaviour change facilitators and frontline workers. Alongside their own research, this content totalled 170 pages. Condensing it into 30-45 minute episodes was a significant challenge that required a high degree of planning.
This confluence of ‘ethical true crime’ and journalistic rigor sets us apart.
TNPLH’s success was gauged through podcast downloads and the reach of FW’s supporting content campaign across our social media, newsletters and digital articles. (Those numbers are noted in confidental section)
Other media outlets (a total of 17 across TV, radio, podcasts, online and print media) published stories about post-separation abuse featuring content and participants of TNPLH through a two-month PR campaign to raise awareness, bringing these insights to a far wider audience.
This included a story published through Australian Associated Press (AAP) sharing exclusive data uncovered in the podcast that illustrated the scope of post-separation abuse from a police perspective. From 2021-2024, police in the state of Victoria received more reports about former perpetrators than current ones. This data was shared with credit to our podcast.
However, the impact for participating victim-survivors is what matters most to TNPLH:
“[Executive producer Sally Spicer’s] approach left me feeling empowered and seen. The podcast shines a light on the diversity of victim-survivor experience but also system inadequacies that further victimise survivors.” - Conor Pall, a youth advocate and victim-survivor who lived in an unsafe and abusive home as a child
“Working with Sally [Spicer] has been a profoundly restorative experience. I have often felt exploited by media but Sally provides a different approach. Her journalism is a vital contribution to the movement to end violence against women.” - Geraldine Bilston, TNPLH sensitivity consultant and lived experience advocate