Feminism's cash cow implodes

Intriguingly, just before Hill found herself on this committee, she had broken ranks with the sisterhood, producing a provocative paper, co-authored by Michael Slater, Rethinking Primary Prevention, which showed the strategy of promoting respect for women and attempting to reduce gender inequity wasn't working. The campaign was failing to produce any change in attitudes they claim were linked to gendered violence.

The Saturday Paper uses as an example of that failure the fact that 41 per cent of Australians believe domestic violence is committed equally by both men and women. Hmm, so almost half of all Australians know the truth about domestic violence but that's evidence of a failed policy. The lunatics are clearly running the asylum.

Another feminist hero who found a place on the new Expert Panel is veteran Anne Summers, who obviously also has it in for Our Watch.

Most of the Expert Panel are now openly lined up against Our Watch – promising troubled times ahead for this key body which so long has controlled the domestic violence narrative and funding in Australia.

Yet we mustn't get carried away thinking any of this means these critics are actually going to come to their senses and look at what the international evidence says about prevention of domestic violence.

It is a good start that Hill and Slater admit that shaming males isn't working as primary prevention: "Telling men and boys that if they make sexist jokes, or fail to challenge the attitudes of their mates, they are personally responsible for the physical and sexual violence, or homicides committed by other males has not proven a compelling or successful argument."

But the fact remains that none of these players recommend tossing out efforts to change male attitudes. Michael Slater is on the Advisory Group of the White Ribbon Australia, which is responsible for shaming boys in schools and running male-bashing workshops in endless organisations and workplaces. With the new push against toxic masculinity, efforts to reform men are actually on the rise.

Note also that Slater, Hill and colleagues are still maintaining that tackling gender inequality is critical – they only concede that other approaches are necessary as well. Listen to Anne Summers speaking at the Elsie Conference earlier this year:

"I hope we can understand more about the monster we are confronting, and I hope this will lead us to rethink our approach. While gender equality is essential, it is not enough."

And this mob only ever talks about violence against women. They never mention female violence. Women's violence against men and against their own children never makes it onto the agenda.

The CEO of Our Watch, Patty Kinnersly has been very busy this week appearing on Radio National and The Project, pretending she is not aware of her organisation ever suppressing data, and sticking to her guns claiming the key factors in predicting violence against women are sexism, gender stereotypes and disrespect for women. (See my article refuting her claims here.) The one concession she has made is to acknowledge that alcohol and poverty are amongst various "reinforcing factors" that underpin the key driver of gender inequity.