Oct 5, 2026 · 24 min · 10 segments
What does free speech mean if women can't afford to defend it? And what happens when the law meant to protect reputations is used to silence women speaking out about alleged sexual violence? Jennifer…
Jennifer RobinsonGuest
Yumi StynesHost
[instrumental music] Much of Jen Robinson's work has been trying to fight powerful men using their power and influence to silence women.
She's had wins for sure, but the vilification of women that Jen has worked with is harrowing to witness.
Because what message does it send? What we see happen to Amber Heard, what we see happen to Brittany Higgins, and as I was watching Brittany give that talk outside court, a text message popped up on my phone from one of my good friends, and she said, "Are you watching this?"
And I said, "Yes." And she said, "This is exactly why I never reported my rape."
And I cried because I thought, imagine all the women around Australia who are having that reaction, who have been raped, who have faced domestic violence, and are thinking, "This is why I've haven't gone to the police." This is why it's so important that we look at these cases, that we reflect on them, and that we think about how things can change because it's not just about Brittany or Amber, it's about every other woman who's watching that, who's been through it, and who may not come forward because of what they've seen happen.
There are common sense changes we could make to the legal system to stop defamation laws being used in bad faith to silence women.
And there are a whole bunch of law reforms that we're advocating for to make it easier for women who are sued, to make it easier for journalists who are sued to have cases thrown out, to reduce the cost of these cases so that we don't have these financial chilling effects.
[instrumental music] Much of Jen Robinson's work has been trying to fight powerful men using their power and influence to silence women.
She's had wins for sure, but the vilification of women that Jen has worked with is harrowing to witness.
Because what message does it send? What we see happen to Amber Heard, what we see happen to Brittany Higgins, and as I was watching Brittany give that talk outside court, a text message popped up on my phone from one of my good friends, and she said, "Are you watching this?"
And I said, "Yes." And she said, "This is exactly why I never reported my rape."
And I cried because I thought, imagine all the women around Australia who are having that reaction, who have been raped, who have faced domestic violence, and are thinking, "This is why I've haven't gone to the police." This is why it's so important that we look at these cases, that we reflect on them, and that we think about how things can change because it's not just about Brittany or Amber, it's about every other woman who's watching that, who's been through it, and who may not come forward because of what they've seen happen.
There are common sense changes we could make to the legal system to stop defamation laws being used in bad faith to silence women.
And there are a whole bunch of law reforms that we're advocating for to make it easier for women who are sued, to make it easier for journalists who are sued to have cases thrown out, to reduce the cost of these cases so that we don't have these financial chilling effects.
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