Do we actually care about women’s safety? Or only after they’re hurt? Women’s safety and domestic violence are rarely out of the news cycle, and given the rate of crime across Victoria and Australia more broadly, it hardly comes as a surprise. Whether it’s the news about Sam Wood, or yet another woman losing her life at the hands of her partner, or a targeted attack like the young woman ambushed on her motorcycle and beaten by thugs who then stole her bike, the response from the people with the power to change it is always the same and it never seems to change anything. So, do we actually care about violence towards women? Because I’m finding it increasingly difficult to reconcile what our politicians say about women’s safety with what they’re prepared to let us do to protect ourselves. I don’t know about you, but I cannot sit through another manicured press conference where a premier or an opposition MP gets up and tries to say the perfect thing for the evening news. We don’t need them to tell us it’s unacceptable. Of course it’s fucking unacceptable. What I want to know is when they will actually do something about it. Every time another woman is killed or brutally assaulted, our MPs manage to find the words by the six o’clock news, yet somehow, on the exorbitant salaries we pay them, they never seem to find the answers. Words are cheap, which is why they’re so generous with them in an election year. Women are being beaten, sexually assaulted and killed, and the people with the power to change that keep standing up to explain why we should be satisfied with what they’re already doing. I want to know what they’re offering the woman who has heard all their empty promises and still has to walk to her car or make her way home tonight. She cannot put her life on hold while they virtue signal their way into another term in Parliament, only to do sweet fuck all once they’re there. I’m focusing on women because of the violence we keep seeing. The question of how you protect yourself reaches any of us who face an attack, whether you’re walking home, dealing with a violent customer or waking to someone breaking into your house. My own experience is why I feel so strongly about it. In 2024, my partner and I were victims of an aggravated burglary. Two youths broke into our home, stole his car, ransacked my office and took our wallets and cash. Thankfully, neither of us was physically hurt. Others aren’t so lucky. We’ve all heard the stories about the man stabbed in the face, someone slashed with a machete, a woman beaten black and blue, and when it happens to you, those stories stop being something that only happens to other people. I was so angry that I took it to Parliament. Late last year I sat in the chamber while a petition I’d brought forward to amend self-defence laws, sponsored by Libertarian MP @_davidlimbrick , was debated. It carried 20,554 signatures from Victorians asking for stronger protections for people defending themselves in their own homes, and from where I sat I could count two Labor MPs in the room. All those Victorians, asking to be heard, and the Labor MPs couldn’t even show up and listen. A Labor MP argued that existing self-defence laws already protect us and warned about the risks of people trying to defend themselves. Of course there are risks, but being assaulted in your own home or attacked while going about your day carries risks too, and those risks deserve more than another empty promise about tougher bail laws and a crackdown on crime. In August, Victoria Police’s own Chief Commissioner put the force nearly 1,500 officers short. You can’t keep telling people to rely on the police without making sure there are enough officers to answer those calls. I certainly haven’t forgotten how readily this government deployed police to enforce its COVID restrictions. Where is that determination when it comes to protecting people from violence and giving officers the resources and support to do their jobs? I hate talking about politics. I hate how nasty, vicious and personal it all becomes, and how quickly a conversation about someone’s safety turns into an argument about which party you support. Whenever you question the government of the day, there are people so invested in defending their side that they seem more offended by your criticism than by the thing you’re criticising. I brought a petition to Parliament because someone broke into my home and I’m talking about women’s safety because I’m angry about what keeps happening to women. If your first instinct is to defend your preferred political party or ideology, I need you to stop for a second and understand why people are so fucking angry. You only have to look at what’s made the news this fortnight. On the Central Coast, a man is facing more than 200 charges over the alleged sexual and physical abuse of three women. In Sydney, police allege women were targeted while home alone, restrained and assaulted, with one sexually assaulted. Another man has been charged over the alleged sexual assault of a woman walking from Flemington Station through a park, and in Canberra, a teenager who pleaded guilty to raping an 18-year-old woman received a suspended sentence. These are separate cases, at different stages of the justice system, in just two weeks. Is it really so difficult to understand why we’re angry? What is a woman supposed to do between someone attacking her and the police arriving? We can demand better policing, tougher consequences and more effective prevention, but she still has to survive that dangerous moment. That is why I support David Limbrick’s push to legalise pepper spray. In Victoria, it is a prohibited weapon, and self-defence is not an accepted reason for an exemption or approval. I know it cannot make an abusive relationship safe or prevent every assault. I’m arguing that it could give someone facing violence another chance to get away, and that option deserves serious consideration. The Victorian government argues that allowing people to carry weapons for self-defence risks escalating violence. Its response to David’s pepper-spray petition also suggested home alarms and security cameras, apparently overlooking the fact that we have to pay for those too. Since our home invasion, my partner and I have spent nearly $15,000 fortifying our home and securing our cars. We already pay taxes to fund policing and public safety, yet we’ve had to find thousands more because we no longer feel safe in our own home. How many people can afford to do that, and what are those who can’t supposed to do? Meanwhile, Western Australia permits pepper spray for lawful defence under specified conditions. On 13 October, the Northern Territory announced plans to make its arrangements permanent after a trial involving more than 3,700 legal purchasers. Its Police Commissioner supported the reform and cited an incident where legally purchased spray prevented domestic violence, which is my whole argument. If Victoria believes refusing us that option offers better protection, I want to hear the evidence behind that decision. Suggesting we spend more money securing our homes does not answer that question. Of course, pepper spray carries risks. It could be taken from you, affect bystanders or fail to stop an attacker, but we also need to consider the times it helps. Last year, Jeff Bourman told the Victorian Parliament about a man who jumped the counter at South Melbourne’s Gotham City brothel and attacked two women. He described a serious struggle that was stopped using pepper spray. If they didn’t have that pepper spray, we can only imagine what could have happened next. If you oppose giving women that option, what would you have wanted them to do in that moment? Call the police whilst being assaulted at their workplace? In those situations, seconds matter. This Labor government and opposition leader Jess Wilson from the Liberal Party have ruled out supporting it, stating they want to focus on reducing crime. Even if a new government comes in promising to tackle crime, debating these proposed changes, passing legislation and putting those policies into practice could take months, if not years. Women still have to go to work, get home and live their lives while all of that happens. How many more people will be assaulted, and how many more women will be killed while we wait? If you’re refusing us this option, you owe us an answer about what protects us in the meantime. I’m supporting David Limbrick’s “Fuck Around & Find Out” campaign because I want women’s questions about protecting themselves taken seriously, and I want other people facing violence to have this option too. I support regulated access to pepper spray, clear rules on lawful use and consequences for misuse. If you believe we should have the option of carrying pepper spray for lawful self-defence, ask your MP whether they support regulated access and what evidence informs their position. I want our voices to carry as much weight when we’re asking for protection as our names do when you’re reading them out in Parliament after we’re dead. If you value my work, and you appreciate a woman with a loud mouth saying it as it is when the people paid to say it won’t, you can shout me a coffee. buymeacoffee.com/carlzjsoda References ABC News (2026) ‘Victoria Police to address shortage of 1,500 staff members with reservists amid crime crisis’, 16 August. Atta, G. (2026) ‘NT announces pepper spray will be made accessible to 16-year-olds and above’, ABC News, 13 October. Australian Associated Press (2026) ‘Women allegedly targeted while home alone in Arncliffe and Bankstown’, 2 October. Government of Western Australia (2024) Weapons Regulations 1999 (WA), regulation 7, as at 18 December 2024. Kilkenny, S. (2026) Response to Legislative Council petition 674, Legalise the purchase and use of pepper spray, Attorney-General of Victoria, 2 March. Limbrick, D. (2026) Legalise Pepper Spray, David Limbrick MP, Member for South-Eastern Metropolitan Region. NSW Police Force (2026) ‘Man charged over sexual assault of woman in Homebush’, media release, 2 October. Parliament of Victoria (2025) Legislative Council Hansard, 15 October, Motions: Retail crime, contribution of Jeff Bourman MLC. Parliament of Victoria (2025) Legislative Council Hansard, 3 December, Petitions: Crime, debate on petition 683 sponsored by David Limbrick MLC. Region Canberra (2026) ‘Teen avoids jail for repeatedly raping young woman near house party’, 7 October. Seven News (2026) ‘Man accused of secretly filming the sexual abuse of three women over seven years on NSW Central Coast’, 13 October. Seven News (2026) ‘Opposition Leader Jess Wilson rules out supporting legalised pepper spray’, press conference clip, Instagram, 13 October. Seven News (2026) ‘Reality and fitness star Sam Wood refused bail on domestic violence charges in Queensland’, 8 October. Victoria Police (2026) Release of Crime Statistics Agency data, year ending June 2026, media release, 24 September.