- 29th June 2026
- By Jess Hill
04: Why do they stay?
Episode 04
Content warning: domestic abuse and violence.
- Lifeline 13 11 14
- 1800 RESPECT 1800 737 732
- Support services
It’s one of the most misunderstood questions around domestic abuse — why don’t they just leave? The answer goes to the heart of the problem of the trap.
Featured: Kay Schubach, CB Mako, Dr Karen Williams, Russ Vickery, Geraldine Bilston, workers from Safe Steps (Victoria’s statewide family violence helpline), and a number of victim-survivors whose identities are protected.
This is a series about love, abuse and power. Hosted by Jess Hill, this podcast looks deeply at abuse that happens in private, and in public, searching the world for answers to the questions that continue to confound us.
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Jess Hill
Jess Hill is an investigative journalist, the author of See What You Made Me Do and The Reckoning, and one of Australia’s most recognised and respected thinkers on gendered violence. In addition to her broadcast work – two highly acclaimed docuseries on SBS and The Trap – she has spoken at almost 400 events across the country. Her work has won three Walkley Awards, an Amnesty International Award and the Stella Prize in 2020. In 2023, she was named Marie Claire Changemaker of the Year and in 2024, the NSW Premier’s Woman of Excellence.