Year
2015
Category
Radio/Audio: Documentary, Feature, Podcast or Special
A compelling account that took the listener right into the dangers faced by women seeking legal protection and shelter from abusive partners. Hitting the airwaves at the same time state and federal government cuts to domestic violence services were taking effect, this story shocked with its raw picture of the real people impacted by the cuts.
Hagar Cohen joined the ABC in 2007. She has worked on RN’s Life Matters, Breakfast, The Religion Report and Saturday Extra as well as NewsRadio and been a reporter for AM, PM and The World Today. Cohen was highly commended in Walkley Awards for her Background Briefing on cage fighting, “Blood, Sweat and Tears in the Cage” in 2012, for “Online Astroturfing” in 2013, and “The Secret Life of Monica Chetty” in 2014.
Judges’ comments:
A story that grabs its audience from the very first moments, taking us inside a regional court and the terror of a family violence sufferer. The story had significant public impact, with the reporter explaining that the lawyer helping this young woman was about to lose funding. Tracking the story ahead of the reporting curve on this topic, Cohen’s was an early warning of the deadly consequences of defunding domestic violence services