Let's call out MAFS star Ines' behaviour for what it is, domestic abuse

After airing earlier this week, the Married At First Sight scene that has sparked the most controversy is the one where Ines Basic berates TV husband Bronson Norrish while out on a boat.

“I just need you to shut the f**k up right now. I need you to shut up,” she yelled. “Grow a f**king ballsack!”

Ines’ fighting words only got louder during the verbal tirade as she leaned in to intimidate, and it was uncomfortable to watch, and understandably so. After all, this is abuse.

Perhaps it’s not the picture of domestic abuse we so often expect, given the statistics of men’s violence against women is devastatingly rampant, with on average one woman a week in Australia being murdered by a current or former partner, and one in four women having experienced emotional abuse by a current or former partner since the age of 15.

But it doesn’t make what happened with Ines and Bronson ok. A woman hurling those insults towards her male partner is just as much a case of domestic abuse as it would be if the gender roles were reversed.

If it had been a man behaving this way, the backlash would’ve also been tenfold to what we’ve seen following Ines’ shocking episode.

“Abuse is abuse no matter which gender is the perpetrator,” wrote a viewer after the episode aired, adding, “Reversed??? Bronson would be nailed to a cross and vilified beyond recognition”.

Another viewer tweeted: “At first I thought Ines was funny but “shut the f**k up” is straight out abuse. Even a form of domestic violence. Imagine if the roles were reversed #mafs”.

Bronson recently admitted it was difficult to relive the abuse when watching it on TV.

“It was hard to see it, it was hard to watch it — I felt like a beaten dog,” he said on Talking Married.

Meanwhile Ines told the show, “I think I could have been more open and gentle towards Bronson in situations”.

Earlier this week Channel Nine stepped in to protect Ines from the wave of social media backlash by disabling comments on recent posts featuring her on the official MAFS Instagram account.

“We take our duty of care seriously, and vigilant social media moderation is an important part of this,” a Nine spokesperson told Yahoo Lifestyle on Wednesday.

“Due to the high volume of adverse comments on Ines’ posts, Nine’s social media team acted proactively to moderate appropriately.”

Ines also appears to have restricted comments on her own Instagram account.

If you or someone you know is suffering from sexual or domestic abuse, don’t suffer in silence, call 1800 RESPECT any time of day or night.

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