Rape and death threats shouldn’t be dismissed as a normal part of my job

Read the original at The Sydney Morning Herald ↗
Cite

Cohn, A. (2026, October 21). Rape and death threats shouldn’t be dismissed as a normal part of my job. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/rape-and-death-threats-shouldn-t-be-dismissed-as-a-normal-part-of-my-job-20261021-p6174n.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Sydney Morning Herald · collected 2026-10-21 · by Amanda Cohn
Content note This article describes sexual violence.

Quick Summary

A GP and former deputy mayor writes about the violent attack on Helen Haines, an MP in rural Victoria who is now critically injured. The author discusses how such violence against politicians, especially women, reflects broader societal issues including gendered violence, mental health struggles, and economic insecurity. They argue that threats and abuse should not be seen as normal for public figures and highlight the need to address root causes of violence rather than just responding reactively.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-21, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Helen Haines, an independent member of parliament for Indi in Australia, was critically injured when she was hit by a car outside her office in Wangaratta, Victoria, on Monday afternoon. According to multiple reports, a 43-year-old man from Tarrawingee was arrested at the scene and is now charged with dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury, and harming a Commonwealth public official. Police are investigating whether the attack was intentional and have found a knife in the vehicle.

The incident occurred around 3:30 PM on Monday when Haines, 65, was getting belongings out of her car's boot in a parking bay. A passerby reportedly pulled the driver from his vehicle after finding a flick knife, which police seized upon arrival. The driver is also facing additional charges for cultivating and possessing cannabis at his property.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that the attack on Haines is under major investigation, confirming that the suspect is in custody. Local authorities are examining potential motives and possible connections to extremist movements such as sovereign citizens but have not yet determined if there was any pre-existing relationship between the attacker and the victim.

Written for “Helen Haines Attack Injures MP” on 2026-10-21, grounded in this article and the 62 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Reading Leans strongly left (beta estimate) Confidence high
Leaning: leans strongly left for article 95335 (high confidence, 3 verified quotes) · logged 2026-10-21

Story

📰 Helen Haines Attack Injures MP
Politics · 63 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans strongly left and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
After MP 'attacked' in the street, our democracy is facing its biggest test same event · 100%
ABC News (AU)
⚖️ Leans left further right than this 🔴 2% hedged 1 of 40 📰 publisher trust 68
“Both articles discuss the same attack on Independent MP Helen Haines in Wangaratta, Victoria.”
Helen Haines was chatting with locals at a dog park on Monday morning. By the afternoon, she was fighting for her life same event · 100%
The Guardian
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 10% hedged 3 of 29 📰 publisher trust 66
“Both articles describe the attack on Helen Haines that occurred in Mansfield after she was at the opening of a dog park earlier in the day.”
No bail for alleged Helen Haines attacker as police chief warns of Australia’s ‘febrile’ political environment same event · 95%
The Guardian
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 6% hedged 2 of 32 📰 publisher trust 66
“Both articles refer to the same targeted attack on Helen Haines, an independent MP in Victoria, Australia, where she lost a leg due to being hit by a vehicle.”
Inside the social media account linked to Helen Haines' accused attacker - that was followed by the politician before she was run down different event · 85%
Daily Mail
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 11% hedged 6 of 54 📰 publisher trust 64
“Article A describes the incident where Helen Haines was run down by a car, while Article B discusses the aftermath and community reaction to that attack but does not describe the specific occurrence itself.”
Hostility to our MPs must not be the new normal different event · 85%
The Sydney Morning Herald
⚖️ Leans left further right than this 🔴 4% hedged 4 of 100 📰 publisher trust 61
“The articles discuss different aspects of an attack on Helen Haines but describe distinct events and perspectives.”
Why Australia’s political class can no longer look the other way different event · 85%
The Sydney Morning Herald
⚖️ Leans left further right than this 🔴 7% hedged 3 of 41 📰 publisher trust 61
“While both articles reference an attack on Helen Haines, ARTICLE A discusses broader political and social implications of the alleged terror attack ten months prior, whereas ARTICLE B focuses on the personal and community impact in the immediate aftermath.”
Threats against politicians have jumped fourfold this decade different event · 85%
ABC News (AU)
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 30 📰 publisher trust 68
“Both articles discuss violence against Helen Haines but describe different aspects and contexts of the incident.”
Helen Haines attack must be a turning point for Australia different event · 75%
The Sydney Morning Herald
⚖️ Leans left further right than this 🔴 5% hedged 1 of 20 📰 publisher trust 61
“The articles discuss different aspects related to Helen Haines but do not describe the same specific incident occurring at the same time and place.”
Counselling available for Wangaratta residents reeling from Haines attack different event · 75%
ABC News (AU)
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 4% hedged 1 of 26 📰 publisher trust 68
“Article A covers the immediate aftermath and support response following MP Helen Haines' attack, while Article B discusses the broader impact of such an attack on a regional community from the perspective of someone involved in local governance.”
WA politicians air safety concerns after attack on Helen Haines different event · 70%
ABC News (AU)
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 10% hedged 3 of 30 📰 publisher trust 68
“While both articles discuss the attack on Helen Haines, ARTICLE A focuses on the reaction of WA politicians, while ARTICLE B is a personal account from someone in Helen Haines' electorate affected by her attack.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
35
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 35 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
61/100
The Sydney Morning Herald's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
63
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-21 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Sydney Morning Herald · 4358 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Amanda Cohn
1 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 I’ve also served the same regional community as deputy mayor of Albury, just across the Murray River.
2026-10-21 · assertive framing · Rape and death threats shouldn’t be dismissed as a normal part of my job
The only article under this byline in the corpus.

Topics

Albury Australia Indi Victorian

Subjects

Helen PERSON · 7× Albury GPE · 1× Amanda Cohn PERSON · 1× Australia GPE · 1× Greens ORG · 1× Helen Haines PERSON · 1× Helen Haines’ PERSON · 1× Indi NORP · 1× Victorian NORP · 1× the NSW Legislative Council ORG · 1×

Narrative

We all either know Helen personally, or her family, her staff, the courageous bystanders who assisted her, or the health workers who cared for her. Our regional community is reeling from the violent attack on Helen that will no doubt have lasting impacts after the news cycle has moved on.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-21
🔮 I’ve also served the same regional community as deputy mayor of Albury, just across the Murray River.
2026-10-21 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Rape and death threats shouldn’t be dismissed as a normal part of my job · assertive framing

Claims (35 extracted, 0 hedged)

I’ve worked as a GP in a community health centre in Helen Haines’ rural Victorian electorate of Indi. asserted
I → work → Indi
I’ve also served the same regional community as deputy mayor of Albury, just across the Murray River. asserted
I → serve → River
It’s an accurate cliche that rural and regional communities are connected. asserted
communities → ’ → ?
We all either know Helen personally, or her family, her staff, the courageous bystanders who assisted her, or the health workers who cared for her. Our regional community is reeling from the violent attack on Helen that will no doubt have lasting impacts after the news cycle has moved on. asserted
cycle → know → impacts
As I write this, we are still anxiously awaiting updates on Helen – we know that she has lost at least her leg and remains in a critical condition. asserted
she → write → condition
So many people across the country have been deeply shaken by this incident, too. asserted
people → shake → incident
Helen is an unusually well-respected politician. asserted
Helen → respect → ?
But that’s not the only reason so many of us are so distressed by what happened. asserted
what → ’ → us
It’s not clear yet what motivated this attack. asserted
what → ’ → attack
Whether this was a targeted attack on a particular MP, or government institutions more generally, gendered violence or someone who didn’t get the support they needed for mental illness or addiction, or a combination of factors – not one of these explanations would be comforting. asserted
one → target → explanations
Abuse and threats against elected representatives, and particularly women, are getting worse. asserted
Abuse → elect → representatives
Rape and death threats shouldn’t be dismissed as a normal part of this job. asserted
Rape → dismiss → job
I’ve been stalked and harassed. asserted
I → stalk → ?
Even threats that aren’t acted on can impact our ability to do the job we were elected to do. asserted
we → act → job
It’s not just politicians who are experiencing increased aggression. asserted
who → ’ → aggression
We are privileged to have a platform to talk about it. asserted
We → have → it
Hatred and attacks on people based on race, sexuality and gender identity are increasing. asserted
Hatred → base → race
We know too well that each week, on average, a woman is killed by her partner. asserted
woman → know → partner
These are different problems that end in violence, but their root causes are related. asserted
causes → end → violence
Preventing violence means addressing the causes, not just hand-wringing about “turning the temperature down”. asserted
Preventing → prevent → temperature
Life is getting harder for many, with a widening gap between rich and poor. asserted
Life → get → rich
People with mental health issues struggle to access the care they need. asserted
they → struggle → care
Many feel public institutions don’t include them in decisions or represent their interests. asserted
institutions → feel → interests
Social isolation, economic insecurity and inequality are risk factors that can increase a person’s susceptibility to extremism. asserted
that → increase → extremism
Social media algorithms are driving people into echo chambers where taking the nuance out of debate and rage-inciting misinformation is rewarded. asserted
taking → drive → debate
Helen’s work gets to the heart of these issues. asserted
work → get → issues
She has fought for years to fix the inequity of access to healthcare in rural Australia and to take corruption out of politics. asserted
She → fight → politics
The “kitchen table conversations” she champions enable face-to-face connection, open and honest dialogue about issues that impact people’s day-to-day lives, and between people with different views. asserted
that → champion → views
Helen is someone who consistently strives to bring people together. asserted
who → strive → people
Separating elected representatives from the communities we represent with security details, motorcades or bulletproof glass is not the way to build a healthy democracy that we can all participate in. asserted
we → separate → that
At some point, we will find out what motivated the attack on Helen Haines, but I expect that the answer will offer little comfort when we can all feel that our communities are getting less safe. asserted
communities → find → comfort
It doesn’t matter how many politicians condemn violence this week if the conditions that drive it aren’t meaningfully addressed. asserted
that → matter → it
I can’t speak for Helen – and in fact, we disagree on many things – but I suspect she would want this horrific incident to catalyse more than just kind words about her. asserted
incident → speak → her
I know I’m not the only one hoping with bated breath for her to be able to return to work and tell us herself. asserted
her → know → us
Dr Amanda Cohn is a Greens member of the NSW Legislative Council based in Albury-Wodonga. asserted
Cohn → base → Wodonga
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