The winners of the 2025 Our Watch Award for Excellence in Reporting on Violence Against Women has been announced as the ABC News Breakfast team.
The ABC News Breakfast team’s in-depth special coverage of gendered violence against women was named in Sydney last night alongside all the winners in the Walkley Foundation’s 2025 Mid-Year Celebration of Journalism.
Watch director of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander strategy, Regan Mitchell, who presented the award said the winning reporting by ABC News Breakfast team’s presenters, producers, editors, camera crews and production staff showed how far some journalism has come in its coverage of the issue.
“ABC News Breakfast’s Not Just A Number devoted a full week to a powerful exploration of men’s violence against women. It centred the voices of victim-survivors, who are experts in this preventable issue and must be at the forefront of the conversation. The team has set a new standard for nuanced, accurate and courageous reporting on one of the most serious issues facing Australia,” she said.
“We are seeing some improvements in media reporting of violence against women, but there is still a long way to go. For example, non-Aboriginal voices should no longer be quoted as speaking for us. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are often made invisible, despite being the most impacted by men’s violence.
“The media has a unique power, privilege and responsibility to tell the stories of all women accurately and with integrity, and with the same urgency no matter their postcode, race, social economic status or how they look.
“I challenge media professionals to make the choice to always prioritise this preventable crisis for all women and raise awareness of what we can all do to stop violence from happening in the first place.
“Our Watch has been recognising and rewarding excellence in reporting on violence against women and children since 2013, initially through the Our Watch Awards – administered by the Walkley Foundation – and from 2019 onwards through the Our Watch Award at the Mid-Year Celebration of Journalism.
“This year saw a record number of entries in Our Watch Award category, which is encouraging to see. We commend all the entrants and finalists.
“I particularly commend the winners ABC News Breakfast Team in setting a new standard for journalism and showcasing the power of media in helping the broader public understand this insidious violence to ensure a real chance of system-wide learning and long-term change for all women,” concluded Mitchell.
Previous award winners
- 2024, Jessica Lodge, Melissa Downes, and Adam Buncher from Nine Entertainment for their podcast Hannah’s Story
- 2023, Richard Willingham, ABC for a series of stories shining a light on victims of sexual assault being forced to wait for forensic examination due to doctor shortages.
- 2022, Bethany Atkinson-Quinton and Madison Griffiths for Broadwave, “Tender: Roia Atmar” published on Broadwave Pods.
- 2021, Samantha Maiden, news.com.au, for a series focused on allegations of rape in Parliament House.
- 2020, Nina Funnell for the Let Her Speak series of articles, published in news.com.au.
- 2019, Sarah Dingle and the Background Briefing Team, Radio National, ABC for Australia On Trial: Carers who kill, Slavery in the suburbs, Murder on Trial.
Our Watch is the national leader to stop violence against women and their children before it starts. The organisation was created to drive nation-wide change in the practices, norms and structures that lead to violence against women and children.
