Van Badham details the horrific abuse she's received since Steve Price called her "hysterical".

The major news story of the week – radio broadcaster Steve Price labelling columnist Van Badham “hysterical” on Monday night’s Q&A panel – has turned into something increasingly troubling.

While scrutiny initially encircled Price’s gendered comments (as well as his attempt to shift the focus from domestic violence victims to himself), Badham says she is receiving vile hate mail off the back of her fellow panellist’s efforts to portray her as an “aggressive woman”.

Watch Steve Price label Van Badham “hysterical”. (Post continues…)

In an impassioned Facebook post and video, the Guardian writer and author detailed exactly what the last few days of her life have looked like.

“[After Q&A Steve Price] spent the next 36 hours trying to deflect criticism of his behaviour through a campaign of attacking me personally on radio and television.

“[Price]’s demonisation of me over the past couple of days is another excellent example of how cultural messaging works,” the Melbourne-based writer said in an attached video. “Because in the wake of how Steve Price has been acting since Q&A, this is the kind of feedback I’ve received.”

Listen to Mia Freedman explain why ‘hysteria’ is such a loaded term. (Post continues…)

Those threats of violence are – unsurprisingly – inherently misogynistic. Among them are calls for the esteemed journalist to get “a hole drilled in her arse so she can be carried around like a bowling ball”. Others commented “if her husband beat her up, I’d have to say good on him”.

And all this abuse, says Badham, is just another perfect example of toxic cultural attitudes towards women. The exact ones we need to challenge so that people left behind like Tarang Chawla – the brother of domestic violence victim Nikita Chawla, who was brutally murdered by her husband in January 2015 – do not see what happened to their loved ones become normalised.

For Badham, that change needs to take place at the top.

“This is what my week has been like, thanks to the comments made by Steve Price. Cultural shifts have to happen. And Steve, they’ve got to start with you.”

You can watch Van Badham’s full video below.