Unusual name sparks hatred

I know that shop.  They sell good meat pies too

The owner of a fish and chip shop has hit back at 'abusive' anti-domestic violence campaigners who criticised her for calling her business The Battered Wife.

Ex-police officer Carolyn Kerr owns the shop in Wangan, a small town in far north Queensland, which carries the slogan 'The only battering anyone need know' on its window.

Ms Kerr has defended her business from critics, saying she is raising awareness of domestic violence by using the name.

'Originally it was suggested to me as a little bit of a joke, but it seemed like an interesting option with a bit of spark, something that could provoke questions, could provoke curiosity, but also the play on words for the shop itself, being a fish and chip shop,' she told The Today Show.

'I knew through my history there's a lot of things wrong with the system so to create such a controversial thing especially in today's sensitive world... I'm surprised it's got so much attention at all, that it's taken 15 months, really.'

Ms Kerr said in her former job she had dealt with the effects of domestic violence firsthand, and it was not something she condoned.

'There's a lot of beautiful, intelligent women out there in really bad situations, and to assume that I was making light of the subject, that I was promoting it... the way that it's been misconstrued, it's actually quite offensive.'

The shopowner said she has been subjected to threats and abuse since a photo of her business was shared 'like wildfire' on social media.

She refused to cave in to the pressure to change the shop's name.

'It's a fish and chip shop first and foremost, and I make good batter, and I'm married to my business ... (domestic violence) is a serious problem in our society and it needs help, no-one seems to be standing up for it, and this is my little way of digging my heels in and saying enough is enough.'

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