Two years ago, two drunk men rolled into the Empire Hotel in Sydney’s inner-western suburb of Annandale. They were slurring misogynistic insults at the staff. Two women behind the bar, one heavily pregnant, were in charge that night. They asked the men to leave.

Instead, the patrons walked into the pub’s courtyard. One woman followed them, only to be chased back toward the bar, prompting an off-duty male staffer to intervene. There was no regular security at the bar, a scuffle ensued, and the men threatened to kill him. The female staff pushed the emergency button. Police came and nobody was harmed, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the incident.