She is described as a "Marmite writer", in that readers tend either to love or hate her work, and is a freelance journalist whose work regularly appears in The Guardian. She writes non-fiction including news articles; interviews; as well as columns, reviews and editorial pieces. Her primary areas of interest are lesbian rights, opposition to the sex industry, modern anti-trafficking campaigns and defending female victims of domestic violence. Bindel, who has been involved in feminist law reform campaigns for victims of domestic violence, originally began writing as a way to get the message across to the wider public. Bindel is also openly lesbian and has shared her views and been quoted regarding sexual identity and sexual orientation issues and refers to hersef as a political lesbian feminist.

As of 2009 she resides in Crouch End and has written about the area. In Aug 2010 she entered the Independent's "Pink List" as 98th of the top 101 most influential gay and lesbian people in the UK.

Julie Bindel was a teenager in Leeds when she became involved in feminism in 1979, through meeting feminists who were then campaigning about sexual violence and the complacency of the police at the time of the Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe. "The Yorkshire Ripper case was my reason for becoming a campaigner against sexual violence". Sutcliffe was convicted for murdering thirteen women between 1975-1980. She states, "I was angry, like many others, that the police only really seemed to step up the investigation when the first 'non-prostitute' was killed." Bindel was angry about the police's advice for women to stay indoors although many had jobs which required them to be out after dark; she was also not happy about the police's assertions in 1979-1980 that sex workers were the killer's target even though, from May 1978 onwards, all the victims were not sex workers by trade. Bindel took part in feminist protests against the killings including flyering mock-up police notices for men to stay off the streets for the safety of women. She continued campaigning against sexual violence, and worked as an unpaid feminist activist working for women's rights. In the 1990s she attended London Metropolitan University as an undergraduate.

In 1990, Bindel was a co-founder of Justice for Women (JFW), a group which opposes violence against women from a feminist viewpoint. "Justice For Women is a feminist organisation that campaigns and supports women who have fought back against or killed violent male partners". They are concerned with issues of mariticide arising from domestic abuse. JFW offer welfare advice, campaign on domestic violence, abused women who kill violent partners, immigration rights, and the dangers women face with the rise of religious fundamentalism. JFW "campaign for changes in the defences to murder so that they encompass and reflect women's experiences of domestic violence."

Bindel's writing on cyberstalking, where a victim is humiliated or threatened with unwelcome email messages at work or to professional associates, has been cited by academics. In 2006 Bindel wrote of a personal pact regarding rape and how rape victims are re-victimized by being "identified, vilified and even crimialised." She shared that if she were raped at the time she would likely not report it to the police because of these concerns.

Bindel's activism is reflected in her contribution to research and writing on feminist issues, violence against women, and prostitution; she was a researcher at both Leeds and London Metropolitan Universities, being the assistant director of the research unit on violence and abuse at Leeds. Her writing features in books and reports she has authored, edited, contributed to, or been quoted in, and these are detailed in the bibliography.

Bindel's journalistic writing began while she was Assistant Director of the Research Centre on Violence, Abuse and Gender Relations at Leeds Metropolitan University. She was first published by the UK Independent newspaper in 1998 concerning prostitution in the UK. According to her writing, the life and death of her friend Emma Humphreys in 1998 led her into journalism. Bindel had campaigned for Emma to be acquitted and released from prison following Emma's conviction for the murder of a violent pimp.

In 2001 she began writing an occasional column for The Guardian, from the start covering gay and lesbian issues, child protection, prostitution and violence against women. From October 2003, her contributions in The Guardian became more frequent, and she wrote about the main themes that concerned her: rape, child sexual abuse, domestic violence, men who murder women, men who murder partners, child protection, sex offenders, prostitution, gay and lesbian issues, broader LGBT issues including transsexualism and reassignment surgery, human trafficking, sex tourism, women who murder violent men, and lesbian issues. Her style is often controversial. During her time at The Guardian, Bindel also broadened her range of topics to include vegetarianism, Barbie, Sylvia Pankhurst memorial, and wrote columns on Andrea Dworkin, Sheila Jeffreys and Louis Armstrong.

In March 2006 the Guardian started to open some of her columns to reader comments in the 'Comment is Free' section. Her articles occasionally received comments in the hundreds, and the focus of her 'hates' that started with vegetarians also encompassed the Arsenal football team, was soon followed by men who rape and abuse women. In 2006 her output increased. Some of her writing has voluminous comments, such as on prostitution (311), rape (352), drug rape (403), women murdered by violent partners (348), transsexualism (203), and LGBT inclusion (374). In January 2009, her espousal of radical lesbian feminism attracted the most comments (560) for her writing at that time.

Bindel's writing on the issue of violence against women in domestic and personal relationships with men has featured in her journalism from the start, and continues to do so.