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'Everyone knows someone': calls to expose rural DV risk

The NSW Country Women's Association is calling for tougher action on domestic violence, with a focus on the greater risks faced by women in rural areas.


A girl attends a rally to a call for action to end violence against women, in Canberra, Sunday, April 28, 2024.

The quiet seclusion of a farm, winding rural roads and close-knit communities are all selling points of country life.


But those bucolic charms can also pose a threat to women experiencing domestic abuse.


"Women exposed to family and domestic violence can be stuck ...and no one even knows what's going on," Domestic Violence NSW chief executive Delia Donovan told AAP.


"In small communities women are also hesitant to report to the police; they're really frightened of the backlash because everyone knows someone."


Ms Donovan said the unique threats faced by rural women, such as the availability of farm weapons, poor transport connections and limited housing, need to be better recognised.


The state's peak body for specialist domestic violence services is supporting the NSW Country Women's Association's annual awareness week calling for greater action on gendered violence.


The CWA's campaign calls for sustainable funding for victim support services, as well as programs that can target perpetrator risks like gambling and drug and alcohol abuse.


Several recent domestic homicides prompted the CWA to hold its second awareness week on domestic and gendered violence in five years.


The violent spike was acknowledged in a report by the NSW Domestic Violence Death Review Team, which found almost one-third of all homicides occurred in the context of domestic violence.


More than 40 per cent of domestic violence homicide victims came from disadvantaged areas and one-third were from outside major cities.


"As an organisation that represents more than 8000 women across NSW, we feel a responsibility to highlight this problem and the need for more resources and support that can finally turn the direction of these terrible statistics around," CWA NSW president Joy Beames said.


Domestic Violence NSW has been lobbying for a 50 per cent boost in baseline government funding for frontline services, along with a continuation of a trial that supports victim-survivors navigate the legal system.


Reducing social isolation helps 'develop healthy masculinity, and regulate anger'.


The CWA has also joined forces with The Men's Table, a program helping men form meaningful social connections.


Groups of 12 men can meet once a month to talk, guided by principles like "no banter" and "no fixing".


The model is backed by research that shows reducing social isolation improves health and reduces the risk of relational violence.


"They build trust and have a sense of belonging in a community, something bigger than themselves," chief executive David Pointon said.


"That is helping them develop healthy masculinities so they can be showing up more fully and not restricting parts of themselves. 


"That's a fantastic support to regulating their anger or other difficult emotions and it flows out into their lives, into their homes and into their intimate partnerships."

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