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The Research
T H E R E S E A R C H
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“The control and abuse never ends. …The other day I posted a photo at a cafe having lunch and tagged the location so people knew the last place I was in case something happened to me. I try to validate my child constantly, teaching him to break the cycle and that it isn’t his responsibility to keep both of his parents happy. ……The physical distance between him (ex-partner) and I has done wonders for my mental health, but I still feel unsafe. It’s ‘when’ something happens, not ‘if’. I am in constant fear that he will do something to me.” Participant 5, Victim Survivor35
A local community survey, Gathering Insight: Family and Domestic Violence in Regional NSW,36 of Mid-Western Regional Council residents, was conducted between August-October 2022, to gather insight into availability and utilisation of family and domestic violence services, experiences of the services and to gather data related to needs of victim survivors in short and long term circumstances. In addition, Interviews37 with service providers, members of the Mid-Western Regional Community, and representatives of the local Aboriginal community, were also undertaken to establish a broader context of understanding. Data which supports the research below is represented statistically and as annotations within the text boxes below. Complete survey data and interview transcripts are accessible through the Project Digital Archive. 38
Domestic Violence in an Australian context is nothing short of a public health and welfare crisis. Women and children are disproportionately victims/victim-survivors to domestic violence, with First Nations women, women with disabilities, pregnant women and rural/regional women, more likely to be victims to domestic violence, as highlighted by Anne Summers in her report, “The Choice: Violence or Poverty.”39 Statistics from a report by the Domestic Violence NSW Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Steering Committee40 also indicate that domestic violence occurs at higher rates in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities than in the general population, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are thirty four times more likely to be admitted to hospital for family violence related injuries and five times more likely to be victims of homicide, as a result of domestic violence than non-Indigenous women. The report by Summers,41 also indicated that domestic violence is the leading cause for homelessness amongst women and children.42 Although the conversation around domestic violence in Australia is gaining traction, these conversations are not at the forefront of constitutional reform, policy making and provision of services.
Interviewer: How does Mudgee Community Health (MCH) engage authentically with the Indigenous community in regards to providing services for domestic violence?
Participant 2: We don’t see as many Indigenous clients as non-Indigenous clients. Unfortunately, MCH doesn’t have a dedicated Aboriginal health worker position. The Integrated Care Worker covers Indigenous communities around the area. Also none of the community services in Mudgee have particular Aboriginal programs, which is concerning.43
Women and children from all backgrounds, experiencing intergenerational trauma and domestic violence in regional Australia, face multiple and specific contextual challenges, incomprehensible to those in urban settings. Isolated and within small communities, access to sufficient support and services is inadequate and inconsistent, leaving many women destitute, homeless, financially unstable and unable to provide for their children. More often than not, these women return to a domestically violent household in order to survive44; the paradox of safety and survival. Many surveys, interviews and reports45 identify that the women and children of rural/regional Australia, dealing with domestic violence, are continuously subject to inadequate support and access to services; when there are services available, they are either limited, have long wait times, or are not specific to their needs. Often there is a lack of information or misinformation in the community about the types of support available, with many women unaware of what may be available to them. This is often exacerbated by the stigma associated with domestic violence and the reluctance of victims to ask for help, in fear of future implications to their safety, wellbeing and social engagement.
Participant 3: Domestic violence services often can’t help people with exactly what they need. And they will often say that. Unfortunately, I have sent clients to these services and they have had little to no assistance.46
Survey: 42.3% of those surveyed stating they did not seek domestic violence services because:
“shame-not wanting people to know” “I am unable to get there and don’t have access to a phone of my own and when I called the police once , I was taking my life into my own hands.” “I attempted to find help but wasn’t sure where to go”47
Survey: Of those who did access domestic violence services 62% disagreed or strongly disagreed that their needs were met.48
Furthermore, a recent report from ANROWS titled, A deep wound under my heart: Constructions of complex trauma and implications for women’s well being and safety from violence, 49 identified that “In Australia, one quarter of women subject to gendered violence report at least three different forms of interpersonal victimisation in their lifetime…Being exposed to multiple, repeated forms of interpersonal victimisation may result in complex trauma, which involves a range of traumatic health problems and psychosocial challenges.”50 Intergenerational trauma and the interconnectedness of lived experiences are formed in the realities of genocide, outlined by Tanya Tarlaga in the text, All Our Relations: Indigenous trauma in the shadow of colonialism.51 “We have come from a history of genocide, and genocide is about the deliberate annihilation of a race…It is trauma on a more massive scale-psychologically, physically, spiritually, culturally.”52
Generally, women experiencing intergenerational and complex trauma, are often expected to manage a siloed approach to accessing services, which is often difficult to navigate, financially inaccessible and lacking in personal care. Amongst the key recommendations of the ANROWS report was a need for coordinated and consistent services, as essential in providing support for women in these circumstances and the embedding of “trauma-informed care within a holistic wellbeing framework that integrates mental, physical and psychosocial wellbeing.”53 The implications of intergenerational trauma for children is, according to Taralga, “...characterised by normative instability…They are born into social exclusion and are not only at risk of suicide, they also face higher rates of sexual abuse and self destructive behaviours.”54
Survey: 80.8 % of survey participants indicated that they expected centralised services to be included in a Women’s Refuge and educational centre, with 69.2 % of participants indicating that consistency was fundamental to their current and future needs.55
“There is a missing link between I need to leave now and I have somewhere safe to go.”56
In 2016, the Personal Safety Survey (PSS), referenced in Summers’ report, stated an estimate of “275,000 Australian women suffered physical and/or sexual violence from their current partner. Of these women, 81,700 (30 percent) had temporarily left the violent partner on at least one occasion but later returned. Mostly they returned because they still loved their current partner, wanted to work things out, or the partner had promised to stop the threats and the violence (69,000 or 85 percent). But for around 15 percent of these women (12,000*), the reason for returning was that they had no money or nowhere else to go. Returning to their violent partner seemed a better option to being homeless or trying to subsist in poverty.”57 The choice for women fleeing
domestically violent environments is unfortunately limited; to flee and more than likely become homeless, or to stay and continue to face the violence. This ultimatum is exacerbated by location and contextual resources; fundamentally, women in regional areas have nowhere to go.
Interview with Housing Plus Staff58 Interviewer: What housing options are available in Mudgee currently for women and children facing domestic violence? Participant 1: None. There is nothing at the moment. The closest housing option is in the Blue Mountains or Orange. Dubbo and Forbes are average. Interviewer: So a minimum of 2 hours away to access any housing options. Participant 1: There is one short term housing stay in Bathurst, well Kelso, but it is always occupied. Interviewer: And that’s still 1 and half hours away. Interviewer: What sort of support is available at the moment through housing plus and other services? Participant 1: We are working out more affordable housing options, introducing support for workers for budgeting and up-skilling. In 2016 the Women’s Domestic Violence court fund started. Prior to this, women were having to report abuse and return to an abusive household. Interviewer: Yes, this was exactly the experience my mum and I had back in 2014. Participant 1: Yeah there were no support services back then, I mean there still isn’t a great deal now due to state funding and business capacity. Housing Plus is more a referral service rather then a case management service. There are so many gaps along the journey.59
Hannah Robinson’s article, “No one will hear me scream: Domestic Violence in regional, rural and remote NSW,”60 highlights the severity of domestic violence in regional areas.
“Across Australia, people living in regional, rural and remote communities are 24 times more likely to be hospitalised as a result of family and domestic violence than people living in major cities.”61
Mudgee, on Wiradjuri Country, ‘a nest in the hills’, the picturesque weekend getaway, world class wineries, a hidden secret; part of the Orana Region, one of two communities with the highest rates of family and domestic violence for any geographic region in New South Wales.62 These regions also have the highest numbers of domestic violence incidents occasioning grievous bodily harm.63 According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics,64 in the period between July 2017 - June 2018,
there were 599.3 domestic apprehended violence orders (AVO) rate per 100,000 population in the Mid-Western Regional Area (Mudgee local council area) compared to 307.8 domestic apprehended violence orders (AVO) rate per 100,000 population in Sydney.65 Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic and with greater awareness and voice around domestic violence, AVO statistics have increased across the board. Between June 2021 - July 2022, there were 686.3 domestic AVOs rate per 100,000 population in the Mid-Western Regional Area and 358.1 domestic AVOs rate per 100,000 population in Sydney.66
“As a psychologist and with my professional career history, I think there is a societal responsibility to rehabilitate men, who more often than not
are the perpetrators, as well.”67 Participant 3-Health Professional
Participant 2: At the moment, we don’t have an early intervention service, but Dubbo and Bathurst do. I provide domestic violence support, to mostly women and children. We do have counselling services and within Community Health there are mental health services but domestic violence is not their core focus. Interviewer: What specific domestic violence services are provided? Participant 2: **** and I run a domestic violence group called Sharkcage. It is an 8 week educational program. This is for people who are safe and want to learn about types of abuse and rights in an effort to educate people about abuse. Interviewer: So there is a gap between leaving a violent situation and reaching a stage like attending Sharkcage. What sort of housing options do MCH refer people too? Participant 2: The accommodation thing is a massive issue. It’s ridiculous, there is no refuge, people often have to leave town. Closet refuge used to be in Katoomba or Bathurst. There are a few community members that are interested in the social and affordable housing sphere but haven’t had much traction.68
The comparison between rural and urban areas in this context highlights the need for accessible services in regional areas to be of equal quality and quantity to that of urban cities. The urgency consolidated in the survey data and interview transcript.
Survey: 52% of respondents said they had accessed domestic violence services, however 94% of these respondents stated that the services they accessed were in fact inadequate, unhelpful and they had to push for any support.69
Interviewer: And how long is the waiting time for any accommodation? Participant 1: How long is a piece of string? Where are you applying for, what type of property are you needing? It is endless. Interviewer: Yeah wow okay. What is the process to access housing?
Participant 1: You used to be able to just rock up to the refuge, hop on a bus or get on a train. People are often reliant on relationships between other services. Now, you have to present yourself to Barnardos. They then make an assessment of your situation and will refer you on to particular service providers. It’s all about the assessment.70
