Domestic Abuse in Rural Communities.

On Countryfile on Sunday 18 January it was refreshing to see them tackle an issue that many family lawyers in our region frequently come up against, namely the challenges facing people experiencing domestic abuse in rural communities. Rhiannon Bragg was an inspiring and extremely courageous interviewee and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t spent much of the rest of that evening going down a rabbit-hole to learn more about her incredible story.

The segment touched upon challenges I have come up against when advising clients experiencing domestic abuse in rural areas and expanded on those, demonstrating that no matter how much experience we have there will always be a novel situation that requires creative thinking.

The obstacles I have seen, some of which the programme touched on, which can hinder rural inhabitants seeking help for domestic abuse are:

• Geographical distance from vital services and support groups, such as GPs, Freedom Programme, mental health support, and distance from police stations in an emergency.
• Distance from places of safety – the option of fleeing to a neighbour’s house is often not there.
• Poor phone and Wi-Fi signal, making seeking help in an emergency, or even accessing remote support groups and appointment, tricky.
• Lack of resources in the Welsh language, meaning victims are often required to tackle difficult and traumatic issues in a language they would not normally use for that purpose.
• The presence of weapons, usually properly licensed guns used for legitimate rural pursuits, which suddenly become instruments of threat.
• The needs of the farm, animals etc meaning the victim may have to leave whilst the perpetrator remains in the home.
• Social isolation, especially if the victim of the abuse has moved into the area and the perpetrator comes from a large, well-known or established local family. There can be a reluctance to share information when the victim fears their privacy or confidentiality may be compromised.

These issues are strong contributory factors to the fact that victims in rural areas are half as likely to report domestic abuse than their urban counterparts, and the abuse will go on for 25% longer before they report it.

The Government recently published its report into the safeguarding of women and girls from which I would say it is apparent there is still no understanding of these, and other, specific challenges in rural communities. The government response to criticism of this, which was simply to say that they must focus on England & Wales as a whole, is an inadequate one that in itself perpetuates the view that there is no understanding of specific challenges rural areas face and, moreover, no specific willingness to address or learn from this.

The issues highlighted above also impact access to justice for victims when they find themselves in a position to report the abuse:

• Poor communications making participation in remote meetings with solicitors, remote court hearings and court-mandated activities problematic, the only alternative being in-person appointments that impact on time and finances.
• Very often a person is forced to travel to solicitors further away than their local town as the perpetrator or their family is known to local solicitors.
• Geographical distance from the courts for in-person court hearings, coupled with poor public transport, lack of child care etc.
• A fear that police officers might be local people which affects openness and evidence-gathering.

Whilst prevention is always better than the cure, the same issues can often affect perpetrators seeking to engage in perpetrator programmes and other family-focused support, leading to a breakdown in goodwill and engagement and potentially further and more serious consequences for victims and the family unit.

We will do whatever we can to support people experiencing domestic abuse to overcome the obstacles set out above, safety permitting, and have forged good relationships with other services such as the police and domestic abuse support networks with whom we are happy to work in partnership to support clients. We also promote the use of safe forms of alternative dispute resolution, where possible, to give clients greater choice and agency over managing the timing and location of their case.