Domestic abuse ‘hell’ much worse for those in rural areas
Whilst I’m getting all the difficult stories this week out in one go we need to go from children in care to domestic abuse. This story links rurality with low levels of declaration of domestic abuse. It tells us:
A report into domestic abuse in rural areas has found that abuse lasts on average 25 per cent longer in rural areas.
The UK-wide report compiled by the National Rural Crime Network (NRCN), which had been a year in the making, has for the first time given a comprehensive examination of the impact of rurality on domestic abuse victims and services, the commonalities and differences between rural and urban experiences.
The report also finds rural victims are half as likely to report their abuse to others, there is a lack of readily accessible support services, victims live in a society that defacto protects the perpetrators and rural victims are isolated, unsupported and unprotected in a “rural hell” which is purposefully “normalised”.
The Domestic Abuse in Rural Areas report said exiting abuse is harder, takes longer and is more complex as there are significant additional in rural communities compared to urban areas such as the difficulties with starting a new life and the accessibility of service are much harder to obtain which make reporting abuse half as likely.