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Ross-shire Women's Aid staff highlight domestic abuse issues in rural settings during Scottish Government minister's visit


By Staff Reporter

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Equalities Minister Christina McKelvie and Adele Newlands
Equalities Minister Christina McKelvie and Adele Newlands

CHALLENGES faced in dealing with domestic abuse in rural settings were flagged up to a government minister by Ross-shire Women's Aid this week.

Staff from Ross-shire Women’s Aid welcomed the Minister for Older People and Equalities, Christina McKelvie MSP, to Skye to discuss the impact of domestic abuse on women and children.

"For women in remote and rural parts of Scotland, the reality of dealing with domestic abuse presents various challenges," said a spokeswoman.

"Many of the woman we see through our service have problems with transportation. The ability to travel is often an activity that their partners have control over.

"In rural areas it can sometimes be two bus rides to meet with our support workers. In addition visitors to the women’s house would not go unnoticed – making it hard for a support worker to meet up with the women in her home.

"Social isolation can be compounded by geographical isolation – woman can feel very vulnerable in seeking support from their neighbours, the police or local doctor due to fear of becoming the subject of local gossip.

"These are just a couple of the issues that our women face in rural areas. Where woman feel they cannot turn to the police or their doctor the results of this can be dangerous. This is where we would urge women to try and make contact with our service for support and advice."

Issues that the group flagged up to the minister included the ways that limited after school care, nursery provision and holiday activities present problems for working woman.

They also flagged up a lack of mental health resources for adults and children; as well as the vulnerability of women working in small businesses alongside their partners, the limited private rental market and its impact on women’s ability to move and separate from their abuser.

"All of these issues play a huge part in the work we provide, supporting women who are living with, or choosing to leave domestic abuse relationships, and supporting children throughout the situation," said the spokeswoman.

Equalities Minister Christina McKelvie said: "Our vision is of a strong and flourishing Scotland where all individuals are equally safe and respected. That can only happen where women and girls live free from all forms of violence and abuse. This includes changing the attitudes that allow this harm to happen."

"It has been inspiring to see the difference Women’s Aid is making and their work addressing the unique challenges faced by rural communities in innovative and creative ways. It gives meaning to the money we have provided in the past year to support their work across the region, including Skye and Lochalsh."

Adele Newlands, the manager for Ross-shire Women’s Aid said: “It was an honour to have the Equalities Minister with us today to share with her the life-changing, life-saving work we are doing. The challenges of offering a service such as this in Skye and Lochalsh can be difficult but not a service that should be ignored.

"We want people to understand the ways we can help them towards living a life free from abuse. We appreciate the Minister taking the time to understand our difficulties from lack of services and support, from children’s provision, housing and transport issues, confidentiality matters and funding cuts. We hope to continue to be supported within the community and from future funders to enable us to grow and develop this much needed service further.

"We have some exciting opportunities to develop our service further with the addition of a Young Persons Worker, we are looking to offer ‘drop in sessions’ in schools, colleges, community centres; develop a more robust schools programme to raise awareness and deliver further training on domestic abuse for services.

"We believe rural communities can benefit from a broad awareness of domestic abuse and the issues and dynamics surrounding this. We want everyone to recognise the symptoms of domestic violence, believe women who report violent or controlling behaviour and remain a community where your neighbour is a friend.”

Ross-shire Women's Aid said it welcomed the Scottish Government's work on strategies including A Connected Scotland and Equally Safe Strategy and said it looked forward to working further with it to eradicate domestic abuse.

"If you believe a women to be the victim of domestic abuse you can provide a lifeline to this women and encourage her to get support by contacting us," they added. "Let’s challenge the stereotypes and myths about domestic abuse together!"

For support and advice contact the Skye and Lochalsh office on 01478 613 365, the Dingwall office on 01349 863 568 or email info@rosswa.co.uk


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