An analysis of crime statistics has found regional Victorians are almost twice as likely to experience family violence incidents than people in metropolitan areas. The ongoing impact of domestic violence in the regions has been called a great shame and there's no simple explanation.
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00:00Anne thought she'd finally escaped her partner's violence a few times, but even after he was
00:08jailed for almost killing Anne, she was still living in fear.
00:12I didn't see how dangerous it could be.
00:15Anne says a friend warned that her ex had given her address to another prisoner who'd
00:20just been released.
00:21He said you need to get out because he's coming.
00:24It just so happens that, you know, as much as being in a small community can be challenging
00:30because everybody knows everybody's business, that was my saving grace.
00:35While some details are extreme, Anne's experience of abuse is anything but unique in regional
00:41Victoria.
00:42An ABC analysis of crime data compared regional and metro family violence rates.
00:48It found regional Victorians are almost twice as likely to experience family violence, with
00:53that gap growing over the past five years as the regional rate continues to rise.
00:59Last financial year, all but one of the 30 worst family violence incident rates came
01:04from a regional area, while regional Victorians are also much more likely to be victims of
01:09specific crimes, especially breaches of family violence orders.
01:14While the statistics hint at the extent of domestic abuse, they don't account for the
01:19violence that remains hidden behind closed doors.
01:22The reason that these statistics do not tell the full picture is because we know that there
01:27is a lot of under-reporting of family violence incidents.
01:31In the regions, Dr Satyen warns complexities around social, cultural and gender norms are
01:37more profound.
01:39For all women who experience family violence in any location, they experience multiple
01:44barriers to seeking help.
01:47But for women living in regional areas, these barriers are absolutely compounding.
01:53After 30 years of working on solutions for domestic violence, Dr Chris Lamming says Victoria's
01:58family violence problem is worse than it was two decades ago.
02:03This is a matter of great shame.
02:05Since the 1990s, Dr Lamming has been at the forefront of one approach to solving domestic
02:09violence in the regions – prevention.
02:12How do we enable men who are not born violent, no child is born violent,
02:17it's learnt behaviour, it can be unlearned, but we've got to give it a go.
02:21Until a solution is found, more people, especially women, will face experiences like Anne's.
02:28I was such an independent, capable person, and I'm not that person anymore, I'm building
02:33back to that person, but I don't know if I'll ever get back to who I used to be.