Domestic Violence rates in the Eurobodalla are among the highest in the state, data shows.
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South East Women and Children's Services (SEWACS) staff members Edith and Jacquie said they were pioneering an online Staying Home Leaving Violence pilot program in the Eurobodalla.
Edith said data collected by NSW Police showed the alarmingly high trend and that the effects of violence spreads throughout the entire community.
They are seeing a rise in cases of newer forms of assault and manipulation.
"Domestic violence can look like so many things," Edith said.
They have witnessed cases of physical, sexual, verbal, financial, social assault and increasingly cyber assault through things such as tracking and hacking.
Across Australia at least one woman a week is killed by a partner or ex-partner in Australia and data shows the Eurobodalla has the fourth highest reported rate of domestic violence in NSW.
"Domestic and family violence doesn't discriminate," Jacquie said.
"Most women don't know they are in a domestic violence relationship until they read about it, because of that coercive control."
Edith said while the problem of domestic violence was often thought to be hidden, the effects spread into wider society.
"It's a big community problem, and it impacts all the community - the provision of services, the impact on children, people not being able to get to work because they're a victim," she said.
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SEWACS has run the Staying Home Leaving Violence program in Bega since 2004, led youth homelessness support programs in Bega and organise the women's refuge in Moruya.
The new Staying Home Leaving Violence program is for anyone who identifies as a woman in the Eurobodalla or in Bombala, is over the age of 18 and not residing with the person causing the abuse.
It provides security measures to help women feel safe, services to children, safety planning and education.
It is carried out over the phone or via video call to increase accessibility for women.
"They won't miss out if they're in a remote area - we can still reach them," Edith said.
However the women said more needed to be done in society to address the problem, and that everyone had a role to play in the solution.
"We need a culture of calling out domestic violence as not okay, and not just looking away and thinking 'that is their business'," Edith said. "This is a community issue."
She wants to see more awareness for women about the services available for women who think they are trapped in a situation they can't get out of.
"One of the real issues is affordable housing so women feel they can leave and have somewhere safe and affordable to live," she said.
"There is nowhere near enough affordable or transitional housing - somewhere for a woman to go while she finds something more stable."
The Moruya refuge can accommodate five women and their families, but Jacquie said they were a band-aid solution.
"Refuges aren't ideal, but they are better than nothing," she said.
"They're better off being in another independent living situation, or their own home,"
For more information, or to get involved, contact Edith or Jacquie:
- Edith - 0487 927 720 and Edith@sewacs.org.au
- Jacquie - 0487 374 621 and Jacquie@sewacs.org.au