 Respondents identified a lack of services to address the impact of violence against
women including services that deal with non-physical violence and abuse (including
emotional and psychological violence and abuse).
 Rural and urban respondents stressed the need for women only services such as Rape
Crisis and women’s refuges.
 Women identified a lack of effective services to deal with perpetrators of violence
and abuse.
 Rural women specifically emphasised the role of health practitioners, in particular
GPs, in providing confidential and safe services for women.
 Rural women expressed concern about the confidential nature of services they
received in their communities.
 Women were more likely to disclose experiences of violence and abuse to friends and
family members rather than to statutory or third sector agencies.
Recommendations
On the basis of the key findings from this research, we recommend:
 A government-funded awareness raising campaign about all aspects of violence
against women which addresses:
 the assumption that violence against women is limited to physical domestic
violence;
 views which focus on the behavior of female victims of violence and abuse at the
expense of holding perpetrators to account.
 Raising awareness of existing relevant national help-lines to enable more women to
access services, particularly in rural areas.
 Training for all GPs in rural areas on violence against women which addresses both
the physical and emotional impact of violence and abuse.
 Dedicated long term funding for specialist women's support services in rural and
urban areas, specifically Rape Crisis and women’s refuges.
 Improving the availability of effective and safe perpetrator programmes.
 That the additional problems faced by rural women, in particular confidentiality and
transportation, are recognised and addressed by relevant generic and specialist service
providers.
 More imaginative delivery of services in remote and rural areas, for example advice
and support sessions run through local GP surgeries or other community based
services.
McCarry & Williamson, 2009 4
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