00:00The pictures on Jacinda Atchison's phone hold precious memories of her children's childhood.
00:16Her former partner burned their photo albums and she was scarred for life in what she describes
00:21as one of his rampages.
00:23I was doing the washing up one day and I dropped the fork out of the sink.
00:29I picked the fork up off the ground and put the fork back in the sink.
00:33And he held me down on the ground and pushed on my face so hard that he broke my cheekbone.
00:38It's been almost 20 years since the mother of three escaped her abuser.
00:42It got to its worst when I finally left him and he was putting pieces of paper in the
00:47doors and the windows because he thought I was getting up in the middle of the night
00:52to go and see somebody else.
00:54She's been inspired to share her experience following the alleged murder of her friend
00:58Molly Ticehurst at Forbes.
01:02Now she wants her own story of survival to inspire others.
01:06Jacinda Atchison's experience isn't unique in rural Australia.
01:11Frontline support services say they're struggling to keep up with demand.
01:15We quite often have women say if they are to return home that they will be killed and
01:22perpetrators potentially have access to weapons, to guns and are skilled at using those weapons.
01:28The distance to these support services exacerbates the problem.
01:32In those towns the nearest 24 hour man station may be 300 kilometres away and so that real
01:39elevated risk that if something's happening there is no immediate response from police
01:43even if police are called.
01:44The culture within these communities can further entrap victims.
01:48Everyone in the town knows everyone and particularly in a lot of cases we see that male perpetrator
01:54is someone that is well respected in the community, is someone who knows all of the service providers,
01:59is liked, is valued and so one that puts fear in, I can't speak out against this person.
02:06In 2016 a federally commissioned report found the economic impact of domestic violence in
02:11Australia was more than $21 billion.
02:14In New South Wales the cost was $6 billion.
02:18This recent state budget included $245 million for support services and programs.
02:24And that the rate that women are dying, that's clearly not enough.
02:27In a statement the state minister for the prevention of domestic violence, Jodie Harrison,
02:32said the government will be looking at service gaps, particularly in regional areas.
02:37Sally, Sally don't.
02:39Survivors like Jacinda Atchison say tackling the stigma surrounding domestic violence is
02:44also vital and wants others to know there is still hope.
02:49There is so much more out there than walking on eggshells every day.
02:56Real good men exist and real love exists.
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