Two-thirds of women escaping violence in remote West Australian town cannot access help

ABC NEWS (Australia)

In a region with the highest domestic violence rates in the state, the local crisis refuge is forced to turn away two-thirds of women trying to get help. Victim-survivors in Broome have told the ABC limited access to support is a life-or-death reality. And a warning, this story discusses lived experience of domestic violence and the women we interviewed have been de-identified to protect their safety.

Transcript

00:00In Australia's remote North West, a crisis is unfolding away from the public gaze.

00:08It needs to stop. I know a lot of some women that have passed away due to domestic violence,

00:17and some of them were my friends and family, and I don't want that to happen to me.

00:23Kiara has been accessing refuges for over three decades. She's experienced generations of domestic violence.

00:31It's like a cycle. People being concerned about women's domestic violence.

00:37Speaking up for you, that's what made me come forward and start fighting back.

00:42Anne has struggled since leaving the refuge earlier this year.

00:46As soon as I walked out of here and went back out there, I felt like there's nothing out there.

00:52It doesn't feel like you're going to get back on your feet again.

00:56It's common for women to return to the refuge multiple times.

00:59I think one thing is having transitional accommodation options.

01:02As I said, the ladies can stay here for up to 21 days.

01:05However, longer term options are not really available currently in Broome.

01:09Since stepping in as interim operator of the refuge in February, Mercy Care have been forced to turn away more than 370 women,

01:17more than double the number than they've been able to help.

01:20And many of those women have children who were also turned away because there was no room for them.

01:25I think when you look at the number of people that are trying to come into this service that we can't support,

01:32that's really challenging and we just wish that we could support more people.

01:36Kimberley Police attend at least 16 FDV-related incidents a day, the highest rate in WA.

01:44A lot of them are alcohol-related, so that is a big barrier.

01:47So we do work closely with our partners in policing licensed premises as well.

01:53The WA government has committed to opening a second DV refuge in Broome.

01:57So we're working with our federal colleagues and the sector and the department

02:01of how we can deliver further appropriate services that are culturally safe.

02:06Women like Kiara and Anne say long-term outreach support and education is needed to break the cycle.

02:13I just want to say to women out there, you know, who's experiencing violence to the extent that you can get out.

02:23Community members shining a light on a hidden crisis.

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