Murrumbidgee Lachlan CWA adds voice to call for action on domestic violence

Over three days at a conference in Coffs Harbour, CWA members voted unanimously to take action on domestic violence, beginning with pushing an amendment to the Bail Act and more funding for frontline support services.

The amendment to the Bail Act would change the presumption of bail provisions to a default against bail for domestic and family violence offences.

The Association has also asked for prioritisation on a system that would record, track and share information on perpetrators across jurisdictions in real-time as well as support for services that target perpetrator risk factors.

The Murrumbidgee Lachlan group of CWA branches has added their voice to the call, and promised to be working with the other branches to find practical ways to reduce the domestic violence rate.

Murrumbidgee Lachlan group president Lyn Manton highlighted the higher rate of domestic violence in rural and regional areas, and difficulties in finding support.

"Women in regional, rural and remote areas are more likely than women in urban areas to experience domestic and family violence, and those who do seek help can find difficulty in accessing services due to geographical isolation," Ms Manton said.

"This is not the first time CWA of NSW has highlighted the issue of domestic violence as an emergency. In September 2020, CWA Awareness Week involved a call for domestic violence to be recognised as a national emergency."

CWA State president Joy Bearnes said that increasing crime rates were also a concern for the Country Women's Association, prompting an increased advocacy effort

"The increasing rates of crime in rural and regional locations has also been of enormous concern to the association and our members and this is reflected in several motions that came before the conference this year," she said.