Domestic and Family Violence

Mrs POWER (Elder) (15:19): I rise to share with the house a fantastic trip I made to Port Pirie last Friday in my role as the Assistant Minister for Domestic and Family Violence Prevention. I attended the launch of a research report called 'Young country women's experience of intimate partner violence', a joint project by Uniting Country South Australia and UniSA. It was a valuable opportunity to gain further insight into how living in a rural and regional location impacts experiences of intimate partner violence.

There is no doubt that those living in a regional community have a different experience from those living in urban communities. This is something that we, the Marshall Liberal government, are very aware of. In fact, those living in country areas have been identified as one of the key target groups outlined in our domestic and family violence framework released earlier this year, called Committed to Safety.

Along with this framework, we are continuing to deliver on our election commitments, including delivering nine new safety hubs across regional South Australia to improve the safety of South Australians living in regional communities. The safety hubs are the first government-led hubs in our state and deliver a key Liberal government election commitment. Most importantly, they are tailored to suit the unique needs of different regions and different locations.

Just last month, we opened our first safety hub in Murray Bridge, which means women in that region now have better access to the support and information they need if experiencing violence or if feeling at risk of violence. It is clear that to the Marshall Liberal government #RegionsMatter, as do the people in them. It was important to make the time and the trip to visit Port Pirie for the launch of the research report last week.

The research project describes experiences of women aged 16 to 24, conducted by Dr Catherine Mackenzie with support from Ms Tanya Mackay. Dr Mackenzie is a research fellow at the Australian Alliance for Social Enterprise with an overarching research interest in social justice and inequities and how these may be overcome. Her findings on this project align with the work that we are doing as a government under our Committed to Safety framework.

Similar broad themes were identified, including young women's tendency not to recognise violence in their relationships unless physical violence is used and being unsure where to find support. Some young women living in regional areas did not even receive help when they sought it. In fact, we heard an example of somebody who was dating a young gentleman and it was that young gentleman's mother who was the support network in that community. Of course, that gives rise to a lot of complexities.

Importantly, a key finding included young women describing forming intimate partner relationships in similar ways as young urban women—for example, through social media, dating apps and messaging apps—and with experiences of internet-based abuse. By undertaking this research, Dr Mackenzie was able to make recommendations to Uniting Country South Australia in best supporting these young women, specifically in country areas.

I congratulate Uniting Country SA on leading this project with the University of South Australia to understand the ways that we can best support people living in regional communities. Ending domestic and family violence requires everyone in our community and in our state to take action. It was fantastic to see the work being done as to how Uniting Country SA, in collaboration with other services, can better understand and address the issues in this region.

Some of the recommendations that came out of the report include building the capacity of youth workers and domestic violence workers to increase their understanding of intimate partner violence among young people and to also raise awareness in the community about what support is available. This was an absolutely crucial message coming through.

I would like to say a special thankyou and acknowledge Liz Malcolm, the General Manager of Operations, Tracy Holden and Simone Kemp from Uniting Country SA for their work on this project and putting together a successful launch; Professor Ian Goodwin-Smith and Dr Catherine Mackenzie for their academic insights and research; and especially a big thankyou to Ms Georgina Axford, who, as young woman from a country area, shared her own perspective, and Ms Trix Sanson, a Uniting Country SA Reconnect worker. Congratulations to all involved in the launch and to all the people out in our regional areas who are working to make South Australia a safer place.