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New report highlights need to address gendered violence in the Wimmera

10 December 2024 ยท 3 min read
A joint report from Federation University Australia and Women’s Health Grampians reveals Wimmera Southern Mallee region’s gendered violence rates are among the highest in the state and need to be addressed. 

A joint report from Federation University Australia and Women’s Health Grampians reveals Wimmera Southern Mallee region’s gendered violence rates are among the highest in the state and need to be addressed. 

 

Horsham Rural City has the seventh highest number of reported incidents per 100,000 in the five years to June 2022, while the LGA of Northern Grampians Shire occupies twelfth place. 

 

The report, titled ‘It doesn’t happen here: The impact of rurality on a community’s readiness to address gendered violence’, found that Wimmera Southern Mallee communities do not clearly recognise non-physical forms of gendered violence, such as coercive control or technology-facilitated abuse.  

 
Federation University PhD candidate and lead researcher, Jessie Duncan said “a lot of these non-physical forms of violence are difficult to identify, even if it is happening to you, but we do know that both physical and non-physical forms of violence are happening here and happening frequently.”  

 
 “We are good at having these important conversations. As a community we’ve talked about mental health and farmer well-being, and now we need to speak up about the gendered violence that is happening right in front of us,” she said. 

 
Non-physical forms of gendered violence include a range of behaviours, which control and impact a victim-survivors well-being. Ms Duncan noted examples may include put-downs and verbal abuse, not being able to access your own money or needing permission to spend money, being monitored on social media, or being told who you can or cannot socialise with.  

 

Women’s Health Grampians are co-sponsoring the research to inform their work in prevention of gendered violence. CEO Marianne Hendron said, “Using the available evidence, our focus is to address the drivers of gendered violence, beyond individual behaviours, looking at the social context in which it occurs.” 

 

“This research will provide insights to help us tailor our programs and work with our partners across the Grampians towards a shift in the data and in promoting communities where gendered violence is not tolerated.”