• High levels of violence against women in Australia and in regional and rural areas will be examined at online seminar

A Charles Sturt University online seminar on Wednesday 14 July will grapple with the issue of high rates of violence against women in regional and rural areas.

The webinar, ‘Violence against women in regional and rural areas’, will be presented by the Charles Sturt Gender and Feminist Studies Network (GFSN) with Athena Swan/Equity and Diversity.

Senior Lecturer in sociology in the Charles Sturt School of Social Work and Arts Dr Donna Bridges said in recent years there has been more understanding of the links between gender inequality and domestic violence.

“Rates of domestic and family violence in Australia are alarmingly high,” Dr Bridges said.

“It is estimated that one third of all women in Australia have incurred physical assault, and a fifth have been subject to sexual assault.

“Intimate partner violence is higher in Australia than in other Western democracies, and in Australia one woman each week is murdered by her partner or ex-partner.”

The webinar is from 2pm to 3.30pm on Wednesday 14 July. Participants will engage in the panel discussion and questions from the audience will be encouraged.

Dr Bridges will facilitate the webinar, and expert presenters include:

• Arlia Fleming, Centre Director/Principal Solicitor at the Central Tablelands and Blue Mountains Community Legal Centre. She has nearly two decades’ experience working with women in prison and Aboriginal women who have experienced family violence and/or sexual assault.

• Lorraine Murphy is a Generalist Counsellor practicing at the Central West Women’s Health Centre in Bathurst NSW. She has more than 25 years’ experience working as a Domestic and Family Violence specialist.

• Tracey Willow has worked in the area of violence against women for 30 years. She has a wide range of experience working in the area of violence against women, most recently in the supervision and support of frontline workers in the DV space and in social work education.

• Jenny Rolfe is President of the Wagga Women’s Health Centre, which was instrumental in the implementation of a survey about attitudes to domestic violence in the Wagga Wagga region. The survey lead to the high profile 'theDVproject:2650'.

• Kevin Jones, Manager, Uniting Aboriginal Permanency Support Programme Dubbo. He has almost 20 years’ work experience working in regional NSW in the field of high-risk offender management.

Join the ZOOM webinar: https://charlessturt.zoom.us/j/69784971544#success