Changes must be made to give rural women greater access to legal resources and greater protection under the law, a leading Charles Sturt University (CSU) social researcher advocated at the National Conference on the Legal Needs of Women in Regional, Rural and Remote Australia in Albury-Wodonga today, Wednesday 14 June.

Associate Professor Margaret Alston, Director of CSU's Centre for Rural Social Research, said in the keynote address - Rural Women's Access to Legal Services - that to move forward, a dedicated rural and regional development policy is essential.

Referring to the decline in legal services in rural communities, reducing women's access to legal aid and advice, Professor Alston said this policy must move away from a strict focus on market principles as the ultimate determinant of success.

"Some service areas are worthy of protection to ensure social justice to attend to the quality of life for rural people. This necessitates a greater role for government," she said.

Professor Alston said that while the reduction in legal services affects both men and women, gender issues impact in telling ways for rural women.

"Anecdotal evidence suggests that violence against women is increasing in rural areas consequent on difficult financial circumstances and reduced quality of life.

"Stress and poverty create a climate where violence is escalating," she said. Adding that it is difficult for women to protect their privacy in rural communities and it's difficult for them to seek help.

"The big-picture issues affecting legal access in rural communities are the factors impacting on the general social and economic decline in regional and rural Australia: globalisation, technology and declining political influence.

"It is time to refocus on rural communities as social entities rather than as sites of potential economic development or failure," she concluded.