As rural and remote social workers, the challenges you face are great. In some of the ore remote areas, social workers are circuit riders, traveling to communities to meet with a wide variety of people and covering large geographic distances. Therefore, a partnership with you local domestic violence program is critical and should be utilized whenever possible.
There is no simple answer on formula for overcoming the barriers that make it more difficult to provide effective services to rural and remote battered women, but a scarcity of resources does not mean an inability to envision societal change. Because of the challenges, however, there is a sense of urgency and social service professionals must be prepared to seize the opportunity to play a key role in responding to domestic violence.
As a social worker in rural and remote areas, you are in a unique position to intervene effectively in cases of domestic violence. You are often told confidential information, including disclosures of domestic violence.
As helping professionals, we must also recognize our own misconceptions and personal history and how that influences our work with victims. Denial that abuse occurs is not only a societal problem, but very often a personal one.
By educating yourself and developing a heightened sensitivity to the issue, you can create an atmosphere of openness that will encourage battered women to come forward and break the cycle of abuse in their lives. By partnering with crisis intervention programs, you can become a lifesaving link in that process and in rural communities you may be the first person in whom a victim confides.
