IT’S a difficult subject to tackle – but we need to have the discussion. Domestic violence is typically hidden from plain view, but remains a very serious issue for our society.

A ’Women’s Refuge,’ was set up by a group of Warrnambool women in 1976. It was designed to be a safe environment free of violence and abuse, for women and children to escape to. At the time of its inception, there was a belief that ‘there is no problem in this area – it just happens in the cities’. Far from being the truth – women and children in country and farming areas have as great a risk of domestic violence as anywhere.