One of the biggest changes it represents is a willingness for the community to recognise family violence as a problem, and to make a collective effort to eradicate it.

Silence was and is a victim’s greatest enemy. Despite a general recognition that violence in the home was morally if not criminally wrong, in the past it had the mantle of being a “private” issue and should not be spoken about. 

This led to a culture of acceptance and even indifference. 

As part of its campaign to ensure this culture changes, The Courier welcomes the opportunity to tell the stories and amplify the need for a cultural change.

Statistics show that women in rural and regional areas are more likely to be victims of domestic violence, highlighting the greater chal-

lenge confronting our communities. 

Ballarat has fared slightly better than some of its neighbours in police statistics, but it still stands at 1720 incidents per 100,000 people.

Also worrying is that the four worst areas in the state are all regional and rural areas; areas like neighbouring Golden Plains Shire have rates almost double Ballarat. 

Deakin University’s Centre for Regional and Rural Law and Justice community lawyer Amanda George who co-authored a report last year into the issue, has highlighted many cultural reasons for this ugly comparison. 

She said in the past country areas had a culture of masculinity in families, sporting clubs and the police, which meant family violence was often not reported through unspoken collusion. 

Women in the country also found it harder to get away from violent men, with less access to community support groups and legal centres. 

Then there was stigma in smaller communities where it was difficult to front court when evidence quickly became town gossip.

Women also reached out to their mothers about family violence, but were simply told to accept it.

But the upside to that report published over a year ago is that Ms George believes Victoria is leading the way in changing attitudes to police and police reporting.

Now the family violence royal commission is committed to holding regional forums as part of the investigation. These are all small steps, but in changing a culture, they are in the right direction.