Fly-in fly-out lawyer visits and 'virtual offices' are helping women in regional WA access domestic violence support, but concerns remain about funding for services on the ground.
Like thousands of other workers in Western Australia, Daniel Bavcevic flies in and out of Perth to do his job.Legal Aid is finding new ways to get legal advice to victims of domestic violence in remote areasThere are concerns on-the-ground services are still struggling for funding
With limited access to legal support outside Perth, victims of domestic violence can struggle to get a restraining order, or to get custody of their children back from a violent partner. Mr Bavcevic is one of three Legal Aid lawyers who travel to the regional communities of Broome, Bunbury and Albany to provide legal advice as part of the Stronger Women program.Under the starry skies of Birdwood Downs Station on the Gibb River Road, about 200 women have gathered to talk about their past and future in the Kimberley.The Stronger Women program is one way the legal service is trying to fill the gaps in legal access for women in regional WA.
Anne Moore, the chief executive of the Lucy Saw Centre which runs shelters in the Perth area, has worked in the field of domestic and family violence for more than 30 years."As soon as women leave the risk increases tenfold and it becomes extremely dangerous for women to be travelling around," Ms Moore said.
In another attempt to fill the gap in regional areas, Legal Aid has expanded the virtual office program to shelters across regional WA.Legal Aid's family division director, Colleen Brown, said the service was looking at opening more virtual offices in regional areas."We'd like it to be a situation where there's never a place where somebody can't access information and advice and help," she said.
"There's still this lack of trust in Aboriginal organisations running programs ... and it's really frustrating," she said.
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