Rural abuse survivors call for better access to support in Wales

Survivors of domestic abuse in rural Wales are calling for help that is easier to reach. Montgomeryshire Family Crisis Centre, which serves north Powys, has also lost about £102,000 in funding intended to maintain its work with children and young people, the BBC reports. [1]

Tracy Lewis, a farmer raised in Llanbister, says her father pulled her out of bed by her hair to help with lambing when she was eight. She describes feeling isolated on the family farm and says that, for farming families, speaking about abuse can put livelihoods and trading relationships at risk. Rhianon Bragg says that when her former partner ambushed her with a gun in 2019, she screamed but knew no one would hear her from her rural home. Gareth Wyn Jones was jailed for four and a half years in 2020. [1] [9]

Hayley Heard, of Montgomeryshire Family Crisis Centre, says long distances, limited transport and a lack of privacy can make seeking help difficult. Covering north Powys also brings extra travel costs, she says. The centre says it supported 296 women, 88 men and 231 children in its last financial year. Heard described the funding loss as catastrophic for its children’s and young people’s project, which works extensively in schools. [1]

The UK government told the BBC it was working to address disparities in support and cited a pledge of more than £1bn over three years. Earlier government plans describe £550m for victims’ services and £499m for safe housing through local authorities in England; they do not identify an award to the Powys project. A Home Office action plan also commits to seeking evidence from rural organisations about available services and ways of delivering them. [1] [4] [5] [6]