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Not
surprisingly, isolation in one form or another wove through the topics
of the day. Rural is isolated. And since the combination of isolation and
violence is the one-two punch used by domestic violence perpetrators to
control their victims, remedying one aspect or another of isolation was
paramount.
At first blink,
an outsider's view of rural isolation centers on the long distances victims
must travel to get to services. But behind the obvious are many more insidious
aspects of the problem. The distances between individual homes, for example,
make it difficult, if not impossible, for victims to run to a neighbor
for help. The failure of many media to penetrate the area is another form
of rural isolation that all but negates the ability to easily update community
education. Neither Sonoma County's main English language radio, KSRO, nor
the Spanish language KBBF, for example, reach the area. And along the full
length of the Redwood Coast, with the exception of Pt. Arena and the Rancheria,
there is NO local government or other government offices.
Another aspect of rural isolation are law enforcement response times that can easily take an hour or two. This alone can explain the typical low rural reporting rates. Nor is it just
victims who are cobbled by rural isolation. In fact, what emerged to be
the most pressing concern of the day is the paucity of local victim advocates.
This isn’t due to any lack of volunteers. There’s a very enthusiastic cadre
waiting in the wings. But again the obstacle has been rooted in the area’s
isolation, in the travel distances needed to attend the training and certification
required by Project Sanctuary before advocates are permitted to work with
victims. (Project Sanctuary of Mendocino County is currently contracted
to provide the one half-time victim advocate on the Redwood Coast.)
As downright defeating as even this beginning list of challenges may seem, there is one constant Rural Zone Factor X that, though unspoken, dominated the day. There is a self reliant, can-do, never-say-die spirit to rural communities, and this group was no exception. Repeatedly throughout the day, people spurred each other on with the mantra to "Think Outside the Box!" Indeed, many of the seeds of solutions are already planted in the community. Javier Chavez, a community worker for Action Network cuts through the layers of isolation by doing his community education door to door (see next page). The local rotary club, along with other business organizations, has taken on the project of funding a human services van for transport. And other solution
possibilities emerged during the meeting. The group will look into
the feasability of piggy-backing off law enforcement’s subscription to
the Language Line to overcome translation problems. And into the possibility
of creating and using a group of “support persons” from the community who
won’t need the full certification before working to help local victims.
The internet couldn’t be better designed for rural women, yet they’ve been slow to exploit the potential. The singular gem of an exception is the Ruralwomyn web site at www.ruralwomyn.net/ The Ruralwomyn site is a virtual rural kitchen table for connecting rural women. And it’s a huge rural library (complete with fireplace and photo albums), with special emphasis on resources for rural victims of violence against women. Some of you may remember that it was Ruralwomyn who gave Women’s Justice Center our first home on the web five years ago. By Marie De Santis
Rural Womyn Zone Violence Against Rural Women |
If
you're among the multitude that daily wrestles the highway 101 corridor,
it's easy to forget the vast areas of Sonoma County that are isolated
and deeply rural. Yet for thousands in our county, a drive to Santa
Rosa can mean two hours of winding road in good weather, and sometimes
impassable conditions in bad. Or if, like many, you can't wait for weekends
to get out there to savor the wilderness, it's easy to overlook the formidable
hardships that come with living there full time, hardships that can present
near insurmountable barriers for rural victims of violence against women.
Despite
the resolve of the local community, a full solution to the problems
for rural victims may depend more on whether established public programs
and services are willing to reach beyond their urban office doors. Though
invited, there were no representatives at the meeting from Sonoma County
law enforcement, nor from our DA’s Office, nor from the YWCA domestic violence
services. All of these groups receive public funds and, as such, have an
obligation to serve all of the public. Similar to the problem of all minority
groups, the needs of rural women are too often invisible and ignored by
the mainstream. But in one positive closing note, since the Nov. 20th meeting
we’ve had the opportunity to speak with DA Stephen Passalacqua about the
efforts of the Redwood Coast women, and he agrees that a person from his
office should be assigned to the effort.