The title, of course, is meeting the native rural and isolated women. My name is Sister Enard and Marilla and I are sharing this morning's session but we're ready to interject with one another, if we can add anything to what the other is saying.

I come from any educational background. I was in schools for a number of years and them moved away from that and found that a work that interested me with the Sisters of Charity Outreach. I am a Sister of Charity and at the time the organization began, I moved into it in my same role of education where I was working at our Louisiana center, where we were teaching English to migrants and refugees. And then after that, I moved into Country Kaileg.

It began in 1990 and actually spread very quickly into many areas. I started at St. Vincent's Darlinghost. We are part of a congregation that works with in education and well as in health and St. Vincent's Hospital is based in Sidney, it's one of our St. Vincent's hospitals which we work in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania and we have hospitals in all those areas. So, sister Jude was asked to do a survey to see how we could assist woman and families round the Darlinghost area, where St. Vincent's hospital is located. The actual outreach program went on a completely differently track from what was first envisaged. We had thought that we would work at the Darlinghost center, which is in the center there, where the center services are located and are still located there. And we had thought we would just work around that area with women and families in need. We knew that the men were being services in that area but the women were not. That they were hiding and we hoped that they would come to us for assistance at that point. That didn't eventuate. Other people got the same idea about the same time and we found then it was sort of overservice. And so we went out to all the others, a lot of other centers around Sidney so that we have now, what's called Louisiana Living Skills, and each of these has its own coordinator but it's very much in touch with the center which is located at St. Vincent's clinic. At the Louisiana Living Skills Center we teach English to migrants and refugees, there's a wellness program, we offer RAKE, elderly people come and do crafts there, we have a counselor present at the center on 4 days a week. As safehouse and parents support group, we're conjointly. The safehouse is not a refuge. We were asked to being that by the police at Liverpool and Fairfield. They said a lot of families in domestic violence happened at nighttime, and the parents, the mother and the children arrive at the police station and they don't know what to do with them. The children are frightened, the mothers are frightened, they're no where for them to go and usually, the police would just drive them home again which wasn't a good situation. So they asked us to establish a center where they would be able to come for temporary care. And they are driven there by the police in unmarked cars, they can get into our center without any problems that they might be found there and so they stay there usually for a short time. About a week, perhaps two weeks and then they either return to the home where counseling perhaps has become available for the perpetrator and/or they go. We find other accommodations for them. The parent support group works with mothers and children. The mothers mainly and we have a course available for them, just to help them in parenting. The visit program, which is located in the southeast Sidney area, visits people who are shut-ins and cannot get out for a cup of coffee or just for a day out. Country Care Link is part of that and I sort of thought I would just tell you about those other services because they are useful for us in our country car work. We can use them if we need perhaps referral or perhaps counselling, those sort of things. So when I think of CWA and other organizations that have been going for so many years, we're a very young organizations.

We began in 1990, and Country Care Link really didn't get off the ground until 1992. As most of your know, that was in the middle of the sever drought and Sister Jude, who was the founder and also organizer of our, director, of our organization, did what she called the country bash. She went around the country in 4-wheel drive with 2 other people and also by plane and meeting the people who were living there just to try to discover in what way the country people could be assisted by the city people. I think some of the barriers that exist between city and country has been addressed by the links that she made at that time. I think that people who l live in the city like I do, are not completely aware of the needs that live in the country. And that was our idea of perhaps trying to bring us together a little bit so that we would understand one another. And some of our programs are directly in that arena of trying to do that. As I said, the centuries like catered at St. Vincent's clinic at Darlinghost. There are within it, for any organization, of course, you need money. So we have a good fund raising committee. We are also supported by St. Vincent's private hospital, not only for Country Care Link but for the whole of our outreach program. And they are our main source of revenue and I always like to say that because the money that they give us allow us to exist. We get no financial support from the government at all. We've tried for grants from them, but without success. But there's has been some success from the corporate section. They very much support our safehouse and our parent program. The doctors from the clinic themselves support our telehealth program and I'll speak about that in a moment. And it's interesting coming over here to the United States because the Conrad Hilton fund, which is based in Los Angeles, also support our parenting program with a grant. It's a volunteer based organization and we have a volunteer handbook. The volunteers do a training program for about 8 weeks, 8 sessions over 8 weeks. The booklet outlines our philosophy, has a mission statement, says what we expect of volunteers, such as confidentiality and that type of thing and the people who do the program, they don't all become volunteers. If they find something which interests them, then they continue on and do a short time with us and then after that, we give them a certificate if they still want to continue.

Country Care Link began in 1992, so we're quite young, we've being going for about 6 years. It began when Sister Jude was successful in her bid to establish an 1800 line, a free call line from people from New South Wales and we only exist in New South Wales. I just thought that you might like to see that for people who are not from Australia, that New South Wales is only part of that, a small part but yet vast areas of rural exist there. the majority of people live along the coast and the outback people have big properties and are quite isolated. It was interesting when it first began and we were in touch with Cambra, trying to see how we could establish this, this 1800 line, and the man from Camdron, Mr. Farley I thin his name was, said that it was too vast an area for one group from New South Wales to service it but Jude went ahead anyhow and didn't take much notice of him and eventually it went through to the whole of New South Wales. So, this first introduction, Sister Jude endeavored to go beyond the phone contact and travel to the country to offer face to face contact. Always she carried a question with her; what can we in the city, do to assist the people living and working in the country. And as a result of these contacts with rural people and after consultation with the rural women's network, I'm sorry I left that bit out. It is an initiative, not only with the Sisters of Charity outreach, but also the Rural Women's Network. And the Rural Women's Network which formed round about that same time support us with advertising and support. They're doing cards which they print for us and they also spread them round New South Wales. As a result of those meetings, the following services were offered as being available on our 1800 line.

So we offer legal assistance, which Marelle is our solicitator and a lawyer, confidential personal counseling, a referral service to find information that people need, there's a volunteer to meet country people coming to Sidney to provide transport where appropriate and interschool contact program linking country and city children by phone, otherwise a friendly voice for a chat on the end of the line. There's an offer to visit country people in hospital on request, that is, we do not intrude on people. If they want us to visit, we only visit if they request, and there's assistance with short-term accommodation in the city. These services were introduced in 1992 and they have not changed. However, they are constantly under review. I remember during the year doing an interview with a country newspaper and there was a phone in afterwards, please ask the people if we are really meeting their needs in these areas or would they like further services to be offered, would they like any changes, etc., etc. But somehow, they seem happy with it but we're always willing to offer more or offer differently, offer if in a different way. Marelle will talk a little bit more about the legal assistance. The counseling. We offer counseling by trained counselors 3 days each week. At other times, we organize a return call to the client. People who are in need of counseling are not always able to receive calls, and so we often do that by appointment. They don't like us phoning them, they like to phone us, and I ca well understand that. Actually, I'm surprised that that service is not used more than it is and I'm always wondering whether it's because it is not known or whether it's because those services are available sufficiently in the country for the people. I don't know. And no matte how often we talk about it, and our counselors are really caring and genuine and good counselors and I would like to see that used more. Rather than have the counselors sitting there doing nothing, we offer counseling to people other than the rural on the 1800 line, so that they do come to the center for counseling as well. But I don't know, I think for rural people, a counselor being available in an anonymous way on an 1800 line, would be something that, I think, I'd use if I was especially in need of help. But, however, I think things surface at certain times and become popular at certain times and so we don't take that service away even though it's not used a whole lot. We leave it there. The referral was extensively used during the farm hand time and Marelle's going to talk about farm hands. That was when our 1800 line extended to the whole of New South Wales and I think farm hands perhaps helped rural people to know how to access services and they do not need that kind of service quite as much now, but it still exists. You get calls from people who are wanting to trace relatives, where would I go to find them, I want to know more about adoption, I want to contact somebody who's going to tell me how to perhaps do certain things on the land even. The rural assistance authority, they didn't know their numbers. When the drought supports workers were working, we were able to tell them exactly who to contact and that kind of referral service which is available on the 1800 line. Transport is our busiest and most used line. We have 14 volunteer drivers now. They do the training program or if they're not able to come to the center for that length of time, we do a quick training program with them. They're wonderful people. They are good drivers, they know Sidney and they somehow developed a real rapport with the rural people and enjoy doing the work. We would have approximately about 20 to 25 transports a month and that's about all we really can cope with. The weekend drivers are people who work during the week and we have other drivers who work, but if we give them sufficient time, they'll leave work and come and help. It needs about 4 hours work for transport. We meet people at the airport and at central station and take them to where they have to go. A lot of elderly people use that service because I was in a session yesterday on the needs of rural people in the health area. So many of the country towns have lost their doctors, they've lost their hospitals and they cannot get specialized service in the country and they have to come to it he city. If they can get funding for it, they fly, otherwise, they come by train. And to sit overnight on a train and go to a doctor for a half hour or an hour's appointment, spend all day in the city and then go home that night, is really very, very difficult. So, that's where our center at St. Vincent's clinic is useful. Because they can stay with us during the day, we take them to their doctor's appointment, and then look after them during the day. And so many of those people have never been into the city. Or if they have, they came many, many years ago and they're quite frightened coming down and it's a joy to be able to provide that service. The first contact with our center comes from perhaps a community health center or a country hospital or the people themselves who've picked up one of our green cards and ring saying, is this really true, will you meet me? And we say, yes, and we take particulars and a phone number to contact them back. One of us then phones one of our drivers to see if they're available at the time. We always give them a phone number of the people that they're contacting and most of them do phone that person just to confirm that they're the ones that are meeting them and then get back to the people of whoever has referred them to us and give details of who will be meeting them. We've got a yellow care which has Country Car Link on it, just in case there are problems meeting people by plane, while it's difficult with parking, it's a lot easier with meeting people on the train where everybody spills out of the train at the one time, it's a little bit more difficult and we use our yellow cards more often there. People from the Far West Home uses a lot, are you familiar with the Far West Home? Far West is an organization which helps children who are perhaps having problems at school or healthwise sometimes with hearing or things like that, speech and so on and they come down to the city for about a week. Now that center's a long way from Mascot, it's a long way from Central Station and often they come by train and arrive at nighttime. So, it's really, transport's very important for them. Spasic Center also used us, a lot of Sparnabiferter patients, so that we have a car, we have vista seats and we have a fixed car seat for those children, so that there's no problem transporting them. People in wheelchairs use us too, and we have to make sure that the cars are suitable for those people. So transport really keeps us busy.

The interschool contact is a telebell program. This program began actually from a meeting when Sister Jude was out near Laos, which is here. And she was talking to a lady who had 2 or 3 children, and she was saying one of the things that she would love to see happen would be for her child to have contact with a child from the city, so that they would learn a little bit about what it was like to go to school in the city. And, that was one of the first places to use our telebell program. But actually the Distance Education Center was our very first. And that one's located with Louisiana. So the children who are on distance Education, who do not come to a school, actually phone one another from the properties, The school itself in Sidney, is the one that does the phoning and they send their telephone bills into us. And the doctors who work at the clinic are the ones that support this program and pay for the telephone bills and so on. The children contact one another about once a fortnight and they speak for about 3 or 5 minutes. Some of those schools are very small schools. The Birok school only has 6 in it. Whenouring, which is the furthest away, has, I think they have about 40 or 50 children in their school, it's big in comparison to some of the others. but some of them are very, very small school so that the whole of the school often takes part in the telebell program. The children talk about their day to day activities. And I know from the Luisian contact which contacts the children on their properties, they exchange holidays after a little while so that the parents and the children went out back and the children from out back painted the city. It's not a one way benefit, I think the city children actually are the one that benefit even more from that than the children out back because they're just so surprised at the way they go to school. How do they go to school, what they do all day, they have no conception of what it's like to live in the outback and to go to school in the outback. That has gradually expanded. We began with one school, then 2 schools and now, I think there are 11 or 13 schools that are taking part in that. Someone have asked to move on to the internet with that and we're a bit unsure about that, because I think phone contact certainly was the thing the was the most important part of it to hear one another's voices. But I think that they could perhaps work both at the same time. The friendly voice for a chat. Loneliness is something that is a pardon parcel of living outback. I otherwise think that if they phone, it's like having a cup of tea with somebody. Often, they are people that we have already been in touch with. We don't very often get calls from somebody saying, I just want to talk to you. If they want to talk to you, it's usually because there's some problem associated with it. But then sometimes, there is just resolve, not be a counselor, but by just a friendly voice. But often that we transport, we find that we contact them and they contact us again and friendships kind of form with those people, it's really good. Also, visiting people in hospital. We often get calls in saying, my mother is down there, my friend is down there, they are quite lonely, they need somebody to call on them, perhaps they need toiletries or something like that and they just need somebody to be there for them. Because it's quite scary to be in a hospital with nobody around you that you know and the often, if we transport people, we do, we say, ok, we'll see you when you've had your surgery or before you go home, and just visit them and make sure that they're all right. People coming to hospital often bring heir spouse with them or parents bring children down and so on and accommodation can be a problem for them. The government offers what's called IPTAAS funding, which is the Isolated Patient Travel Accommodation Assistance Service, so that they are, it's eligible for them to be refunded for $30 a night for accommodation and anything beyond $40 for transport. Often people are not told that by their local doctors, so we always make them aware of that and we try to find accommodation that is not costly. We ourselves have accommodation close to the hospital but it's very, very minimal. A lot of the hospitals have their own accommodation available and we help them to become aware of that.

Advertising is still an important part in making sure that people know that our services do exist, so that we go, or send a representative to the Women of the Land gathering every year. We also go to the Isolated Childrens and Parents Seminars to tell them about services. We do a telebell tour when we go around to schools. We've been to all, no, not quite all of the country schools, the ones very south and very north we haven't managed. But the others we've been to and been to a couple of times. And we talk about our services there. But it's surprising, I think we probably only listen to what's available when we need it. And, that's why those green cards are useful to send around, but if we can do it often enough, maybe it gets into the unconscious or whatever and it surfaces when its needed, that's what we have anyhow. From time to time we have interviews on country radio. John Singleton has been wonderful. He has offered free radio advertising on the city, 2 city radio stations. You know, those 2 minute things that come and bombard you. They go on about an hour, about every 5 minutes, they bring this 2 minute slot on and we get a lot of transport people from that. And also, they put that on country radio to let people know of our services and that's been good. but other than that, we just hope people sort of do hear about us and use our services. I actually came to work on Country Care because of VISE. VISE is the voluntary education of our selected students. It began in the northern territory of Kethren by one of the professors there who thought, these people that have been teaching in schools all their lives and after they finish teaching would like perhaps to do something, have lots of schools, lots of experience, and it could well be used with people in the country and distance education. So they go to the country to outback, to properties, for about 6 weeks and relieve the mother from having to worry about looking after the children's education. And I sort of had heard that when I was running around in the car. two years later I heard it again and I thought, oh, this is sort of saying something to me, and so I wrote to him at Kethren and said I'd like more details about it. And he wrote back and said, if you want to have more details, contact the Sisters of Charity Outreach. And it's funny. I was working with him at Luisian but had no idea that they had any connection at all with VISE. So, I went to a school actually at Kropie in Queensland and was there for about 8 weeks and I loved it, loved it. A lot of people go year after year, some do about 2 or 3 lots of 6 weeks. They can take their husbands with them or husbands can take wives with them and so on and it's a wonderful, wonderful services. I know it's in northern territory, Queensland, New South Wales, but I don't know whether it goes beyond that. But I think it's a great, great idea and the people on the land welcome it and say to those who go along to help out. Ok, so Marille's just going to fill you in a little bit more and then we'll see if you have any questions or anything.

Well, good morning, it's really nice to see you, there's a whole lot of people here. It's really lovely to see so many of you here. We thought that with the dinner being last night, that many people would make it the final day, so we're really pleased to see a good gathering. My connection with rural life began with my mother's family, came from southwest Queensland, St. George, which was a mainly sheep grazing in the time of my mother and grandfather. It's now an intensive agricultures area and with a lot of cotton growing. And we used to go up to Grandma's for the whole six weeks summer holiday every year and I spent 2 years in the country town school, and they say you can't take the country out of the person's heart and that's how I feel. So I love being part of the Country Care Link. I'm a solicitor and attorney and I've practiced for a number of years, but I've practiced as a sole practitioner, with a unique service within the Sisters of Charity Outreach. They, in fact, subsidize me, to provide a free legal service for women and families. And a lot of my work is domestic violence work. I provide a service at one of the city courts for women who come to court to seek a restraining order because of domestic violence and a lot of my work with the Country Care Link has been domestic violence counseling and providing referrals. I think there are huge gaps in the provision of domestic violence resources for rural and isolated women and I'd like to lobby very hard for that to be addressed and I will continue to do that. Because one of the roles that we have is being a voice for the voiceless and some of my work is to speak out in issues and say what I think should be done.

Country Care Link is unique as Sister Enard said. It's the city reaching out to the country and I think that's a wonderful thing, to provide that breaking down isolation. Because isolation isn't only distance. Isolation comes from lack of knowing other people's needs, and people have concern and reach out and isolation is broken down. I mean, you can be isolated next door with a neighbor if people are so afraid of burglars or break and enters, that they don't communicate with their own neighborhood.

I've began by saying that the legal service begins with a Christian ethic because that's where I come from but it's a service for all, for all people and as I said, it's subsidized by the Sisters of Charity Outreach and it's publicized through the New South Wales Department of Agriculture Rural Womens' Network. It's a free call service. And for me because I'm a noncommercial lawyer, I can take as long as I like to meet the needs of an individual woman. I don't have to count 6 minute allocations for costing for my time, I can spend 2 and 3 hours on a phone call, write letters, do all sorts of things to meet people's needs. So it's a delight for a lawyer to be noncommercial and to have that capacity to respond to not only legal issues, but the issues of life that surround those legal issues. I'm sure many people when they go to see a solicitor or a lawyer, they only want to know the facts or the legal issues, they don't want to know the surrounding areas, and people couldn't afford to tell them anyway, because the bill would mount up so greatly if all the other issues. But sometimes, the other issues and many of the other issues, help to meet the need of that person. Even to be listened to, to have the dignity of being heard is such an important part of I believe the service I provide. I give advice in the areas where I've got specific practice expertise and if I don't have specific practice expertise, I build up a list of referrals and other information, so that I can give the person the first point of contact of what to do next. I've visited the country in many ways. The Women of the Land gatherings and until later when we speak about farm hand, the tours that I've done. And I think that with country people. people contact you if they know that you're genuine and they know that you'll meet their need and it often comes by work of mouth. Credibility is a very important thing in meeting rural people's needs. They're not just going to contact some city person if they don't know who they are. And a lot of the people who ring and ring me have been referred by other women, who say, oh, ring Marelle, she's great, or something like that, and she'll speak to you.

It's seems hard to imagine how a person in a city location could be a lawyer for someone in a remote area and how you could help people by telephone. But it's quite remarkable what can be done and I'll tell you a few of the stories of issues that I've been involved with, just to give you a small picture. During the drought, one farmer couldn't pay the private school fees and he was being sued. The school had actually got a process against him where the bailiff was coming and had actually taken some of the heritage furniture, furniture that had been in the family for 4 generations. And that was a very, very distressing thing for that particular farmer. So, I assisted by giving him information on the court processes and what he could do to respond and fight that case until he only made it a certain time because he had planned to sell his property and he just need time. So I gave him all of the technical moves so that he was able to save his furniture. And I feel very proud about that, because that's a very important part of the family. I've had other issues in Australia. There is times of great prosperity and other times of great drought. Australia is known in the bush or the outback as a great brownland, a land of minimal rainfall and very stoic people who fight adversity of climate and sometimes when droughts have been consistent for a number of years, and I think when I've spoken to American families here, they've also the banks coming in and people having been convinced to take loans far too high for their real needs, with the idea of consolidating and purchasing adjoining properties and other issues like that. Well, that happened in Australia and people were paying 20, 22% interest compounding to the point where the banks started demanding that they sign letters to agree for their property to be sold. And I've had calls where the woman farmer was absolutely distressed and crying that she'd receive a letter that the bank had demanded they sign within 7 days agreeing for them to sell their property. Well, this family had been on the land for 6 generations and this wonderful woman provided all the family's needs by a wonderful farm kitchen. She even provided, I think, chicory, so that they didn't have to buy coffee. She had everything, but they had no cash flow. So I listened and we just talked it out and basically, I gave her the opportunity of deciding what would the bank really do if you didn't sign the letter. And so, I believe that I helped her to come to the point of, well, let's stand up to the bank and so we communicated by fax. We got papers and documents and in the end, the dissolution came to prevent that sort of issue with banks bullying people and I find that mediation scheme cam into being where a mediator and the people in the bank were able to settle long term, we are viable, and that family is still on the land. So, a lot of it was telephone calls. It was an important thing to give them the courage not to take the bully tactics from the bank. I had the pleasure of meeting that family and they're from, I'll show you on the map. Between that and Winaring, a very remote area, a really, really remota area, and I was in that area for a drought information tour and I had the privilege of meeting that family. And we were friends, by the time we met, we were hugging each other and then, we were friends on first name basis, so it was a real privilege. Another matter that I was involved with, was a similar issue with the banks but because we're a part of the whole of the Sisters of Charity Outreach, a social worker from the hospital that helps women who are sick and for radiation treatment for breast cancer, contacted the Sisters of Charity Outreach about a woman who was receiving breast cancer radiation and was staying at this hospital in Sidney, the June Carven Hospital and was going to St. Vincent's Hospital to receive the radio therapy, and a family was in a similar situation with the banks and saying that they were going to sold out. The family was terribly distressed and I happened to see this lady in the June Carven Hospital and she wanted to get back to her home. That's how (inaudible). We found that mediation stage was in operation and they had to stand up in the mediation and they were simple farm people. They raised, they put on an overhead by the mediator, so I gave them the dignity of being the voice. He faxed an outline and I put that into words that were suitable and so he had that to write, to stand up and say the outline of why they felt they were viable. And a lot of the points that really came and made the mediation were that they'd survived many other similar times and because of their perseverance and their courage and their determination, they'd beaten that particular weather condition or market price situation and in the end they were successful, they were successful, and I've had the second Christmas card from that family and we still keep in touch. And they are still on the land. So that's a very satisfying situation. In the area of domestic violence, and I was very new in the service, when this lady rang and she was very distressed that there had been a family dispute, a dispute between herself and her husband. And he had thrown water all over her. She was 8 months pregnant and she'd fallen and I was talking to her and discussing the issues of violence. And anyways, she became so upset that she just put the phone down, and at that point, I hadn't taken her phone number because in that call, it just wasn't suitable for me to have taken her number. Well, I was so distressed, I was crying, I just had to go for a walk around the block to dry. i was so distressed. Anyways, it was about, and I just said to God, please, let me know what happened to that woman, did she lose her child with the fall. Anyway, I was at a rural woman's seminar and one of the organizers came up and said, Marelle, we've got a lady we've like you to give some legal advice, and I said I'm more than happy to and it turned out that that was the lady that I had spoken to on the phone was there with a little girl in a pram, a little baby girl. And, it was a beautiful thing, and I a second trip, one of the remotest areas, and in Australia, we've got this big horse racing day called the Mormon Cup. It's a big day, virtually the whole of Australia stops and it's pretty disgusting I suppose if you don't believe in gambling. But the whole of Australia stops really to listen to this race. Well, we're in this remote part of Wenaring and the New South Wales Farmers Federation fellow is getting pretty close to the cup about 2:30 ish and we drove into this hotel at Wenaring which is pretty remote and this dear woman was there and the Wenaring area was having a little gathering for the cup and she was there. And so, seeing her again, and we communicated, and as Enard said, you make friends out of this sort of work, and we've communicated on many occasions.

Now, I'll talk about farm hand. In 1994 and '95, in that time of severe drought, many rural families in New South Wales and parts of Queensland was so financially affected that there was little or no money for food, telephone bills, electricity bills, car registration and other normal things that keep life working and Australians really love the bush and there was an appeal by a tv commentator and about 3 million dollars was raised to be distributed to families. And Country Care Link and the Salvation Army were chosen to distribute those monies because of our reputation and our connections through the Country Care Line and we had the privilege of being able to help families make it. Many people have said to us subsequently, if it weren't for the 2 or 3 thousand or even up to $5,000 that we received at that time, we would not have been able to make it. So, it was a tremendous privilege, and it was all hands to the pump, we were so busy in receiving calls and taking the information and recording it in a way so that it was appropriately done record purposes and asking people what they needed and setting it out and making recommendations that were subsequently processed so that the money was distributed. It was really that issue that I said. If you haven't established credibility, people are not going to make contact with you and the credibility that we've done by just being, I think that sense of what can we do to serve you, people know that's real. The interesting thing, and I 'm sure it replies to farmers in other countries, that wonderful, stoic independence of farmers, and, you know, many of them, it was very hard to really ask for financial help from somebody. It was a terribly emotional time. And many would ring and say, would you please help my neighbor, you know, they haven't got food for their children. And we found out later that they were in a worse situation, that they weren't asking for themselves. So in the end, we had to develop a technique of saying, now, what about you, what is your situation, how can we help you, just to make sure that we didn't miss somebody. When the fund was completed, there were some thousands over, and the tv stations people gave the balance of the money to Country Care Line to distribute and we distributed those funds with the assistance of the real counselors who told us families in greatest need. We sent funds with a Christmas card to those families. Other things that were organized were holidays. When people are through tremendous stress of that kind, we found places in motels and other people who were willing to give free accommodation to allow mothers and children to come and just have respite and we organized that and provided some of the fares. We also helped not only during drought time, but when some remote towns where some of the parents can't afford for the school excursion, we've been able with our funding to help with small things and we never publicize that sort of thing because that takes the dignity from the people. As part of the drought time, I had the privilege of joining with the New South Wales farmers, the Department of Social Security, which I don't know the equivalent name in other countries, but they provide income support for families, government funded. The Women's Information and Referral Service, which is a very good New south Wales government initiative to provide also an 1800 call line for information and referral services. So they cam on the tour, the Salvation Army and myself and we had the privilege of going to many of the areas that are indicated on that map and just advising people what was available. Because often information is the greatest need when people just don't know what's available and that really prevents hopelessness and possible suicide. I think I'll close here. I'll just put up my overhead to show the areas of main practice. Those are the main areas that come to me in the Country Care Link Legal Service. So, I'll close now, and just ask for an open discussion and questions of Berdine and myself. As you can see, it's a simple service. Grassroots services are always simple. It's not high powered, it's simple and ordinary and I'd like to encourage people from other countries who don't perhaps have those sort of grassroots support services, city to the country, considering bringing something like that into operation. Now, I've got to get this pass the mike.

Thank you so much. I've listened to the speakers and have really gotten moved. Especially the first speaker, when she talked of the Sisters of Charity. I don't particularly know how you sustain yourselves, how you get all these monies because I know very well that task you are doing is very difficult and if you able to really reach rural and isolated women and meet their needs, then there has to be a lot of resources and also to have to go out into that. I then also, to Marelle, the same mission is great and encouraging. I just wanted may be to hear how she gets her source of information of this domestic violence because I know it's very difficult here when someone's so isolated and very far, and is in such a need. Unless you are very much outgoing, whether it's through telephone, visits and whether you go beyond the borders of Australia to other countries.

Well, I've received from others, domestic violence is such an issue of power and control, that many women don't even identify that what is happening to them is domestic violence, because it's not only physical violence and there's a lot of education to be done in that area, particularly in the rural areas. I remember one call where this woman rang and I picked up the Country Care phone line and she said, I'd like to talk to someone about whether I should continue to work in 2 jobs. As she talked, she was working in a kitchen as the pot and pan cleaner and she was also working in a bottle shop. So, I thought this is a most unusual call to come, so I just allowed her to speak, and then as I began to listen, I began to ask questions and the issue was that that woman had been in one of the worst domestic violence situations that I've heard of where her husband was a contractor, a rural contractor, with substantial funds, he refused to allow the family to apply for Medicare, support for her medication, and she had quite a serious diabetic, I think it was, illness that needed medication, and she was working to obtain that medication and in the end she provided the whole of the household expenses by working, and yet he was a fairly successful contractor and when I began to say to her that is violence, she then indicated to me that she had been long-term in a violent relationship. So, she knew where to contact me and then I discussed what steps she could take if she wanted to get out of that. And even to talk to her and to really focus that is was domestic violence, was the beginning of her journey to make a choice. And many women make at least 6 or more attempts before they have the courage to move out. And it's much harder in an isolated town where they're aren't the resources; public housing, women's refuges, even transport monies. I mean, I've had women ring up and they've decided to leave a pretty shocking situation and they've asked me should they draw monies from the joint account so they have a fare even to leave. So, a lot has to be done in all our communities because it's a hidden area and no woman should be allowed to have to put up with that sort of violence and while there's denial or religiosity, that will continue. But its' really other women supporting women in that situation, and I think one of the really hardest issues is the fact that women are gossips. If a woman is inaned, she often will not contact her own people and she'll contact someone in Sidney, someone in another area, to say what her need is, because if she reveals her need, the whole town will know, because her need is not respected. And that's a tragedy. So, something you should all know.

I'd like to ask you a question about funding. ________money and supporting that area is always a problem. I think that we're fortunate to have St. Vincent's Private Hospital supporting us in that way. And not everybody would have that kind of support, and I recognize that. But we also spend a lot of time trying to get grants and we are aware of the grants that are available and we look out for them, because we have a finance group, financial committee, and they meet regularly once a month to try and find people who will support this kind of work. It's quite amazing, when people know that you exist and that's where advertising is so important. If they know you exist, they know that the work that you do is worthwhile and time and time again, it happened. We need some money and it comes by mail. We get a lot of support in that way and I think that encourages us to continue. We never have a big amount of funds available, we have no financial demand. In some ways that frightening because it's when I say frightening, I mean, I think many exists to spend that you've got to use it and be willing to use it knowing that if what you do is worthwhile, then it will come. But, to answer your information, we do not exist beyond these south walls at the moment and I'm sorry. And most of our calls come through. We created an 1800 line, that means a line where is does not call the people to phone us, that we support the phone bill for the debt. But I agree, finance is always a problem, but you go out on a limb with it, you have to be sort of willing to do that.

On the international area, I also think the internet's going to change a lot of lives in the information evaluation that it is and maybe part of the home page, they're talking about the International Rural Women's Group that will home from here could well have as part of the home page, domestic violence information and that sort of thing.

I'm Gene Rosendale, I'm from north Queensland in Australia. We do all of those things with the OCWI as well, but one of the other things we do, we write to the ladies. We had some ladies up in our far northern division, we have a branch which is the Pans Area lab post and they meet over the radio and they were very isolated and they were in drought, which seems strange up in my area. But we all selected a person and we write to those people and they seem to be, and we gave them a little bit of support.

Anyone else? Please come forward.

I'm Norma Levise. I'm from Queensland in Australia. I didn't bring one with me but there are very good domestic violence kits that are available, did you happen to bring one?

I haven't got one with me here, but I...

All the CWAs around Australia were asked to distribute these and we have done so and from that, there's been quite good domestic violence seminars held, but as you say, people like to keep this private and this is where we've found that the letter writing, the personal communication and the privacy is so very important for the people to seek help. We found that with the distribution of donations which came through us, we did an enormous voucher system. If the people had an electricity bill they couldn't pay that was forwarded in and the bill was paid, rather than give them the money, sometimes the wrong person in the family gets the money and it isn't used for the purpose that it was intended. So, we've had lots of contact and the people are just so grateful for the help and I can commend you all and your organization on the work you do. I know organizations which do similar work and Life Line is an organization within Australia which does very similar work to you and to this lady here from Kenya. Kenya? Most of the work in these organizations is voluntary. The money that comes in is used to provide the means for those volunteers and the drivers to bring the people from the outback to the city, that then these drivers would all be voluntary, there'd be no money given to them, probably not even for their petro or the use of their car.

Thank you. Please come forward.

It's just amazing to us to have your helping your women who are actually going through domestic violence. It is very complicated in Kenya, because it is very difficult for someone to come and tell you what he or she is going through, but I don't know what with the dollars you are using to be able to build the confidence in the women in the rural to come up and speak about their problems. I'd like to hear that because I know in my community is very difficult for them to be able to speak out unless otherwise you happen to come across a stranger and maybe you can personally assist but you don't have those facilities whereby women can go to present their problems and this. And I know quite a number of women have gone through trauma in terms of family relations.

Well, because we're run a free line, a free call, people don't even have to say where they're from, so that means that it's anonymous. Now I don't know how you'd establish something like that, but I think that you've got to make solutions unique to Kenya. They may be women's groups or meeting of women where the issue is discussed, where you actually speak about what is domestic violence and look at areas of control, isolation, denigration and really just gain information and I'm sure there would be a lot and as the U.S. Department of Agriculture has indicated that they would be happy to be a resource to women, I saw a brochure from them on domestic violence, so I would make my first contact as a woman from Kenya with the USDA and ask for their resources. We would be happy if you'd give your name and address to send the resources that we can provide but I think then relate the knowledge of a pattern of behavior and look at how you can provide solutions and it then begins what is your legal system to protect women because it is a criminal assault. Now, I know that you do have a British common law heritage in Kenya, so assault is a crime, it's a matter of the women of Kenya getting together and saying, it must be declared as a crime and not as just a domestic, which is a relationship between the parties, and so that comes out of the women standing up and saying, it must be recognized as a criminal act. I'm not sure what your legal system says, but that's where you begin, and it's taken Australian women many, many years to get to that point, but it should being from your own roots, your own women's groups. And even talking about the issue gives women the courage to know that they're not to blame. When women have left a violent relationship where they either think they're mad, insane, that they're nothing, they're worthless, which is the end result of that long-term denigration, there are programs that really have women gathering together to say, you are valuable. It was not your fault, you know. So that is an important thing, that you can being a small group, even discussing the issues and if you can be trusted, people will speak to you. That's one of the big issues.

I just want to share the cultural norm in some communities in Kenya. When a wife has been battered, she's not even supposed to talk about it. So, it's just information sharing. What I'm saying, I was just trying to information sharing, that in Kenya, in some communities, when a wife has been battered, she's not actually supposed to talk about it, because traditionally, a wife has to be beaten. No, I'm just sharing that, it is a reality, anyway. Yes.

Thank you very much. Please come forward.

It is there in every country before. Hello? It is everywhere in so many countries before but we take the women and form the groups of women and we can ask them to come out from their culture and all this. Then we can make wonders, I think.

Please come forward.

Paula Verance and I'm from western Queensland. I'm really interested in the he Kenya women and the other women from the other countries and what you're saying, because you're problem is quite easily identified in western Queensland. The cultural thing is exactly the same there, It's a very patriarchal system, and that's one of your problems. They vision that Marelle is giving us here is quite right and unless you change the legal system so that the women are empowered by the actual law, you will not change some of the things that are going on. The other thing is that you need that information going out to the women that services with domestic violence, that fact that they don't recognize that they're in a domestic violence situation is crucial. Until you change their cultural part, they won't change anything. The other part is that there are a lot of funds out there. In Australia, we have a philosophic foundation and I've found numerable funds tucked away in there that will perhaps help you get some sort of support for your various organizations. There is money out there. We, as women, have got to get smarter at finding the money. But it is there, in our organization, for instance, in our women's network, they are particularly good at finding funds because we're voluntary, we don't have any government funds but you can quite often adapt your program to suit the criteria for a government fund. So, look for it, because it's out there. If you need support internationally, Australia's very happy to give it. The other thing that I'd like to support Marelle is the fact that that VISA program is outstanding. I've had a lot of experience with that. That's the program that goes right through Australia, where retired teachers go out to the various properties to help those children in distance education. It may not be in some of the other states, so I'd just like to support that as well. And the other fact that your service is not a government run legal system is fantastic.

Thanks a lot. If people would like to leave their names and address, I'd be glad to make a package of domestic violence available.

I Dilaget from Nigeria. I share most of the visions raised by some of the African delegates. I would like to inform that legal instruments do exist in most of these African countries. We have the constitution of the country with guarantees, equal rights to both men and women. We have all the legal instruments that make domestic violence a crime. However, the problem is with the implementation and enforcement of these legal instruments. Now, in most African countries, but for the very few women who are able to acquire some kind of education and are enlightened, you find men in most of the agencies of government. When you go to seek for redress, you are going back to the same men who are the culprits of these crimes, so you don't usually get proper redress. You are sent back to the same men. And I tell you if you go back there, he will almost kill you. So, that problem is a kind of a vicious cycle. The important thing is for us to encourage the education of the girl child and enlighten the general public as to rights and the ills of wife battering. It is a very long process, but it is gradual. I think, we must start enlightening ourselves to gain courage to be confident of ourselves. Most women would like to go out and report these atrocities but they are afraid of either a social stigmatization or for the fear that the law will not take its natural course, that there will be some interference down the line by the males.

Thank you. Anyone else like to speak? Please come forward.

I am Veronica Romaine from Trinidad. And in my country, it's against the law for a man to beat a woman. Now, if he does, the law is going to take it in his own hands, but is she go and complain, which hardly ever... I have an example. I live with my husband and I go blows like red. And I wouldn't talk, I wouldn't even talk to my mother because I have children, I don't want to leave, I don't to separate my children from their father. And then I ask, I say, oh, God, give me the courage, give me the strength, let me do it, let me forgive him for what he did, it's emotional. Yeah. And I did forgive him and he did it again, he said, I'm sorry, and he did it again, forgive him again, until somebody said, no, he was an alcoholic. And somebody said, then let him go to the alcohol anonymous. I said, ok, alcohol anonymous it is. They said, you join the al anon, that's for spouses. I said, ok, fine, I'll join in al anon. I went to all the al anon meetings. He did not go to one alcoholic meeting. That give me the courage because they said whatever he do, you don't take the blame for it. I said, ok, then I put my feet down and I said, ok, I'm not responsible for anything that he did anymore. The next time he started, he lashed me, I said, the next time you put your hand on me, you're a dead man. And I realized I was serious that if he did lash me, I would kill him seriously, I made up my mind, I said, before I end up in jail, get out of this house. I took my children and I walked out. And that is 13 years today.

Thank you, I want to give you a hand. Thank you.

I see several problems that we have. One it that we as women, when we get married, and we are in a situation of violence, domestic violence, that we internally feel that we are failures and I would like to have this addressed in some way. Secondly, I would like to say that I have experienced my educated daughter, college educated daughter, who married and did not come to us, I could see what was happening, but it was not until she needed our shelter after a commitment, her husband threatened her life, and the life of her children. She did not make this known to us outwardly. When she reached the point where she accessed a women's shelter, they wanted her to have the birth certificates of her children for them to take her in. So, even in the system, maybe it is set up to help these people, there are obstacles that make it practical. So, I think that this is something as women we have to be aware of. Thank you.

Thank you for sharing.

_________ and its interesting that you should bring up that point. We approve government grants for a safehouse and we never thought we'd get it off the ground because we get enough finance. They do not suspect that there are some sort of regulations and they're attached. And they're a freedom of ours so it has that we are just so grateful for, that we determine how we take them and who we take. And I sort of agree with that, that it's not otherwise easy to work when you're working with the government. And if you can get funds from other sources, it make you much freer. I think we have to reach your conclusion, Marelle.

Thank you for your attention and those people here who spoke up.