Women living in rural and remote communities have specific issues to contend with when making a safety plan. All of these issues need to be reviewed with a woman before assisting her to make a safety plan, so measures can be put in place to address any that apply to her:
Distance
A woman in a rural or remote location may not have a neighbour she can run to in an emergency, and services may be far away. Going into a shelter may not be an option if it is far from where she works or her children go to school. A protection order may be of little practical use to her if RCMP/police response times are long.
Limited services and public transportation
The lack of public transportation in most small, rural and remote communities can leave women who don’t have access to a vehicle and enough money for gas trapped at home, isolated, and unable to escape an unsafe situation.
Limited services. Rural and remote communities cannot offer the range and diversity of services (for example, counselling, legal, children’s) that can be found in urban centres.
Privacy concerns
Rural and remote locations offer little in the way of privacy, which can make it difficult for a woman who is trying to prevent her partner from knowing where she is living. People who don’t know about the abuse may, with no ill intent, share information about her with others or even directly with the abuser. It may be difficult for her to access services anonymously. Likewise, people will notice any changes in her routine or activities.
Connectivity
Internet and cell phone access are limited and unreliable in many rural and remote parts of the country. This can place women with abusive partners at risk when they need to call for help. Lack of internet access makes it difficult for them to gather information about services and their legal rights and responsibilities.
Land-based income
Employment in rural and remote communities may be tied to the land. For example, if the family is involved in farming, ranching, fishing or hunting, leaving an abusive partner, means leaving her source of income behind. As a result, women may choose to stay in an unsafe situation in order to provide for their children.
Guns
Guns are present and used for legitimate purposes in many rural homes. A farmer may use a gun to control pests in the barn or fields, and many rural dwellers use guns to hunt game, which becomes the family’s meat for the year. Because of this, the presence of firearms has become normalized and taken for granted. The presence of and easy access to guns needs to be part of a woman’s safety plan if she lives in a rural or remote location.