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Rural and Farm Women By Donna Lunn, Coordinator, Community Abuse Program of
Rural Ontario (CAPRO), Dairy Farm Partner, and Consultant in Health Promotion and Rural Community Development.While there are many commonalties for
women who are abused, the rural factors definitely shape the perception, awareness, and intervention of all forms of abuse, including emotional abuse. The challenges and interventions are not as easily reduced to just
the provision of services to a small scattered population in a large geographic area, but must be informed by the rural context and culture. For example, farmwomen are rural women but not all rural women are
farmwomen -- farmwomen are a minority within rural areas with farmers being only 12% of the rural population. The fact that there is little research done on rural abuse, combined with the reality that rural women access
services less than urban (and farm women less than rural) has led farm/rural women to take more action on their own behalf. This article will focus on 3 common themes or challenges - the family farm, the rural
culture, and the geography. The Family Farm You can not talk about the farm family without talking about the family farm. Partners work together in the barn and fields, children
alongside. The boardroom is the kitchen table or the bedroom. When an aspect of business life is difficult it cannot help but be felt in the personal life; and farm businesses continue to experience
stressful times. Emotional abuse often takes the form of blame for anything going wrong in the business, and by criticizing a woman's work. Business ownership is a particular dilemma for women who wish to
leave. They leave behind their home, their community, their animals, their business assets, and their job. Most farm partners are not paid a wage, therefore, no unemployment contributions can be made, no
pension plan, and no access to welfare if the system thinks they have access to business assets. If a woman marries into an existing farm that is part of a partnership or corporation, the home and vehicles may be
included in the corporation's assets and the woman leaving has little to claim. A farmwoman's tie to the farm animals can also bind her to the farm. One scenario is of a farmwoman, who after 15 years, decided to
leave. She saved up money from the family allowance to pre-pay a relief milker for 2 weeks to care for her animals the day she left so she knew that at least they were looked after well for a while. Then she
went to a shelter and could not gain access to welfare or unemployment, had no vehicle and no job. Rural culture The roots of self-sufficiency are deep in the rural culture. There is
a hesitancy to seek outside help and it is often seen as a sign of failure. There are numerous reasons for this: the historical culture of self sufficiency; the lack of anonymity; not knowing what services are
available; or the models available are based on urban experiences and lack the flexibility for farm/rural needs. It is not that many years ago that farmers were still paying for OHIP, and still have no benefits such as
eye or dental care. We had always been able to take care of our children and our elders. But the fabric of the rural community is changing - we no longer see many multi-generations living
on the same farm, and none of my neighbours are farmers (they are all rural homes retired or working away). Isolation is not just distance from people, it can be distance from `like' people. We are in need
of elder care and child care but have difficulty asking for help and the models available do not take into account our distance, unusual job times, and inability to pay. Geographic Distance The most
visible barrier for rural women is geography. No public transportation, weather conditions, and availability of vehicles only compound the distance. Access to
counseling is difficult -- the time it takes to
travel there and back, the lack of access to a vehicle, or the partner may read the odometer. For young women in school it is also difficult – students are bused to school and there is no way to stay after school
without the parent having to drive to town to pick them up. In many small towns, there is extremely limited access to social services, and they may not be in the vicinity of the school a young woman
attends. About CAPRO In its 4th year, CAPRO's goal is to raise awareness of abuse for rural families among rural residents, in rural agencies and
organizations, in local and provincial governments, and to promote
collaborative, community-based partnerships for the purposes of prevention and effective intervention. Working to support and enhance services available, CAPRO provides referrals, resources and group
facilitation to train communities on how to work in partnership to reduce the abuse in rural communities. |
