Bringing Rural Abuse into Focus: What survivors are telling us, and why we must listen

I didn’t expect a remote Welsh smallholding or a fractured system to shape my thinking on rural domestic abuse and stalking, but that’s exactly what happened after meeting the extraordinary Rhianon Bragg.

A survivor of coercive control and stalking, Rhianon’s story is both shocking and painfully familiar. Despite reporting escalating abuse, the perpetrator was not held accountable, and she was left without protection. Rhianon was held at gunpoint for several hours by the man she had once trusted. Compounding her trauma, on his release from prison, Rhianon had to fight hard, and publicly, to be informed of how the justice system would keep her safe from a man who had been assessed to still pose a risk. Sharing her experiences of a system that failed her, she has become a powerful advocate for change and an inspiration in my work.

What happened in Rhianon’s story before the gun was drawn reveals much about the cracks in our systems – and how those cracks are magnified in rural areas. What happened after shows, all too clearly, how the rights and needs of victims-survivors are often placed beneath those of the perpetrator.

As part of my Churchill Fellowship, I’ve travelled across rural areas of the USA and Canada, connected with Australian experts, and linked with services here in the UK, exploring how to improve safety and achieve equity for rural victim-survivors. I’ve spoken with family violence academics, court and rural advocates, police, fire chiefs, perpetrator managers, male allies, Family Justice Centre leaders, and met with victim-survivors in isolated towns who told me their cries for help were unheard or silenced, their needs left unmet.

Meeting Rhianon has brought my learning into sharp focus. She has generously shared her experiences with me and contributed her insight to our joint submission to the Home Office for the VAWG Strategy giving it the integrity only an expert by experience can bring. Too often, rural areas, and victim-survivors of abuse in those areas, are invisible in policy design despite facing very real and distinct challenges. These include increased risk from isolation; poor connectivity; limited services; lack of domestic abuse awareness across rural services including health, policing, and social care; access to firearms; and cultural norms that make disclosure and help-seeking even harder.

Rurality must be reflected robustly in any strategy (and related policies) on violence against women and girls (VAWG). On reviewing the current national strategy, I found the word “rural” appear just once, within a powerful survivor quote:

"I only got support after I moved from a rural area to London. I think there needs to be investment in strengthening and publicising online/remote services to give people in smaller, more remote communities privacy and support." (Home Office, 2021)

This testimony is more than a passing observation – it reveals the systemic neglect of rural voices. It underscores the profound challenges that victim-survivors' in rural areas face – challenges that the previous government overlooked in the strategy, as the voice of this survivor goes unheard.

Rhianon’s case is not an anomaly. It reflects a broader pattern – of missed opportunities and inadequate responses. Fears and experiences of rural victim-survivors are often dismissed and their safety and trust in services steadily erode. The criminal justice system too often lacks the vision, resources, or coordination to respond effectively to stalking and coercive control in rural contexts, leaving victim-survivors at risk of harm and perpetrators in control.

My Fellowship is about more than highlighting problems – it’s about inviting creativity and collaboration to implement solutions to surmountable challenges. My report will lay the foundations for a new social enterprise that aims to raise the status of rural domestic abuse in public policy, connect professionals, and support coordinated responses that reflect the realities rural victim-survivors face.

Rhianon Bragg is one of the experts helping shape that vision. Her courage and honesty have inspired me throughout this Fellowship. Her story shouldn’t exist, and she shouldn’t have had to fight for safety. Her frank and articulate activism, and ongoing work with police and policy influencers, help us reimagine what safety could look like for those in poorly served rural towns and villages, and at the end of country lanes, where justice can feel impossibly far away.