Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner Natasha Stott Despoja AO visited the Limestone Coast this week for a whirlwind tour.


Ms Stott Despoja held a series of meetings and listening sessions with local agencies and service providers in the sector on Monday and Tuesday.


The agencies visited included Centacare, Southern and Limestone Coast Community Justice Centre, Pangula Mannamurna, SA Health, SAPOL, the Limestone Coast Family Violence Action Group and the Migrant Resource Centre.


It is the third regional visit by the Royal Commission following visits to Port Pirie and Port Augusta last month and Kangaroo Island last week.


The Royal Commission will examine prevention, early intervention, response, recovery and healing and has until July 2025 to present its findings.


Ms Stott Despoja said it was important for the commission to hear from as many people and sources as possible in the most inclusive way.


“It would be negligent not to include regional, remote and rural areas of our state when talking about the services and the support that is provided to people involved in or effected by domestic, family and sexual violence,” she said,


“Mount Gambier is the biggest regional centre with some really good work going on here, it is a really important piece of this puzzle.


“What we do know is the single biggest risk factor for being a victim of sexual or family and domestic violence is being female.


“We do not know if that is necessarily compounded in regional areas although your vulnerability can increase as a consequence of being in isolated areas, be that on a farm or a far way away from key services and other people.


“We also know there are a couple of groups that are more likely to experience this violence and that includes culturally and linguistically diverse communities of which there are quite a few in Mount Gambier and the region and also Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander women.”


Ms Stott Despoja said she noticed a number of themes and “gaps” in the system relevant to regional areas during her visits.


“On the positive side there is this added opportunity to collaborate when people know each other and have worked together,” she said.


“On the flip side there is also issues when you are in small place or people do know each other and there can sometimes be stigma or concern about people knowing too much information, particularly if you are a victim-survivor of domestic, family or sexual violence.


“I think the discrepancies of metro and regional is something that has been made clear to me in all regional settings so far whether that’s Port Pirie, Port Augusta, Kangaroo Island or indeed on the Limestone Coast.


“I am indeed very conscious of some of the differences and that also includes sometimes a level of isolation for victims as well as issues like transportation.


Ms Stott Despoja said there were also policies that do not apply in regional areas, but do apply in metro areas.


“Some of those discrepancies we’ll work through and I will certainly be asking authorities in metropolitan Adelaide why some of these discrepancies exist.”


Ms Stott Despoja said she has a particular focus on young people and children.


“I am really hoping to centre children and young voices, whether they’re victims, whether they have used violence, whether they have witnessed or experienced it,” she said.


“It is really important that I hear from young people. I have got a postcard that we have done with the Commissioner for Young People and Children and I am hoping that anyone who would like to have a say about what they think constitutes a safe a violence free society please let me know.


“It is about breaking the cycle … but it is not fair to expect the next generation to do so without realistic support and services and not just older people speaking for young people but young people speaking for themselves.


“I think certainly social media can be used as quite a democratic tool to help spread messages and raise community awareness but yes there is another side to social many families very strongly influencing young people and can do so in a way that is potentially negative if they are hearing stories around perpetuating any inequality or sexism and some of the other drivers that we know are responsible for domestic and family violence and sexual violence.


“A lot of people including young people and parents have brought it (social media) to our attention that it is something that deserves awareness and acknowledgement.”


Ms Stott Despoja encourages those with lived experience of the system to make a written submission to the Royal Commission by September 27.


The Royal Commission will launch an online survey shortly called ‘share with us’ which will invite responses to questions about the domestic, family and sexual violence systems in South Australia and will also invite users to provide any other information they want to share with the Commissioner by leaving an audio or written message.


“I want to emphasise that I am really keen to hear from members of the public about their experiences, their ideas, their insights and they might even have some solutions,” Ms Stott Despoja said.


“We do not have a lot of time between now and July 1 but I am determined to come up with forward facing recommendations that can hopefully address the scourge that is domestic, family and sexual violence.”