Domestic violence service Pop In to help Southern Highlands women

More and more successful women in their 50s who own their own homes are becoming victims of domestic violence, with high-income workers not knowing where to turn for help.

When Vicki Kelley saw the amount of women in the Southern Highlands suffering on their own from domestic violence, she and the founders of Pop In decided to put the community spirit to good use.

“We saw there were a lot of women who didn’t know where to turn and didn’t meet the criteria of other service providers,” she said.

After a year of research, Pop In was established to help women and children impacted by domestic violence in the Southern Highlands.

Ms Kelley said research showed approximately 1000 a year were affected by domestic violence in the region - many of those were women who were employed and self-sufficient.

“We are seeing women in the 40-50 age bracket, many of whom have tertiary education and many or all of whom own their own homes,” she said.

Vicki Kelley is the chair of Pop In, a domestic violence service for women in the Southern Highlands.

Ms Kelley said the problem in the Southern Highlands showed the vulnerability of women in any demographic to domestic violence or manipulation.

“A lot of those people in that middle- to high-income bracket don’t know where to turn,” she said.

“Particularly those who are experiencing coercive control.”

Pop In is tackling domestic violence in the Southern Highlands by creating a safe home for women to visit when they need advice, help, or support.

A spokesperson for the Southern Highlands Police has praised the opening of the much-needed domestic violence service.

“Domestic violence is like a cancer,” the spokesperson said.

“It doesn’t discriminate by age or socio-economic bracket.”

The need for the service is obvious. In the first two weeks of Pop In being open to the public, there have already been 20 visitors in need of their vital services, with 80 per cent of those requiring full-time case management.

Pop In is designed to make women feel comfortable and safe.

The service anticipates 2300 and 3500 visits a year (up to 15 women a day) and thousands of online requests. Ms Kelley said the service was in high demand because of the lack of available services relative to urban areas.

“Domestic violence is higher in rural and regional Australia than it is in cities,” she said.

“We’re hopeful that the model we develop for the Southern Highlands will be able to be replicated in other rural areas.”

Ms Kelley said community was the ethos behind Pop In.

“It requires a whole-of-community response to succeed,” she said.

Pop In is “fuelled by a love of the Highlands community.”

The service is entirely locally funded, predominantly by individuals who have made commitments to the service. The house itself has been provided by a local resident who wanted to help. Ms Kelley said the level of community engagement sets Pop In apart from other domestic violence services.

Vicki Kelley said they had been advised to normalise the Pop In house and not to hide it.

Ms Kelley said domestic violence liaisons from the local police station were very supportive. The Southern Highlands police spokesperson explained police focused on checking on offenders to ensure compliance with apprehended violence orders and providing support to victims throughout the process.

To assist with the proactive approach to domestic violence offences, the NSW government last week introduced a world-first app to hold perpetrators accountable and ensure their compliance with court orders to protect victims.

The Avow app was announced on June 2 by Minister for Prevention of Domestic and Sexual Violence, Mark Speakman, to help offenders understand their legal obligations.

“The scourge of domestic violence needs to be tackled both by protecting victims and by helping perpetrators to stop their abusive behaviour,” he said.

The app is designed to hold perpetrators to account for their actions, and to provide them with pathways to changing their behaviour for the better. Like Pop In, it is hoped the app will be a preventive measure that will change toxic behaviour and patterns.

Vicki Kelley outside Pop In at 2 Mona Road in Bowral.

Ms Kelley said early intervention initiatives were necessary to tackle the domestic violence problem in the region. She said Pop In considers itself a “wraparound service” which provides everything a victim might need, from counselling and support to professional, legal or financial advice.

Pop In has strategic agreements with numerous services in the region to be able to connect women in need with housing, parenting assistance, family lawyers, financial counselling, or whatever they may need.

Board member Peter Curry said Pop In aimed to help women realise and assess their options.

“There are a lot of women out there who aren’t talking to anyone,” he said.

“They’re not at that stage yet. There’s nowhere to go. They don’t feel safe. People are judgmental.”

Mr Curry said Pop In aimed to provide a friendly and welcoming environment for women to share their experiences and think about the next step.

“It’s the beginning of a journey rather than the end,” he said.

Southern Highlands domestic violence service Pop In has an executive board of passionate locals.

Women can visit Pop In as many times as they like, either to chat or for consultations. The intention behind the house was to make it feel like a friend’s house, where women could “pop in” for a chat – which Ms Kelley explained is the origin of the name. Like a friend’s home, she says there are no restrictions or obligations on the visiting women.

“One of the biggest differentiators is that it’s a free service and women can access it for as long as they need,” she said.

Ms Kelley said the need for Pop In has been evident in the early influx of visitors and hopes double the number of volunteers will hopefully be trained up in the near future.

Details: call Pop In on 4872 1229 or visit popin.org.au.

If you are in immediate danger, call 000 or 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732), a 24-hour national sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line.