The Women’s Legal Service in Queensland approached the Mercy Foundation to assist in funding an advice line for women from regional, rural and remote areas of Queensland. The advice line is run one day a week and staffed by a solicitor from the service.

 

The service is a response to an overwhelming demand to the current legal advice line. Research shows that women in regional, rural and remote areas have little access to appropriate services in their local communities where it is difficult to maintain anonymity.

 

Many calls are in relation to domestic violence (DV), in terms of their legal entitlements and information on escaping DV. Women living in regional, rural and remote Queensland are overrepresented in statistics for DV.

 

This initiative addresses a gap in existing services, providing reliable information and increased access to justice for women in regional, remote and rural Queensland.

 

The rural advice line operates each Tuesday from 9.30am - 1pm. Telephone: 1800 457 117