Rural abuse survivors call for better support as they describe isolation and fear

Survivors of domestic abuse in rural parts of the UK are urging governments to do more to help victims in isolated communities, describing how distance, tight-knit networks and the nature of farming life can trap people in dangerous situations. Tracy Lewis, a 48-year-old farmer from mid-Wales, has spoken publicly about the physical and emotional abuse she suffered at the hands of her father while growing up on the family farm, and she wants authorities to recognise the particular barriers that rural victims face.

Tracy, who now runs a smallholding between Llandrindod Wells and Newtown in Powys, said her childhood was marked by terror rather than the idyllic countryside existence many people imagine. She recalled one incident when she was eight years old, when her father pulled her from bed by her hair to help with lambing. On her way out, she saw her mother in the bathroom, her face covered in blood and her nose badly injured. Tracy says her mother told her she had to deliver the lamb or they would both die.

The abuse, she said, was relentless and often tied to the rhythms of farm life. Animals could become a trigger for violence or a means of exerting control. If an animal died, Tracy would be beaten; if one became ill, her mother would be hurt. She described the experience as feeling like slavery, explaining that although they loved the animals and the work, they were isolated and stuck. The family lived at a farm in Llanbister, Powys, where Tracy says she sometimes thought about calling ChildLine because she was so frightened.

Tracy, who has three children, said the farming community is wonderful in many ways, with neighbours always willing to help, but that same closeness can also conceal abuse. Everyone knows everybody, she explained, but what happens behind closed doors stays behind closed doors. She described her mother as having suffered the worst of the violence and as having tried her best to protect the children, but she was totally isolated because the farm was her entire life.

The isolation is compounded by the nature of agricultural work, according to Tracy. Farming families often run businesses that have been passed down through generations, and they depend on markets and trade with others. Bringing abuse into the open can therefore threaten livelihoods, making it even harder for victims to speak out. Tracy also claimed her father, who is now dead, financially abused her by leading her to believe the farm would one day be hers. She said she worked on it for 20 years and paid him rent on that understanding, only to discover it had not been left to her in his will, forcing her to fight to keep ownership.

Tracy's family have given the BBC permission to share her story. She is one of roughly 11 million people living in rural areas, more than 15% of the UK population. The National Rural Crime Network says the true scale of rural abuse often remains hidden, with survivors facing more obstacles than their urban counterparts when trying to access support. These barriers can include greater distances to services, limited public transport, poor internet connectivity and a lack of anonymity in small communities.

Another survivor, Rhianon Bragg, knows those barriers intimately. In 2019, her ex-partner Gareth Wyn Jones ambushed her with a gun at her smallholding in Gwynedd, north Wales, and held her hostage for eight hours overnight. Wearing camouflage gear and armed with a shotgun, he subjected her to an ordeal during which she screamed for help but knew no one would hear because of how remotely she lived. She has said there were several moments that night when she thought she would never see her children again.

Rhianon has spoken in depth about her experience as part of a new BBC iPlayer series called It Happened To Me, and she has since worked with agencies including the police to try to improve responses to domestic abuse and stalking in rural areas. She said the abuse changed her home from a place of peaceful seclusion into a place of vulnerable isolation, and that what she endured highlighted the extra difficulties created by living rurally. She is calling for all UK and Welsh government domestic abuse policies to be rural proofed, pointing to issues such as internet connectivity and the distance from police stations.

Both women argue that current support systems are not designed with rural victims in mind. Rhianon said there is a great deal that needs to be addressed so that people are treated evenly, adding that at the moment, if you live rurally, you are on the back foot. Tracy, meanwhile, urged anyone who is suffering to reach out, stressing that help is available even when it feels impossible to find. The UK government has said it is working to address disparities between urban and rural areas, while the Welsh government has said the challenges facing rural communities will be considered as part of its next national strategy on domestic abuse.

The accounts from Tracy and Rhianon underscore a broader concern among campaigners that rurality itself can be used as a tool of coercion. Abusers may exploit physical isolation, a lack of nearby support services and the fear of reputational damage within small communities to keep victims silent. For farming families in particular, the entanglement of home, business and inheritance can make leaving extraordinarily difficult, as Tracy's experience illustrates. She said she had to fight to retain ownership of the land she had worked for two decades after discovering she had not inherited it.

Charities and networks working in rural areas say more funding, better transport links, improved digital access and specialist outreach are needed so that victims are not cut off from help. They also stress the importance of training for professionals who may encounter abuse in agricultural settings, from vets and auctioneers to rural police officers. The call for policies to be rural proofed reflects a recognition that a one-size-fits-all approach can leave the most isolated victims behind. For Tracy and Rhianon, sharing their stories is part of a push to ensure that no one else has to endure abuse in silence simply because of where they live.