Tuesday is White Ribbon Day, a national campaign to engage men and boys to swear an oath against the violence toward women, and stand as ambassadors in their community against the crime.

Thursday will see Inverell take to the streets in the annual Anti-Violence march.

The faces of domestic violence are not strangers to Rachel Cubis and Tamara Briggs. They see them every day in their jobs with the Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service.

The pair work from Moree, but visit Inverell every Thursday to assist victims, mostly women, in domestic violence relationships.

“Not all partners. They can be sisters, other relations, children, ex-partners, step-children. All sorts,” Rachel said.

The service works with the victim to meet every need. Rachel and Tamara ensure each victim has and understands all their paperwork, are prepared for their court appearance, comprehend the parameters of their AVO to see that it is as tight as it can be for the victim and introduce them to the prosecutor.

Tamara said they work closely with local Domestic Violence Liaison Officers within NSW police who support the abused.

“They actually refer over to us, so we try and make the contact, explain what our service is and go from there,” she said.

Rachel said tensions can run high when a victim has to confront the perpetrator and their family members in a courtroom. Moree offers a safe room for victims, though Inverell does not yet have one.

Tamara and Rachel agreed that there was a high incidence of repeat offenders lately, but Rachel had noticed another trend that was positive; victims standing up for themselves. She felt in the past, many were driven by fear.

“Too afraid to come to court, too afraid to speak their mind, too afraid to do the hearings. Now it just seems (some of them) have got a backbone now, and they’re all standing up.

“And I guess that’s part of our service; making them see that they do have a voice, they need to be strong in court, and they need to stand and stick to their word and ground,” she said.

“Because otherwise, that perpetrator won’t change.”

Tamara said domestic violence had no borders; that the same attitudes existed everywhere.

“I think the more awareness out there, the better for the community, especially for the victims,” she said.

The Inverell Anti-Violence March gathers behind Best and Less on Vivian Street this Thursday at 9.45am for a 10am start. Everybody is encouraged to take part. If you can only walk for a short distance, the organisers are grateful for your support.