Paul Cleary, of Charlton north-west of Bendigo and brother to Phil Cleary, lived through the horror of his younger sister Vicki's murder in 1987. 

But the trauma was compounded for the family when they witnessed the way their slain sister was spoken about in the court room. 

"Sitting through the court was absolutely traumatic," Mr Cleary said. 

"You could see and hear the man, the killer, beginning to be portrayed as the victim." 

Mr Cleary said the recent $100 million federal government investment into women's safety - the first funding announcement move by the new Turnbull government - needed to have a bigger drive towards social change, starting in the court room. 

"The narratives you will hear in a courtroom in defence of a killer set about destroying the character of the dead woman – by saying she has left an abusive relationship,” he said. 

"There are many things that might be brought up in a court room that are irrelevant.

“The victim is being blamed … but who speaks for the dead women?" 

He said he was surprised the government’s call for a cultural shift made little mention of the courts. 

While the $100 million does allocate funds for training and resources for magistrates and judges, Mr Cleary said victim-blaming language needed to stop. 

"I'm asking what does Malcolm Turnbull think about the narratives used in the courts to defend killers of women?" Mr Cleary said. 

Mr Cleary said while his sister's former partner argued he had "lost control", there was "no excuse" for violence and murder. 

He said the killer had planned to go to his sister's work, that he had taken a butcher's knife in hand.

Mr Cleary believes his sister’s murder was a “revenge killing” – when Vicki left, her former partner “took revenge because of a loss of control”. 

He said the law of provocation, which was offered to his sister's killer nearly 30 years ago, had thankfully been abolished. 

Mr Cleary said when defence lawyers made claims an offender had become depressed and alcoholic after a woman left him, these were nothing but hollow excuses. 

"If we're going to educate and change the culture, if we're worried about how young men think with regards to women, what's the effect if the young men read in the newspaper about men getting away with murder?" he said.  

To date, 66 women have been killed due to gender-based violence this year. 

If you or someone you know is experiencing violence or sexual assault, phone 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732.