New support for domestic violence sufferers amid crisis

When Shelly Jones realised she had to escape her abusive husband she was confronted by a dilemma: stay and remain in his sphere of overbearing control or leave and risk violent retribution to herself, her children and her unborn child?

"I had been threatened with a gun previously so I knew that day that if I did not leave with my children, one of us would not have survived," she said.

"It was the worst day of my life, but also a life-changing day."

Ms Jones considers herself one of the lucky ones because she was able to get out, so the opening of a new domestic violence prevention hub in Adelaide's south "warms her heart".

The Yellow Gate hub, the first of two new prevention and recovery centres in the city, will support women experiencing family, domestic and sexual violence and provide them with counselling and medical services.

SA domestic violence prevention minister Katrine Hildyard said while support services already exist they are often inaccessible for women in abusive relationships, whose partners often use technology to track them.

Considerations such as locating hubs like the Yellow Gate inside shopping centres are crucial so women can access support at the places they already frequent, she told reporters on Friday.

Ms Hildyard said the community was still grieving after four women were killed in one week in South Australia, allegedly by men known to them, adding extra urgency to the fight to end domestic violence.

The issue is not unique to the state, with more than 50 women murdered across the country this year, already more than double the total in 2022.

Ms Hildyard again resisted calls to commit to a royal commission into the issue on Friday, saying she would meet with advocates on December 13 before making a decision.

The domestic violence support sector has for a week been urging the government to launch an inquiry.

"We are sick of vigils. We want action," Working Women's Centre director Abbey Kendall said at a rally last week.

The Commonwealth will also provide the South Australian government with up to $3.4 million over five years to trial three projects aimed at changing attitudes and behaviour among men and boys.

Federal social services minister Amanda Rishworth said the programs are about "getting in early" and providing mentors for adolescents that might use violence, to prevent it before it happens.

"We need persistence, we need energy, and we need to keep pursuing it if we are going to end violence in one generation," she said.

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Australian Associated Press