For Shannon (not her real name), escaping violence means living in a safe house and keeping her identity secret.
She has also been given a safety watch for protection, but she said it felt like just another burden.
"My perpetrator is not monitored but I'm monitored," she said.
"I have to have a safety watch for my own safety, [which] tracks where I go, how many steps I take, and has a panic alarm on it."
Shannon has gone through the courts in Queensland, New South Wales, and the ACT over the past 16 years to take out eight separate apprehended violence orders (AVOs) against her violent ex-partner.
She was living in hiding and would likely have to remain that way for the rest of her life to stay safe.
"He gets to go on with his whole life and do whatever he wants," she said.
"Yet, I have to live in safety and secrecy ... so I don't end up one of the statistics."
She also has to attend court every couple of years to reapply for an AVO, which her former partner has breached several times.
In NSW, most AVOs usually only last two years.
Shannon believed there should be an option for people to apply for a lifelong protection order.
"I would have thought that over a 16-year period, that would be long enough for me to have a lifelong one because that's an extensive period of time," she said.
A 'failing' justice system
Despite ongoing funding and awareness campaigns, rates of domestic violence have continued to grow.
The number of domestic violence assaults and AVO breaches has increased by 19 per cent in regional NSW over the past five years. Meanwhile, domestic violence incidents account for 40 per cent of police call-outs.
The federal government has just appointed a new domestic, family and sexual violence commissioner, Micaela Cronin, to address the crisis at a national level.
Ms Cronin has spent her first six weeks in the role travelling to different jurisdictions in Australia to hear from people on the ground.
She said it was evident the current justice system was not working.
"Clearly the system is failing women and children," she said.
"There are numerous cases where it's very traumatic, the way the system is structured at the moment."
This consultation with communities will be used to inform the government's national 10-year plan to end gendered violence within one generation.
She said victim survivors need to be front and centre in discussions around reforms in the sector.
"The commission creates the space for us to have a national conversation about what's happening in our communities," she said.
"That conversation needs to be driven by women's day-to-day experiences in their communities."
The commission will also be used to hold the government to account and ensure it delivers on its promises to end domestic and family violence.
This story is part of a week-long ABC series looking at domestic violence across regional, rural, and remote parts of NSW.
