When Anita Hutchison visited a health professional more than a decade ago during a family violence situation she was told "can't you just forgive him".
As a general practitioner, Dr Hutchison does not want anyone else to be in a similar situation.
"I would hope one lesson learned would be not to say that to someone," she said.
Dr Hutchison, a GP advisor in the family safety program at Capital Health Network, has provided advice to a new pilot program in the ACT training primary care staff, including GPs and allied health professionals, to recognise, respond and refer victim-survivors to specialist services.
"To be rejected by a support service or get a response that is not appropriate or not trauma-informed really just, I suppose, invalidates that person. They might think 'hmm, maybe I actually don't need help, maybe I'm not important enough'," she said.
Dr Hutchison said it was important for general practitioners to be trained in this space as they were a trusted professional.
"GPs are in that trusted space. Most people see them alone at the GP, they trust them, they trust their opinion, so what the GP says in response is going to be very important," she said.
"Studies have shown that GPs - probably a full-time GP on average will see five people a week - women [who have] in a 12-month period experiencing abuse themselves. Whether they've recognised that or whether the person has disclosed that is another thing."
The federal government is funding the pilot program which will be run in the ACT through the Capital Health Network.
The program builds on family and domestic violence pilots run in three other states with the government saying there will be at least one pilot in each state and territory.
There are existing pilots in Queensland, NSW and western Victoria which will continue with a broader focus of sexual violence, including child sexual abuse.
The Commonwealth is committing $4.3 million to the program. Federal Assistant Health Minister Ged Kearney said GPs are often the first point of contact for victim-survivors but many are not equipped to support these women and this program would be focused on tackling that.
"This pilot will help change that," she said.
"As a nurse I know having more primary healthcare workers who can recognise signs of violence and abuse and who know where to refer people will make a big difference to people's recoveries and their future lives."
Federal Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence Justine Elliot said the program would help to better design programs going forward.
"This program here in Canberra will help us to better design services going forward, so that everyone engaging with our health system can access comprehensive support to recover from the impacts of violence," she said.
- Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800; beyondblue 1300 224 636; 1800-RESPECT 1800 737 732.
