There were no black eyes, no broken bones.
Yet Vanessa Fowler knew something wasn't quite right with her sister Allison Baden-Clay.
The first time Ms Fowler heard about coercive control was after her sibling was murdered by estranged husband Gerard Baden-Clay in 2012.
"I believe that Allison didn't realise what she was going through," Ms Fowler said.
"We only realised after the trial. In our language, it (domestic violence) was either physical abuse or verbal abuse, emotional abuse."
Ms Fowler hopes more people become aware of coercive control and speak out after a landmark bill making it a stand-alone offence was introduced in Queensland's parliament last week.
"We didn't see any black eyes or broken bones," she said of her sister.
"Coercive control is a pattern of behaviour that occurs over time.
"It builds up over the many years and, as in my sister's case, coercive control happened behind closed doors.
"It was only that one final physical act that took her life."
The signs were subtle at first too for Hannah Clarke's parents Llloyd and Sue.
When Hannah first started going out with Rowan Baxter, he made her shut down her Facebook page.
"His explanation was they had the same friends that did the same thing so they'd have the same posts - it's just gradual things like this," Sue Clarke said.
Over time, Hannah was subjected to more and more controlling behaviour.
She wasn't allowed to wear pink.
She couldn't walk on the beach in a bikini.
"More and more things come and this is the problem. One thing on its own can be explained away," Sue Clarke said.
"But once you start to look at all these other things and put them together is when it becomes the pattern of behaviour and it becomes a lot more obvious."
Hannah finally had enough and left her husband in late-2019.
Hannah, 33, and her young children - Aaliyah, Laianah and Trey - died after being set on fire in their car by Baxter in February 2020.
Like Ms Fowler's Allison Baden-Clay Foundation, the Clarkes have since been trying to raise awareness of coercive control.
They operate the Small Steps 4 Hannah Foundation, earning 2022 Queensland Australian of the Year honours.
Years of hard work paid off when the landmark bill was introduced by the Queensland government.
Ms Fowler and the Clarkes were among advocates who reflected on how far they had come when they gathered outside parliament last week to salute the new legislation.
Still, Mr Clarke hoped more progress was made.
"We need now for these laws to go national," he said after Queensland joined only NSW in ushering in a stand-alone coercive control offence.
Women's Legal Service Queensland CEO Nadia Bromley said in the past lawmaking had not been enough to keep women safe, with more than 21,000 people breaching DV orders in the state in 2022 alone.
But she hoped the new legislation would help change community attitudes and hold people to account.
"Part of that is also about educating the community, letting people know the broad range of activities that fit into this ... and knowing that there are places they can go to get help," Ms Bromley said.
Queensland Sexual Assault Network's Angela Lynch said it was important women knew support services were out there.
But she believed the services may also need assistance ahead of an expected surge in demand following the milestone bill.
"(What needs) to be considered now that the legislation is through is (to) increase funding for sexual violence services in Queensland, to be able to respond when victims ... bravely speak out and ask for assistance," she said.
The law is expected to come into effect in January 2025, carrying a maximum penalty of 14 years' jail.
Years ago, Ms Fowler didn't know what was happening behind closed doors to her sister.
She hopes the legislation ensures women no longer suffer in silence in Queensland.
"It means that women should realise now that they will be heard," she said.
"They won't be judged ... (when) they speak up and they stand up and they leave their relationships.
"(It's) about giving women ... the confidence to stand up and speak up against what's happening to them behind closed doors."
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