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WARNING: This story contains details which some might find distressing.
Edwina* lives with her two children in a small house in a quiet Perth street.
But what makes her house different is the panic room with a window that can only be broken from the inside.
It's backed by multiple security cameras throughout the property and four locks on each door.
This is what her reality looks like after escaping from an abusive ex-partner.
And it's a situation which could turn at any minute.
'Coercive control … just a single look'
The 36-year-old has been dealing with domestic violence relationships for the past six years and is currently living in a transitional home.
Her ex-partner, and father of her two children, became abusive after her first child was born and continued the abuse – both physical and coercive – into her second pregnancy.
"The physical looks like shoves to the face, the twisting of arms, kicking, flicking cigarette butts at me, revving the car, punching my car windows, purposefully breaking things or taking things off me," she said.
"This one time he opened up a bag and there was [firearm] ammunition and he said, 'That's got your name written all over it'.
"He told me he was planning a double-murder suicide and had everything in the car ready to go.
"But the coercive control … that was just a single look."
Edwina has a court order in place to protect her and her children from her former partner after several lengthy legal battles.
She's not allowed to use her real name in hospital, her friends can't visit her at home and police arrive immediately if she calls triple-0.
Edwina said as the abuse got worse, she felt like she "didn't even care" about herself anymore and what was going to happen.
The fear never leaves
It's a familiar story for people like 54-year-old Sarah*.
Sarah told police she was violently sexually assaulted by her former partner when she asked him to leave her home one night several years ago.
She's suffered anxiety and depression as a result and replays the memories of the attack over and over in her head.
Sarah knows her attacker has been in and out of jail and charged with various offences including stalking and breaching violence restraining orders.
While she hasn't seen him for several years, the thought he's still out there keeps her up at night.
"I know one day I was down in Fremantle and I got off the train and I swore it was him and I literally thought I was going to throw up," she said.
"I ran from the train station and went down a side road and stood there and waited for him to go past … but it wasn't him.
"If I knew he was … and I don't like the idea of wishing anyone dead … but if I knew he was either dead or living in a completely different country, that would give me a lot more comfort."
Support for DV offender register
Both women agree more needs to be done to address domestic violence in WA in light of the alarming number of Australian women killed this year.
Both think a DV register for offenders could help prevent violence, particularly for women entering new relationships.
"When you meet a guy first off you'd be going, 'Oh wow, he seems really lovely', but then if red flags keep coming up, if you could just get into a database and put their name in and go, 'Wow … run'," Sarah said.
Edwina agrees.
"The lady after me wouldn't have been strangled, she wouldn't have been thrown up against a wall, she wouldn't have had these bruises, a needle put to her neck if she'd known what had happened to me," she said.
Sarah also believed funding was needed to help women currently dealing with domestic violence.
"Put more money into ankle monitoring bracelets, that would be a real deterrent because the first conviction for breaching a VRO is not recorded," she said.
She also said more money was urgently needed for refuge accommodation for women fleeing violent relationships.
Minister mute on register time frame
Almost $400,000 has been allocated in this year's budget for the Department of Justice to start consultation on a new family and domestic violence disclosure scheme.
But Minister for Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence Sabine Winton would not provide a time frame for the project.
"I'm pleased that in this budget, we will do that consultation work to make sure that we look at a scheme like this," she told Stateline.
"I want to get it right. And I don't want any unintended consequences."
Last week the state government announced $96 million for new and expanded services and supports, and reforms to prevent family and domestic violence.
The government said the funding was informed by the Family and Domestic Violence Taskforce developed in September last year.
The package did not include any new funding for women's refuges, which are bursting at the seams.
Ms Winton conceded more crisis beds were needed, but would not commit to providing any new funding to ease the pressure.
"We need to also remember that we don't want women leaving their homes in the first place. They deserve to stay at home," she said.
"And so our approach is to support the crisis sector in providing that emergency accommodation. But we've also invested heavily in programs … to make sure that where possible, women and their children stay in their homes, and that safety planning is supported so they can do that."
Support lacking for Aboriginal women
Aboriginal women are 32 times more likely than non-Aboriginal women to be hospitalised from family violence.
The government's recent funding announcement lacked any money for Indigenous specific supports or services, prompting criticism from some Indigenous academics and lived experience experts about a lack of consultation.
Noongar woman Alison Scott, a lived experience expert whose sister was murdered, this week said the state government's recent funding announcement had "missed the mark".
"The population with the worst outcomes does not get a mention [in the announcement]," she said.
"Thirty-two times more likely than non-Aboriginal women to be hospitalised due to violence and seven times more likely to be murdered and somehow, we did not make the cut."
Ms Winton said she was committed to involving Indigenous people with lived experience in developing the government's system reform plans.
"The $96 million [funding announcement] builds on earlier announcements," she said.
"There has been nearly a $170 million investment, which also includes specific programs and initiatives around supporting Aboriginal women who suffer family domestic violence.
"We already have many, many Aboriginal-led organisations doing this important work. And it's my priority to continue to support the sector to provide that support."
*Both names have been changed for privacy.
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