Australian of the Year Rosie Batty is expected to be among the witnesses when Victoria’s Royal Commission into Family Violence holds a series of public hearings over the next month.

The hearings begin on Monday with Victoria Police and at least one family violence victim to appear on the first day.

Ms Batty’s son, Luke, was killed by his father Greg Anderson at a cricket ground south-east of Melbourne in February last year.

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Anderson was shot dead by police soon after.

Luke’s death is seen as one of the catalysts for the royal commission, which was established by the Victorian Government earlier this year.

The Batty case raised questions about Victoria Police’s ability to enforce court-issued intervention orders that are supposed to protect vulnerable women and children.

In 2013 there were 44 family violence-related deaths in Victoria and more than 65,000 domestic violence incidents reported to police.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has described family violence as a national emergency, and it is estimated to cost the state $3.4 billion a year.

“We need a system that protects the vulnerable, punishes the guilty and saves lives,” Mr Andrews said.

“The royal commission will give us the answers we need and nothing will be off limits.”

Police response likely focus of royal commission

The inquiry, headed by former Court of Appeal judge Marcia Neave, has already had more than 1000 submissions and will hear evidence from victims, family violence experts and Victoria Police.

There were 44 family violence-related deaths in Victoria alone in 2013. Photo: Getty

The adequacy of the police response to reports of family violence is likely to be a key focus of the public hearings.

Last month police were criticised at an inquest into the death of Point Cook woman Kelly Thompson, 43, who was stabbed to death by her former partner, Wayne Woods, who killed himself soon afterward.

Her mother, Wendy Thompson, has accused police of failing to act when Woods breached an intervention order.

The inquest heard Kelly Thompson made 38 calls to police in the weeks before her death.

The lawyer representing the Thompson family, Paula Shelton of Shine Lawyers, said the royal commission was needed to investigate and improve the intervention order system.

“The failure to enforce orders equals deaths, it’s very simple. Women and children are at risk,” Ms Shelton said.

“There is a lot of variation in how police deal with report of breaches of orders, some stations are very proactive and they will charge people, others much less so, they don’t take them seriously.

“They say, perhaps, ‘You don’t have any evidence, therefore we can’t act’, and they really expect some women to investigate their own case and that’s not appropriate.”

Call for more funding toward domestic violence

Domestic Violence Victoria chief executive, Fiona McCormack, said she hoped the royal commission came up with ideas to drive a long-term change in attitudes toward women.

“What we need to do in our community today is to change the culture particularly that sees so many men believe that they have the right to behave this way, that sees the rigid and sexist stereotypes that support this to occur in the first place,” Ms McCormack said.

Domestic Violence Victoria is also calling on Australian governments to devote more funding to the family violence.

“Right now it’s funded as a temporary and incidental issue, it’s funded mainly under homelessness dollars and then bits and pieces from other places,” Mc McCormack said.

“If we had assured funding targets that looked from primary prevention through to responding to women in crisis I think we would be able to get so much more done.”

Family violence campaigner Gee Bailey expected Victorians would be shocked by some of the stories told at the royal commission.

Ms Bailey, herself a victim of family violence, said she endured emotional, financial and physical abuse during a seven year relationship with a man.

“These are the stories that have been happening behind closed doors and they are real, they are all different but it’s going on and that’s why this royal commission has to happen,” Ms Bailey said.

“It doesn’t just sit within certain socio-economic groups; this is everywhere, so it’s a historic moment and it’s wonderful.”

-ABC