Sarah was physically, emotionally and financially abused by her ex-partner for years.
But it was not until the Victorian woman fled that she found out she was not his first victim.
Sarah said it was not until she went through the process of contacting police and receiving family violence support that she realised her ex-partner was a repeat offender.
Sarah is now pushing to have a domestic violence disclosure scheme introduced in Victoria.
The scheme, also sometimes referred to as Clare’s Law, would allow partners in an intimate relationship with someone, who had concerns about their behaviour, to check in with police to see if there were any prior domestic violence offences.
South Australia introduced the scheme eight years ago, but is still the only state to do so.
Sarah believes giving people that information at the beginning of a relationship would prevent violence before it starts.
Source: Calls for domestic violence disclosure scheme as regional family abuse rates rise – ABC News