The NSW and federal governments have committed $21 million to domestic violence services as the sector grapples with the destructive results of social isolation amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Frontline services will receive almost $9 million, with the balance to be spent on women's refuges, a pop-up safe house in Manly on Sydney's northern beaches, behavioural programs and duress alarms.
Demand for services like hotlines, legal aid and court advocacy spiked during the crisis, said NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman.
"Victims, especially woman and children are at their homes with perpetrators," he said.
"[They are] often unable to access phone and unable to access the internet, unable to get out because their perpetrators are literally or metaphorically over their shoulders."
The new funding was welcomed by the state's peak body for family violence services, Domestic Violence NSW.
Chairperson Helen Silvia said frontline workers had adapted to coronavirus conditions but more resources were desperately needed.
"This will go a long way across a range of service types to assist the pandemic efforts and the change to operating styles," she said.
Mr Speakman said it was difficult to get a precise idea of the scale of the problem.
"The statistics overall suggest that there has been an increase in domestic and family violence during this pandemic," she said.
"It is often difficult for those who are abused to access services to report crime so the under reporting that we see typically in normal circumstances is probably even greater during a pandemic," he said.
