REPORTS of domestic violence have surged by almost 50 per cent over the past five years, leaving women at risk as Canberra's crisis service struggles to meet the increasing demand.
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The Domestic Violence Crisis Service received 13,959 calls to its emergency line in the past financial year, an increase of 47 per cent from 2008-09 figures.
Staff also undertook a record number of crisis visits during the past 12 months, forcing a drop in follow-up work, according to executive director Mirjana Wilson.
Ms Wilson said while women were becoming more likely to report abuse, a greater willingness to speak up would not be enough to explain the scale of the increase in calls.
She said the "dramatically" rising demand for the 24-hour service had raised concerns for its continuing effectiveness, given the lack of funding increases from the ACT government.
"My concern is that sometimes we do not have the capacity to consolidate the work we have been doing with a particular client or family, beyond the point of providing immediate crisis support," Ms Wilson said.
"The key question for the service remains one of how long can we continue to operate as an 'uncapped', best practice, quality service to the ACT community when there are no extra resources to meet consistent growth in demand," she said.
Service chairwoman Heidi Yates said the government needed to fund a holistic approach to tackling domestic violence.
"A whole-of-government response, including the availability of cross-directorate funding for domestic violence services, will be crucial," she said.
Ms Yates, who has previously worked as a solicitor in the Legal Aid Domestic Violence and Protection Unit at the ACT Magistrates Court, also said an increasing number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women were accessing the service.
Despite representing only 1.45 per cent of the ACT population, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people accounted for 4 per cent of the service's client group during 2012-13.
A spokesman for Women's Minister Joy Burch said the service received a $14,000 grant in 2012, while an additional family violence prevention program was delivered through the Canberra Men's Centre.
He said the $424,000 four-year program, announced in February last year, was aimed at reducing the incidence of violence against women and children.
