But her husband's alleged violent control of her life came to light last week when he allegedly forced her car to stop on a busy Kingston thoroughfare and striking her repeatedly.

The case, which came before the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday, is yet another in which police say cultural issues have been a barrier to the victim coming forward.

The husband, 34, and his wife separated in Melbourne last year, and she came to Canberra to work while he travelled up regularly to visit their children.

Last week, it is alleged, he followed her car as she left work, possibly after seeing her talk to another man.

He then followed her through several suburbs, yelling at her out the window to stop, before forcing her to pull over on Wentworth Avenue in Kingston at night.

The man then got out and struck and kicked her repeatedly, police say, before a friend of hers responded to a phone call for help.

He was arrested and appeared before Magistrate Robert Cook on Monday, charged with four common assaults.

Prosecutor Emilija Beljic opposed his release on bail, arguing he was a risk of reoffending against his partner and of interfering with her as a witness.

The wife told police she had been the victim of verbal and physical abuse for eight years, which had escalated to almost daily acts of violence during the later stages of the relationship.

Ms Beljic said it was a serious concern that the violence had recently intensified, and argued the defendant would pay little heed to bail conditions if released.

"The fact that this happened in public did not deter him," she said. "That would be a serious concern to your honour in granting bail."

A police officer told the court the woman had been controlled and manipulated by her partner, who prevented her from spending time with friends or others without his permission.

If she did, they would fight and he would allegedly beat her, the court heard.

She did not formally make a complaint about the violence to Victorian Police, and told ACT police her main concern was softening the blows so that her children could not hear the abuse.

The officer said the woman was Sri Lankan, and her background made her reluctant to talk to police about her husband's violence. Usually she would have relied on family and friends for support, but she was cut off from such a network in Melbourne.

The defendant's lawyer told the court her client believed the relationship was still ongoing.

He could abide by conditions preventing contact with her and restricting entry into the ACT, she said.

Before Mr Cook handed down his decision on bail, he said domestic violence often remained secret until acts of courage by victims when the opportunity presented itself.

"Domestic violence is a hidden crime and one that doesn't often see the light of day," he said.

But conditions preventing the husband's entry into the ACT and contact with the woman would be enough to address concerns about his reoffending and interfering with her as a witness, he said.

The defendant was bailed and will reappear in the ACT Magistrates Court later this month.