The ACT's domestic violence case workers say they have been attacked, threatened and verbally abused by perpetrators on the job as staffing pressures mean they increasingly operate alone.
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Toora Women Inc executive director Susan Clarke-Lindfield said widespread funding cuts and escalated demand had made it "almost impossible" to send two workers at a time to help in domestic violence matters.
"When we accompany women to court or to collect their belongings from their home, we cannot always ensure we have enough staff to go with them," she said.
About 60 per cent of clients said domestic violence was the main reason they accessed the Canberra Refuge's homelessness service, while even more cited relationship problems.
She said while most workers were experienced and trained to ensure personal and client safety, violent offenders remained among the biggest risks in the industry.
"Canberra is a small community so we can have a staff member take a woman out shopping or to town and they can run into the perpetrator.
"There is that risk when they take clients out, so they're always hyper-vigilant."
She was aware of staff who had been verbally abused, threatened and physically assaulted by violent perpetrators.
A client needed to have a domestic violence court order with specific conditions in order for police to accompany case workers to collect property, but many victims didn't opt for legal action.
Ms Clarke-Lindfield said the threats to safety meant the refuge had strategies in place to protect staff and clients from offenders.
"Our houses are equipped with secure locks and we have strict confidentiality about location of our houses.
"However, sometimes this is breached, putting our staff and clients in very unsafe situations."
The organisation also ensured staff filled out anonymous stress surveys twice a year and were offered outside help from professional psychologists.
Ms Clarke-Lindfield said workers juggled multiple cases at once and were also vulnerable to the mental and emotional toll of working with victims.
"In this industry there's a very real risk of burnout or what we call vicarious trauma, where you work with clients and their stories are so distressing that you pick up some of that trauma yourself."
Ms Clarke-Lindfield said the ACT's women's services sector was feeling the pinch after funds were slashed by 36 per cent over three years.
She said boosted funding for frontline services was crucial in the upcoming budget if the ACT government wanted to protect workers and tackle domestic violence rates in the community.
