The number of crisis visits made by the ACT Domestic Violence Crisis Service to women in need has almost doubled in just two years, from about 750 in 2011-12 to roughly 1400 in 2013-14.

The increase means the service is now attending the most domestic violence crises in its history.

Strain is also coming from a growing number of calls for help, including to the service's 24-7 crisis line, and police "heads-up" notifications of domestic violence cases.

The heads-up notifications were being sent 10 times a day on average last financial year..

In total, just under 16,000 contacts were made to the support service in 2013-14 alone, rising significantly from about 11,000 in 2009-10.

The overwhelming majority of those being helped are women, accounting for 94 per cent of clients last financial year.

Despite the growing demand, funding to the service has not changed for the past five years, other than slight increases to account for inflation.

The service has received roughly $1.6million in ACT government funding each year for the past five years. It receives no federal funding, but does take donations from the public.

The current situation has left support workers stretched.

The sheer size of the problem means they are only able to deal with the "pointy end" of domestic violence cases.

Minister for Women Yvette Berry said acts of domestic violence were of "paramount concern" to the government and community.

She said $5.5 million had been provided to a range of services this financial year, including the Domestic Violence Crisis Service, as well as specialised accommodation and outreach services.

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"We will continue to work with service providers and raise awareness of issues related to domestic and family violence."

Meanwhile, there are also calls for the ACT government to fund longer-term programs aimed at preventing domestic violence.

YWCA Canberra, with the support of the Canberra Capitals, used International Women's Day on Sunday to call on the ACT government to educate children in schools across the ACT to prevent violence against women.

The organisation says there are currently no domestic violence primary prevention programs running in primary schools in the ACT.

YWCA Canberra executive director Frances Crimmins called on the government to commit $200,000 a year to launch their "Respect, Communicate, Choose" program in ACT public primary schools.

Canberra Capitals star Lauren Jackson helped launch the campaign to fund the school-based program, which instils values of respect, gender equality, and diversity.

"Young people need to have access to information on respect and relationships," Ms Jackson said.

"It was something that was certainly lacking when I was growing up, and it's so important that we build these skills now to prevent violence in the future."

Ms Crimmins said the program was critical, but had not received funding from federal or state governments since 2013.

"Primary prevention is the only way we can enact a cultural change to build a generation free from violence against women, and currently there are no programs in schools that address this community-wide problem," Ms Crimmins said.

"We're tired of telling schools that we can't run the program because the government doesn't see violence prevention as a priority," she said.

YWCA Canberra, a not-for-profit women's community, support and advocacy organisation, has named its campaign for ACT government funding "Respect NOW", and an online petition will be put on its website.

Ms Crimmins said the petition would be presented to Ms Berry and Minister for Education Joy Burch at the end of the campaign.