Mrs Howe said children were the silent victims that were often overlooked unless they were directly abused.

"But living in a toxic home environment can cause long-term issues for children," she said.

"We know they get immediate behavioural issues and they become hyper-vigilant, they're concerned about the violence occurring in the house. They're not sleeping and then they're not learning at school so we get long term educational issues.

"We know that children exposed to family violence don't have the same brain development as children in a stable environment so that also causes long term issues."

Mrs Howe has specialised in family violence law since 2004. She said parents were often unaware of the lasting impact their behaviour had on their children.

"Let's say for statistical purposes, dad is the violent perpetrator but mum still wants to be in a relationship and she thinks the kids are alright because he's targeting her not the kids," she said.

"She might think he's a bad partner but a good dad. But unfortunately the reality is he isn't a good dad because of the impact his behaviour is having on the kids. The violence they're seeing and the toxic environment they're being exposed to is very harmful.

"The children are the silent, unheard victims of family violence."

When prosecuting family violence, Mrs Howe ensures safe decisions are made for the child victims that are often left without a voice.

She said more intervention orders were being put in place to exclude the perpetrator from the family home.

"If we have a woman who still wants to be in a relationship and the kids still want to see their dad then that's fine but it's our job to keep the house a safe zone so that if dad is having a bad day, they can all come back to the house and he can't. It creates a web of protection," she said.

"Since the Royal Commission into Family Violence we are evaluating our programs so much more and we're seeing that the decisions parents are making are not necessarily the best decisions for the children. From there we are having to look at other ways to protect the kids.

"In the last two to three years we have really focused on the children in the household. Prior to that we were saying it was a child protection issue and we weren't really taking active steps to protect them other than making that initial referral. Now we are much more active.

"And there's other organisations we can refer them to, depending on the children's age. It might be a well-being counsellor at school, it might be Headspace or just a general practitioner. We can also look at counselling for children if they are victims of crime."

The Standard recently reported about 80 to 90 per cent of women presenting at the family violence service centre Emma House are accompanied by at least two children.

But Mrs Howe said it was not uncommon for women to turn down help from local services and police.

"When we step in and look at intervention orders that include that exclusion cause, it's not uncommon for women to say 'please don't say that I want this order'," she said.

"But if we think she and the children need protection, we can make a police application and we tell them that we are doing this to protect the children. The magistrate has the power to make stand-alone orders for their children.

"Unfortunately if there aren't any children involved, there's nothing we can do except refer the victim to the appropriate support services, like Emma House. If she wants to stay in the house and in the relationship, it's her choice and she has the right to that choice. We just have to wait until she's ready to get more help but until she's ready, we can't force anything."

The introduction of specialised family violence prosecutors were part of the response to the 2016 Royal Commission into Family Violence. Mrs Howe said the specialised role gave her more time to focus on each individual court file.

"It means the prosecutor can have a look at each file holistically and work out what is best for each individual victim," she said.

"And it's not just about looking at what we are going to be doing in the courtroom but it's about looking at what referrals are appropriate, actually speaking to the affected family member before court and deciding what is safe and if they really have to appear at court."

Detective Sergeant Jason Dance, of the Warrnambool police family violence investigation unit, said a new register launched on August 14 provided frontline police officers with information on high-risk family violence offenders.

The Family Violence Report tool helps officers predict the likelihood of future family violence to improve how police respond to call outs. It was introduced after data revealed 40 to 60 per cent of frontline police jobs involved family violence and violence against women.

Detective Sergeant Dance said the tool would give officers more guidance to understand relationships and risk levels.

"The tool is designed to capture and adequately assess the risks of what the victim is facing and the potentially underlying causes of family violence," he said. "It enables our members to identify the root causes of family violence in order to combat them in the future."

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT or 1800RESPECT.org.au. Contact Emma House through 1800 EMMADV or emmahouse.org.au. Safe Steps for women after hours 188 015 188. In emergencies, call 000.