Family violence can and must be stopped, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has said.
Mr Shorten made the declaration at the launch of Parliamentarians Against Family Violence in Canberra on Monday.
The group was launched by federal MPs Tim Watts, Ken Wyatt and Andrew Broad after months of meetings with domestic violence experts and women’s organisations.
Addressing those gathered at the Parliament House launch, Mr Shorten said family violence bridged the political divide.
“Family violence is no respecter of your religion, your postcode or your ethnicity,” he said.
"Yet for far too long family violence has been seen as a niche issue; something beyond the realm of public debate; something best not spoken about.
"That is changing, but it has to change further."
Mr Shorten said family violence affected more than 250,000 women and accounted for 40 per cent of police work in Australia.
“The statistics are shocking, they are shameful and they traverse the length and breadth of our nation," he said.
"But no figure, no number can capture the uncertain fear, the intermittent anxiety leading to moments of terror, the wrenching emotional and physical pain that family violence inflicts."
Mr Shorten also called on parliament to "use every resource at our disposal" to address the issue of family violence.
