Family violence leave was more powerful than just "personal leave" because it sent a message to abusers that employers and society did not tolerate their behaviour, said Julie Kun, the deputy head of the Women's Information and Referral Exchange (WIRE).

For some women their workplace was their refuge, Ms Kun said.

"It is the only safe place they have to look online for resources and know their browser history won't be checked."

Society - through employers - already takes responsibility for the fact that women need time away to care for children, but does not want to take responsibility when victims need time to extricate themselves from family violence and recover, she told the hearing.

The commission also heard abusive men continue to use the legal and child support systems to harass their ex-partners, and courts needed more powers to stop vexatious litigants.

Some women have lived through 10 or 15 years of continued abuse through the legal system, with perpetrators continuing to drag their ex-partners back to court with repeated attempts to vary custody arrangements or child benefit payments, Ms Kun told the hearing.

The commission on Thursday focused on economic violence, also known as financial abuse, which is a poorly understood aspect of abusive relationships.

Depriving women of their money and economic independence had long-term effects on victims that could be as severe as more overt violence, the commission heard.

Almost 60 per cent of women part of a WIRE research project said the major barrier to leaving an abusive relationship was money, the commission heard.

And there is a strong gendered aspect to this, Ms Kun said.

"We in society see women as being less mathematically capable. There needs to be training for women (and)...in school this needs to start really, really early. Men have to understand they don't have a God-given right to control finances."

Many women do not understand the term "financial abuse" but were more likely to recognise it if it was framed in terms of "money problems with my partner", Ms Kun said.

Research showed that economic abuse continued to affect women into old age with they have limited assets or superannuation.

The hearing was told of a woman, who was not identified, who had moved to Australia after an arranged marriage in another country and hoped to continue working as a nurse.

Her husband, an engineer, refused to pay for her to be retrained and insisted she go out to work. He eventually quit his job and insisted she be the breadwinner.

He controlled her life: he refused to let her see her friends, or a sister who lived nearby, and was outraged if she was minutes late in returning from work.

Her supportive employer allowed her opportunities for counselling, leave at short notice and support for further training, and she was able to leave the abusive relationship, the commission heard.

Another form of family violence that is poorly understood is elder abuse, the commission was told by Jenny Blakey, the manager of Seniors Rights Victoria.

In the majority of cases - about two-thirds - the person carrying out the abuse is the adult child. About 40 per cent are the adult son, about 26 per cent an adult daughter.

"If it's an adult son or daughter, the parent can often be very reluctant to disclose [abuse]," she said.

"There's a sense of shame, there's a sense of embarrassment, there's a sense of wanting to help or support the son or daughter, or protect them. There's a reluctance to engage the police."

In a crisis call 000.

Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service 1800 737 732

Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491

WIRE Women's Support Line 1300 134 130