“Has he hit you?” the woman asks down the phone.
It’s just after 10:00am in an open-plan office in inner-city Brisbane. It’s a busy street full of cafes and high-rise apartment complexes but the building is non-descript: there is no signage on the front and the ABC has been asked not to reveal anything about the location. Inside, four wall-mounted television screens display CCTV footage from the front and back doors and the car park.
“So, he has hit you in the past?” the woman says. “There is a [domestic violence order]. Okay…”
On the phone, a staff member from DV Connect — the Queensland-wide crisis counselling and emergency accommodation service for people experiencing domestic violence — tries to ascertain just how much danger the caller on the other end of the line is in.
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