A wheelchair-bound woman was sent home with her husband despite telling doctors at a Victorian hospital she wanted to die because he had raped her four times that week.
The woman, who cannot be named, told the Royal Commission into Family Violence on Wednesday there should be mandatory reporting of all sexual assaults, not just cases involving children.
"I feel like I've been let down," said the woman, who has been given the alias Melissa Brown to protect her identity.
Staff sent Ms Brown home with her husband, who was also her carer, after they asked her if she wanted to report the abuse to police, and she declined.
"If I was under 18 it would have been reported ... that could have saved me from five years of abuse from my husband," she said.
While the rape was not reported to police, doctors informed child protection services, who visited the family home to question the couple.
"When he was questioned ... he said: 'Yeah, I did that, so what? All husbands do this and I can't guarantee I won't do it again'," Ms Brown said.
On learning this, police then intervened, and her husband was prohibited from coming near her.
But Ms Brown says this was openly ignored during family law proceedings, when he sat in the same courtroom as her.
"I was surprised and dumbfounded that the no contact laws could be breached," she said.
Her husband also got his lawyer to pass on messages about how much he loved her and how remorseful he felt.
"I was really surprised that a lawyer could think they could pass this information on - it is absurd," Ms Brown said.
Legal Aid Victoria has called for changes to national laws that allow family members to represent themselves and cross-examine each other in the Family Court, to prevent perpetrators of violence from questioning their victims.
* For support and information about suicide prevention, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.
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