Rosie Batty hopes the inquest into her son's brutal death at the hands of his father will prompt a shift in public scrutiny from the victims to the perpetrators in Australia's domestic violence "epidemic".
For Ms Batty, the inquest will serve as a voice for 11-year-old Luke, who was murdered by his father Greg Anderson during a custody visit.
She said the probe should be the start of a shifting mindset, whereby people challenge the perpetrator of domestic violence instead of putting the onus on the victims to leave.
"You're going through a difficult time and it's even more isolating when you feel other people criticising and judging you rather than being empathetic and compassionate," Ms Batty told AAP.
"That's a key thing I would really like to see over the next decade, that we would actually without thinking challenge that male behaviour rather than constantly keep going back to `why doesn't she leave? Why doesn't she do anything?'.
"When you consider one woman a week dies and it occupies most of the police time and it's an escalating issue - it's an epidemic."
Anderson, 54, had been playing with Luke when he suddenly struck his son in the head with a cricket bat and stabbed him at the cricket oval in the Victorian town of Tyabb in February.
Police shot Anderson dead at the oval, the only place where he was legally allowed to visit his son due to an intervention order.
State Coroner Judge Ian Gray will focus on the final 18 months of Luke's life, what police and the Department of Human Services knew about the family violence threat posed by Anderson and what they did in response.
The intervention orders taken out against Anderson, which initially restricted access to Luke but were later changed to allow limited access, will also be investigated.
After a directions hearing in August, Ms Batty implored agencies such as Victoria Police and DHS to be open minded at the inquest.
She told reporters that the agencies should view it as a chance to save lives rather than fear being "hauled over the coals".
Now, on the eve of the inquest, she wonders why it has taken so long for domestic violence to be viewed as a political issue.
"We need a lot of community awareness and a lot of community education and that's not just at the suburban level, it extends to all levels of professions, whether it's a doctor or a lawyer to a police member or a welfare worker," she said.
"Most people have a very naive or ignorant view of what family violence is or the damage it causes."
The inquest into Luke's death begins on Monday.
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