The "parents and adults of tomorrow" will be taught how to identify, prevent and respond to domestic violence in NSW high schools.
The personal development, health and physical education syllabus will be changed to include domestic violence prevention for students in years 7 to 10 from 2015.
Prevention of Domestic Violence Minister Pru Goward said she decided to make the changes after meeting a 14-year-old victim campaigning for education in schools.
The girl, known as Rachel, told the minister she never identified her situation as domestic violence.
"Here was a girl who had lived with it all her life and actually had never understood that's what it was and it was wrong and she could do something about it," Ms Goward told reporters on Friday.
"I realised... we do need to work with and engage teenagers who are on the verge of relationships themselves and are the parents and adults of tomorrow."
Domestic Violence NSW CEO Moo Baulch said schools were an important part of attacking the problem from all angles.
A million Australian children were growing up in violent households but that could be changed, she said.
"I think the younger generation is really interested in this as an issue," she said.
"They're talking about it in a way that they haven't before.
"Young people actually have the power to change. We can shift this stuff within a generation."
The update to the syllabus will complement mandatory healthy relationship education in primary schools, she said.
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