Just when she thought she would bleed to death Angela Jay was doused in petrol.
The Port Macquarie obstetrician had been stabbed 11 times by a Tinder date who broke into her house just four days after she had filed an AVO against him.
There was no way to call triple-zero as she sat on the floor feeling utterly alone.
"As I saw his knife rise and fall it took a while for my brain to comprehend that he was actually stabbing me," she told MPs and senators at Parliament House on Tuesday.
"I remember one distinct thought - I am going to bleed to death."
The White Ribbon ambassador described how she felt the most profound sorrow thinking of how she would never see her family or friends again or hold them in her arms.
"I eventually found the strength to pick myself off the ground only to be met by a shower of petrol," she said.
"It ran down my face and through my hair. It burned my eyes and I coughed as the fumes began to choke me."
But it was in that moment of indescribable horror, waiting to be lit on fire, that her adrenaline kicked into overdrive and somehow she ran for her life.
One year on from the incident, the doctor says she is beyond grateful to have survived, but her thoughts are with the 71 others who are not so lucky.
She can only too vividly imagine what they felt in their last moments.
"What does White Ribbon mean to me? It means the difference between life and death."
The ambassador shared her story at a breakfast attended by MPs from across the political divide.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten used the event to announce a Labor government would legislate for 10 days of domestic violence leave - double the policy he took to the 2016 election.
He rejected claims about the economic costs and the possibility of phantom requests for leave as a result of the proposal.
"I've never met a victim of domestic violence who goes through the process of domestic violence ... just to get the leave," he said.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull challenged all Australian men to think about advancing equality in their world.
"A word to a nephew, a word to a grandson. That could change the direction of a life and keep women safe in the future," he said.
National domestic violence helpline: 1800 737 732 or 1800RESPECT. In an emergency call triple-zero.
