The scourge of domestic violence has come to the fore of the nation's consciousness in recent times, thanks to the work of tireless campaigners such as former Australian of the Year Rosie Batty.

But is the legal framework that is set up to protect women and children from domestic violence doing enough in the fight against the psychological abuse that so often coexists with the physical harm?

A roundtable discussion of legal and family violence experts next week in Melbourne will debate whether there needs to be a new offence to deal with the issue in Australia.

Paul McGorrery, is a lawyer, and a PhD candidate at Deakin University.

He is one of the organisers of the roundtable and is joined by Heather Nancarrow is the CEO of ANROWS, the Australian National Research Organisation on Women's Safety.

Clarification: Paul is speaking in this interview in his capacity as a PhD candidate NOT as an employee of the Sentencing Advisory Council of Victoria.