The stereotype that boys are tough and should not cry is part of the problem when it comes to domestic violence, says former governor-general Dame Quentin Bryce.

Dame Quentin, who was asked by former Queensland premier Campbell Newman to head a taskforce looking at domestic violence, handed her review to the new premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, over the weekend.

The review titled 'Not now, not ever: Putting an end to domestic violence' makes 140 recommendations for change, mostly on the part of government.

However, Dame Quentin said society as a whole must take responsibility and step up when it comes to issues surrounding domestic violence.

"This really starts in the cradle and it highlights the support parents need with parenting," Dame Quentin told 612 ABC Brisbane's Steve Austin.

"Everybody wants to be the best mother and father – we need more support for our little families in formation.

"Perhaps the most important thing is the role modelling, especially of fathers for their boys."

She said it was important for the community to work towards making it acceptable for men to talk about their issues.

"That goes to the very heart of addressing this issue, I think, about confronting it; it is about having the conversation and people having the courage to come forward to seek help," she said.

"We [must] break down those terribly outmoded stereotypes, the sexist narrow attitudes of the roles of men and women."

Dame Quentin said she had travelled all over Queensland as part of the taskforce and had heard many disturbing stories on her journey.

"I was in one community where a man said to me 'it's not about punches here love, it's about ropes and knives'," she said.

"We are talking about strangulation, we are talking about stabbings, but as well as that... [there is] also that insidious, controlling coercion that is about domestic violence."

Victims of domestic violence were also consulted in preparing the report.

"I want to emphasise this report holds the voices of women from across our state who are victims, who are survivors of family violence," she said.

Police response a vital piece of the puzzle

In 2013 there were more than 64,000 domestic violence incidents reported in Queensland, more than 12,800 breaches of DV orders and 17 domestic and family violence related homicides.

Dame Quentin said another key factor in addressing domestic violence was the response of police.

"I want to express at the outset our appreciation for the very important role that police play – their responsibilities, the dangers, the complexity," she said.

"For police when they go to a home, they have no idea of what they're going to find – that time when police are first called to a domestic violence situation is a critical one where we need to put in place the best responses.

"We need our police to be very observant, to take immediate action. Their priority of course is to keep the victim safe and keep the perpetrator out."

She said anyone could be affected by domestic violence.

"No toddler, no baby, is too small to be traumatised by domestic violence – we all have the responsibility to intervene, to take action, to not be bystanders," Dame Quentin said.

"That can be very confronting and tough, and our response [can be] to say 'that's not my business' but it's all of our business."

Dame Quentin said the lack of a crisis centre for women escaping violence so immediate safety and support could be given while they awaited placement was identified by the report as a major gap in services.

The report recommended one be built in Brisbane, and another in Townsville.

"That's what we absolutely need, there are not enough places in a crisis and it's high risk, it's a crisis that has to be responded to immediately and it's why we need an integrated response," she said.

"All of us have to say what am I going to do in my community.

"This is about neighbourhood, this is about keeping an eye out, this is about remembering that no little toddler or baby is too young to be traumatised by violence."

Non-lethal strangulation offence should be added: report

She said rural and remote communities faced specific challenges that also must be addressed.

"I am hoping that technology might make a difference here but there are always special challenges for delivering services to women in remote and rural communities and I think we've got to explore those, we've got to look at what's available now, listen to people delivering those services," she said.

"People in Charters Towers for example, I think that they've been allocated four hours, the two women who have responsibility for that, for a very wide area of Queensland."

Dame Quentin said the courts played a vital role in reducing family violence in Queensland.

"We've heard too often about inconsistency, that our magistrates courts do not take a consistent approach, that it can be a bit of luck which court you're in, which magistrate is hearing the matter, which police officer is handling the matter," Dame Quentin said.

"And our report holds the voices of women who are survivors, of experts and specialists and this is a strong theme that we've had brought to us, this need for consistency and we've thought about the response of having specialist domestic violence courts that have a statutory base."

The report also urged a new offence of non-lethal strangulation be added to the criminal code.