The mother of Brisbane murder victim Hannah Clarke will use her family tragedy to educate teenagers across south-east Queensland to recognise relationship red flags.

Key points: Sue Clarke will be among speakers at a workshop aimed at teaching teenagers about coercive control

Sue Clarke will be among speakers at a workshop aimed at teaching teenagers about coercive control The pilot workshop will be held in Brisbane on November 24 for Year 11 and 12 girls and their mothers

The pilot workshop will be held in Brisbane on November 24 for Year 11 and 12 girls and their mothers Beyond DV says it hopes to roll out the program across the state next year, in a bid to stop abusive relationship patterns early

Sue Clarke is joining forces with domestic violence charity Beyond DV to teach Year 11 and 12 girls and their mothers about coercive control, a pattern of behaviour that includes assaults, threats, humiliation and intimidation.

Beyond DV founder Carolyn Robinson said the charity had helped hundreds of women, including many on the Sunshine Coast, to recover from abusive relationships.

But she wants to target young people to try to stop abusive relationships before they start.

"There are signs that can be missed or be brushed off as caring for you, being so interested in you, but they can actually be signs of control," she said.

Mrs Robinson, who started the charity after her daughter's experience with an abusive partner, said she had a lot in common with Mrs Clarke, whose daughter Hannah and her three young children were murdered by her former partner in Camp Hill earlier this year.

"Back in 2017, my daughter went through a domestic violence situation, and obviously the family rallied around her to support her through that," Mrs Robinson said.

Sue Clarke, left, has joined forces with Carolyn Robinson from Beyond DV to educate girls about coercive control. ( ABC Supplied: Beyond DV )

"We felt that after everything had resolved itself through the courts, we really needed to make sure that it wasn't in vain, that something good could come out of a difficult situation.

"Our families come from the same suburb, just ordinary families and I guess for both of us, neither of us ever expected our girls to end up in a situation that they did.

"We realised there were things that we had in common, but probably the main thing being that we didn't want what our kids had gone through to be in vain."

The pilot program will take place next Tuesday in Brisbane, the day before the start of the international campaign, 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.

The campaign runs every year from November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

Dozens of teenagers will hear from people affected by domestic violence, such as Sue Clarke, as well as survivors, the Queensland Police Vulnerable Persons Unit and DV Connect.

"We feel that if they have that knowledge and they just are aware of the signs, then hopefully they can pick up on things that aren't quite right before they get too emotionally invested," Mrs Robinson said.

One in six teens have violent partners

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, an estimated one in six Australian women, or 1.6 million, aged 18 years and over experienced partner violence since the age of 15.

Hannah Clarke left husband Rowan Baxter, taking their three children with her. ( Facebook )

On average, one woman a week is murdered by her present or former partner.

"A story I've heard so often from women is that they've been in multiple abusive relationships because the first real romantic relationship they ever had as a teenager was an abusive one and they knew nothing different," Mrs Robinson said.

She said she felt it was crucial to have the girls' mothers involved in the program as well.

"Sue and I were really lucky. We had great relationships with our daughters and when there was conflict, they were able to confide in us," she said.

"When they made the decision that they'd had enough and it was time to leave, because we had those open lines of communication with them it made it easier for them to take that step and actually move away."

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Mrs Robinson, who is also a former teacher, hopes to expand the workshops to regional Queensland next year.

"This type of face-to-face forum I think would be really, really good and hopefully stop a lot of these abusive relationships before they even really start," she said.

"There are situations where young girls are getting into relationships with young boys who perhaps themselves don't know any better.

"And if they're being told by young women that, ‘look, this is not appropriate behaviour, I'm not going to stand for it', perhaps it is a lesson for them too."

Source: ABC News (AU)

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