Domestic violence victims feel scared and ignored by South Australian authorities The alleged killer's reaction minutes after the fatal stabbing of his wife caught on CCTV. courts inquest - domestic violence victim Zahra Abrahimzadeh Source: Supplied FRIGHTENED and intimidated victims of domestic violence feel let down by police and say repeated requests for help are being ignored. Victims and women's groups are urging police to do more to enforce restraining orders, and they question whether sufficient resources are being allocated. Their call comes as a coronial inquest into the brutal stabbing murder of domestic violence victim Zahra Abrahimzadeh unravels "a cascade of errors" by SA Police . The mother was stabbed to death by her husband Zialloh, 57, in front of 300 witnesses. Women's Domestic Violence Services of SA co-chair Vicki Lachlan said those who accessed the service often felt police failed to take reports seriously enough. "Intervention orders on paper give police far stronger powers to intervene in DV, they can be proactive and promote zero tolerance of it," she said. More: Zahra petrified of being killed but no police patrol sent However, in our experience it is when the orders are breached that the police do not take it seriously. Ms Lachlan said many estranged husbands or partners used public areas, including shopping centres or workplaces, to stalk their victims - which left victims in a "no-win situation" trying to prove they were being followed. The level of fear escalates for the woman, and if she does report that he has been near - the first time, the second time and so on. The police do not necessarily see how the fear factor increases, or take the fact that she saw him at the shopping centre seriously," she said. We believe that every instance of a breach should be taken seriously. The fear factor and intimidation play a huge role in how or if a woman feels safe after she may have been experiencing violence and abuse over a long period of time when she was with him. Eastern Adelaide Domestic Violence Service case manager Tessa Baker said the lack of support Mrs Abrahimzadeh received was not uncommon among other victims. "When the restraining orders are breached, if nothing can be proven then police don't enforce anything," Ms Baker said. Zialloh Abrahimzadeh, just after he stabbed his wife to death at the Adelaide Convention Centre in front of 300 people. It leaves women vulnerable ... and leads to a lack of reporting because women know that if he does something, there's no point in reporting it because nothing will be done. Police need to enforce intervention orders no matter what happens, instead of saying there's nothing they can do. Commissioner for Victim's Rights Michael O'Connell said Mrs Abrahimzadeh's case was "not an isolated incident." "Often offenders exploit loopholes in the law and short comings in organisational responses in order to continue exercising power over their victim," he said. The focus should be on the systemic failures, including addressing the question of whether there is adequate resources invested in dealing with a violent household. Victims who ask for help should not be left feeling that their pleas are futile and hopeless. During Zialloh's trial for Mrs Abrahimzadeh's murder, jurors heard he had subjected his wife and their three children to years of physical and verbal abuse. The subsequent inquest has heard police failed to track down Mr Zialloh after he made repeated threats to kill his wife, despite having an intervention order in place. The inquest also heard a call centre worker was told Mrs Abrahimzadeh was "petrified" she was going to be killed but failed to follow standard operating procedure and send a patrol. SA Victim's Support Service manager David Kerr said police also needed more resources in high-risk areas of Adelaide to respond to domestic violence cases quicker and more effectively. Assistant Police Commissioner Tom Osborn said police held domestic violence offenders accountable "wherever possible." "Some examples of this include arresting or reporting an offender for an offence, considering the eligibility for bail and /or imposing appropriate bail conditions to protect a victim; referring a victim to specialised domestic violence agencies for further support, using emergency safe accommodation, and issuing or facilitating an application for an intervention order," he said. SAPOL provides timely contact, support and referral for assistance to domestic violence victims when matters are reported to them. Mr Osborn said police needed "reasonable suspicion" to arrest someone for breaching an intervention order. "Evidence is gathered from as many sources as possible to establish this, including directly from the victim in many cases," he said. Counsel assisting the coroner for the inquest - which has been adjourned until March - has said that the murder was precipitated by a "cascade" of police inaction and omissions, after Ms Abrahimzadeh and her three children fled the family home in February 2009. Adelaide mother "Lisa" fears the next time her estranged husband attacks, someone will be murdered. The mother of three and her extended family have been constantly terrorised by her former partner for the past two months, despite having an intervention order in place, and she says their pleas for help are repeatedly ignored by police. "He's had 15 breaches in the last week and we call them every time he does something and sometimes they don't even come out," she said. I'm worried he's either going to kill one of us, or take my children away. I'm going to be the next (Zahra Abrahimzadeh), that's going to be me and (the police) will feel bad and apologise then, but that's not going to bring me back for my kids. Lisa said her family suffers violent acts of vandalism and property damage almost daily. She said she lives in a constant state of fear without support from police. "The police have just told me time and time again that their hands are tied," she said. We even hired a security guard for $1000 for five nights and it was the only time we felt safe, but you can't do that forever because it costs so much money. We try to stay in hotels when it gets really bad, but then you run out of money and have to go home and then that might be the night he attacks. I don't even know why we have police if they can't help in situations like this. Lisa said supporting domestic violence victims needed to be made a priority before more people were killed. "There needs to be harsher penalties and police need to pay more attention," she said. It's escalating and I'm worried the next step will be that he kills someone. Even if he does go to jail for the rest of his life then, it won't bring that person back.