00:03When Stella Magna Salas walked out of court 12 months ago, she felt relieved to have achieved
00:09justice for her and her daughter. I thought, if he's going to kill me, she will be left with him,
00:17I have to do something different, and that was my driving force. Her ex-husband, a police officer
00:23for 12 years, Matthew Alan Thompson, was sentenced to two years and three months jail after admitting
00:29to six assaults over five years, but he was given a non-parole period of 12 months and
00:35he's now applied to be released. What would you say to the parole board when they're considering
00:40his application? To serve his entire term in prison is a risk to society, period. After Stella Magna Salas
00:52met Thompson in 2013, she was repeatedly threatened, degraded and bashed, leaving her fearful for her
00:59life.
00:59Curling up into a ball, stomping on my head. And all I remember is just asking him to stop,
01:09to please stop. And I remember saying that I'm sorry.
01:15Stella Magna Salas says she's now determined to help other women escape abusive relationships.
01:21She also wants to change the way police and other organisations handle domestic violence
01:27cases.
01:28Simple, open-ended question can lead to life-changing outcomes. It saves lives. Is everything okay?
01:36Are you all right at home? What's going on there?
01:40We know that we won't get it right if we don't listen really carefully to people who have
01:46direct lived experience.
01:48In a statement, SA Police says it's progressing domestic and family violence reforms, including
01:54enhancing policy, training, practice and oversight. Ms Magna Salas says she's struggled to navigate
02:00the corrections and parole systems to find out when Thompson could be released. She's advocating
02:05for trauma-informed policies to be at the centre of domestic violence reforms and wants the
02:11recommendations of last year's Royal Commission to be addressed.
02:14I have my daughter. She keeps me on my toes. She keeps me on track. And we bounce off of
02:22each
02:22other and ensures me that I'm using this as a platform for others. So I'm hopeful.
02:31The Parole Board says Thompson is currently completing a domestic and family violence intervention program.
02:37Any parole decision is not expected until at least mid-October.
