An overwhelming majority of women who take out apprehended violence orders believe they are effective in deterring violent partners, a new survey reveals.

The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research study also showed 98 per cent of women who experienced physical violence, no longer did after taking out an AVO.

But the recent death of Sydney hairdresser Leila Alavi, who had taken out an AVO against her husband, was one of the many instances where the orders have been unable to prevent tragedy.

The Bureau's director, Dr Don Weatherburn, said although AVOs did not stop all offenders from committing acts of violence, it was important that woman not be dissuaded from seeking them.

"There is no question that apprehended violence orders are effective but they are not a miracle cure," Dr Weatherburn said.

"There are breaches but what would the world look like if we don't have these orders. The answer is a lot worse."

As part of the Bureau's research, 147 women were interviewed over 30weeks in 2014 to identify behaviour of defendants before and after an AVO was taken out.

"We followed a large group of women before and after to find out whether AVOs reduced stalking, intimidation, violence – which they do," Dr Weatherburn said.

"The response was that overwhelming yes [AVOs] were effective."

The results, published in the Bureau's Crime and Justice Bulletin, showed that 24 per cent of women had experienced stalking before an AVO was taken out, compared to 3.7 per cent after an order was made.

Of the 47.6 per cent of women who had been subject to threats of physical assaults, only 2.4 per cent reported this behaviour after they sought an AVO.

More than 54 per cent of respondents said they had been victims of intimidation before an order was made but 19.8 per cent still experienced intimidating behaviour afterwards.

The Women's Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service program co-ordinator Tanya Whitehouse said for many women, applying for the AVO was a huge step and reporting further problems was often a step too far.

"Women have a fear of what will happen if they do the report," she said. "It's a very difficult thing to have the courage to tell police initially, let alone to keep reporting."

Mrs Whitehouse said while AVOs were a "good safety measure for women" there were ways in which the system could be improved to make women feel safer about reporting AVO breaches.

"Police are restricted in being able to charge for breaches because they need evidence," she said. "It is really hard to prove things like stalking."

She said women's reluctance to report breaches contributed to this.

"It might be she got a phone call and he's not supposed to ring her and she doesn't want to report it.

"By not reporting it there is a possibility of it escalating."