Speaking at the 'Victorian Women are Sick of Small Change' webinar earlier this week, Women's Health Goulburn North East chief executive Amanda Kelly urged listeners to think about the experience of one woman, 'Lyn'.

Ms Kelly recounted the real story of how Lyn, a child sexual assault survivor, had married, moved to country Victoria and gave up her part-time job to supervise her daughter's home learning during COVID-19 before her husband became abusive.

"She didn't want to ask for help because everyone was under stress and she could manage it, she was OK," she said.

"And she was OK until the morning her daughter found her unconscious in bed."

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Ms Kelly said Lyn had been unconscious for hours by the time that help arrived.

"She is now in hospital, her daughter is in care, her husband is still out working," she said.

"She is recovering, but very slowly and learning to manage the damage that a low-level infection caused that had been there for weeks and weeks untended and she now has a brain injury."

Ms Kelly was one of 12 Victorian women's health service chief executives to call for more funding at the webinar, which released data showing the deterioration of women's health before and during the pandemic.

According to the data, of Victorian women, more than half aren't getting enough physical exercise and about 40 per cent are depressed or anxious.

In the North East, Ms Kelly said over half (53.5 per cent) of all women in Benalla had experienced anxiety or depression at some stage in their lives, while in Wangaratta family violence rates were higher than the state average.

But Ms Kelly hoped Lyn's story would shine a light on the real people behind the statistics.

"When we think about one in five women, or we think about 50 per cent, or we think about 10 per cent of the population, we need to think about how many women there are and all those different levels of distress and ill health that Lyn is dealing with," she said.

"COVID-19 has decimated women's health and wellbeing, and gender inequality persists in North-East Victoria and the Goulburn Valley.

"Without dedicated investment in our services and primary prevention, the health and wellbeing of women in our region will continue to decline."

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