Labor MP Emma Husar gives emotional account of growing up with domestic violence.

The House of Representatives came to an emotional standstill when Labor MP Emma Husar gave a tearful personal account of domestic violence.

The Western Sydney politician cried while describing the many nights she spent in hostels and refuges as her mother fled an abusive partner.

“The first 13 years of my life were marred with physical domestic violence committed towards my mother at the hands of my always drunk and abusive father,” she said.

“My father had been raised in a home where violence was the accepted norm at a time when society said these things were private matters.

“While the blows that landed on my mother during my childhood didn’t land on me physically, they may as well have. The trauma inflicted was the same.”

Ms Husar said her mother often moved her between hostels once her father discovered where they had been staying.

On occasion, the police were called to her home.

“I still remember sitting in the police station — well into the early hours of the morning — and the officers giving us pink milk,” she said.

“Again, after this event, mum returned home.

“We know many women return home time and time again, even when their lives were massively disrupted along with their children.

“I hope the blame that was launched at my mum in the 1990s for not leaving is no longer a part of the solution around domestic violence.”

Ms Husar said she was embarrassed and ashamed of her experiences for many years, despite knowing she should not have been.

“I hope that today I have lent my voice and my story and my passion for advocating for change to the choir of the White Ribbon movement to stand up, speak up and act,” she said while fighting back tears.

Ms Husar said she stood in solidarity with all who had experienced domestic violence and would continue to advocate for change in Parliament.

This post originally appeared on ABC News.