THAMES Valley Police has this week taken part in a national campaign highlighting how the force tackles domestic abuse.

As part of the national focus on domestic abuse running this week, forces will be explaining what they do to protect victims of abuse and highlighting the work of partner agencies.

The aim is to encourage more people living with domestic abuse to seek help.

Domestic abuse includes physical violence, sexual assault, emotional and psychological abuse, and financial abuse. It also includes the threat of violence, destruction of property, isolation from family and friends, and control over access to money, personal items, food and phones.

Det Insp Ivan Reaney said: “Domestic Abuse is a major issue in our society, with more than one in four women and more than one in six men experiencing this type of abuse each year.

“Domestic Abuse also has a significant impact on children who witness it in the family home.For a variety of reasons, many victims do not report domestic incidents.

“Thames Valley Police and our partners want to protect victims from abuse. We would actively encourage victims to come forward to receive the support they need.”

A new scheme is being implemented nationally allowing the disclosure of information about an individual’s history of domestic violence offending, known as Clare’s Law, following the case of Clare Wood who was murdered by her former partner in Manchester in 2009.

The scheme aims to help people to make a more informed decision on whether to continue a relationship, to take steps to protect themselves and any children and will provide help and support to assist people when making that choice.

Thames Valley Police is hosting a Tweetathon between 7am and 7pm on Thursday in support of the Association of Chief Police Officers 'In Focus' week. The Force will be tweeting about the domestic abuse incidents reported to its control rooms using #TVP_infocus as well as the work being undertaken across the Force to tackle domestic abuse and to support victims.

The Force is also tweeting throughout the week, on @ThamesVP All messages will be linked by #speakouttoday #infocus #domesticabuse Police can be contacted on 101.