A HARD-HITTING national campaign raising awareness of domestic violence is receiving support in Gwent.

The Refuge project will run until March with high-visibility Don't Ignore It posters being placed in selected pedestrian locations across the UK. Detective Inspector Martin Dew, from the Gwent Police family support unit, said he backed the Refuge poster campaign.

He said: "The biggest difficulty we have is encouraging victims to come forward, but Gwent Police is looking to overcome this through thorough investigations where a complaint is not always necessary."

DI Dew said the force dealt with between 3,500 and 4,000 domestic violence incidents every year, and that these were spread throughout all sections of society.

Gary Griffiths, from Victim Support in Gwent, said: "There are many people who decide they don't want to report domestic violence, and they suffer in silence.

"The campaign will raise awareness about domestic violence, which in the past has not been really recognised.

"In the past few years people are starting to recognise it as totally unacceptable."

A 39-year-old former victim of domestic violence, from Malpas, who asked to remain anonymous, said campaigns had to be as shocking as possible to raise awareness.

The mother of two said: "When I was going through it I thought I was the only one.

"I was going through it for ten years, but no-one seemed to know. Neighbours thought we were the perfect couple."

Sandra Horley, OBE, chief executive of Refuge, said: "The poster message is loud and clear - domestic violence is unacceptable, and everyone has a part to play in preventing the problem.

"By recognising that domestic violence is a crime and by realising that we're all accountable for the extent of the problem, we can bring about the changes in attitude that we so desperately need."