Clampdown on domestic violence

Four out of ten adults know a victim of domestic violence, research suggests.

But it does not happen only behind closed doors - 42 per cent of people have seen someone physically or verbally abused in a social situation.

The findings were published yesterday at the launch of a shock advertising campaign which aims to tackle the problem.

A £2million cinema trailer, rated 15, shows a man bullying and slapping a woman in a restaurant as other diners watch.

Sandra Horley, chief executive of campaign group Refuge, said it was a metaphor for the way society still shied away from tackling domestic violence. 'It is a crime and it must not be ignored,' she added.

A survey of 1,000 families, for Refuge and cosmetics retailer The Body Shop, suggests nearly 19million people know someone who has suffered at the hands of a violent partner. Almost 80 per cent said domestic violence was one of the country's major crimes which needed to be stamped out.

Body Shop founder Dame Anita Roddick said: 'One in four women is abused in her lifetime and two women die every week at the hands of current and former boyfriends or husbands.'

Describing the figures as devastating, she said they should 'compel everyone to sit up, listen and help stop violence in the home'.

The Body Shop is raising funds for Refuge by asking customers to recycle old mobile phones - with £2.75 from each one going to the charity - or buy £1 daisy pins to help launch a national website.

Refuge runs a 24-hour domestic violence helpline on freephone 0808 808 9999.