An online domestic abuse initiative is aimed at encouraging victims to come forward.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland has just launched its campaign for the summer.
The past year has seen the highest level of recorded incidents since figures began in 2004.
The message ‘If you feel like you’re walking on eggshells, that’s domestic abuse’ is designed to encourage the reporting of incidents, and make victims aware they can take steps to stop it.
The campaign will run from now until the end of July.
Detective Superintendent Ryan Henderson from PSNI’s Public Protection Branch said over the holiday period incidents of domestic abuse rise.
From 1 July 2017 until 31 August 2017 there were 5,156 incidents of domestic abuse reported. This is compared to 4,960 incidents the previous year – an increase of 196 incidents.
“Also, when we look at the overall figures for the year we see an increase as well.
“From 1 April 2017 until 31 March 2018, 29,913 domestic abuse incidents were recorded by us– again an increase of 747 incidents compared to the same period the previous year when 29,166 domestic abuse incidents recorded by police,” he said.
“It is the highest level of recorded incidents since we started recording data in 2004/05.”
Detective Superintendent Ryan Henderson believes that this increase shows that the awareness and recognition of domestic abuse is increasing in the public, as is confidence in reporting.
Despite the rise in the number of reported incidents, police still believe that a large number of domestic incidents are going unreported.
The police respond to an incident of domestic abuse every 18 minutes.
In addition to uniformed officers trained to respond to and investigate domestic incidents, PSNI also has dedicated domestic abuse officers across Northern Ireland to ensure all crimes are investigated, as well as providing support and information to victims about police procedures and legal proceedings.
A 24-hour Domestic and Sexual Helpline is available to anyone who has concerns about domestic or sexual violence, now or in the past on 0808 802 1414.
The police strongly encourage anyone suffering from domestic abuse to contact the non-emergency number 101 or in an emergency always call 999.