Victims of controlling relationships 'suffering in silence' in Leeds
Charities say still not enough victims know they're being abused
Almost three years after a new law took force, we're hearing still not enough women in Leeds are reporting if they're in controlling relationships.
West Yorkshire Police have recorded more than a thousand offences of coercive and controlling behaviour since 2015.
But charities say a lot of women still don't know it counts as abuse, as new stats today show more than a quarter don't trust the legal system to treat it as a crime.
Khela Begum's from the Shantona Women's Centre in Leeds:
"It knocks your confidence. It can't be seen and even explaining to someone that you've been a victim of domestic abuse, people don't always understand because people simply thing domestic abuse is phycial violence. Women find it reallt hard to believe that people take it seriously. Because it can't be seen, it's not happening.
"Without evidence, the abusive partner can't be challenged or taken to court. Proving that becomes very very difficult. If it's controlling behaviour then you have to keep a record of the text messages or provide witnesses - if someone can give evidence of 'I heard him talkig to her like that'."
The research has been done by the Avon Foundation for Women. They also found neearly half of British women report that they or someone they know's been a victim of gender-based violence.
There are now calls for more to be done in schools to teach kids about healthy relationships and the different types of domestic abuse.
Jaz Tor, from the Shantona Women's Centre, says three years on from the new law, they're still not getting many cases through:
"There's still a lot of women out there who don't recognise that somebody calling you a name can be domestic abuse. It's ignored a lot - women tend to just sit back and think, oh he just called me a name, that's not domestic violence. But our role is to get those women to recognise that actually this isn't right."