WOMEN in West Oxfordshire who have escaped abusive relationships could be given a lifeline by a new support group.

Deborah Robson-Grey, from Witney, is seeking to launch the group to help women like her sister-in-law Debbie, who was murdered following a long-term abusive relationship.

Mrs Robson-Grey has appealed for funding to run a weekly support session for four months, starting in the new year, for up to 20 women who were in abusive relationships to talk about their experiences in a confidential setting.

Working with an experienced trainer, the facilitated sessions will seek to empower women to turn their life around and discourage them from returning to abusive partners.

Mrs Robson-Grey said she felt she needed to do something after friends kept asking her to help women they worried were being abused.

The 50-year-old said: “It’s a dark place, it carries shame and judgements and you can get stuck with the view that you deserve to be treated this way.

"It can be very hard and scary to escape.

“The people who do this are very clever, it’s a slow coercion and the woman is trapped.

“If you survive and manage to get out, your experiences stay with you for the rest of your life.

“There are lots of people out there who have not been given the support they need and the repercussions are huge.”

The sessions are estimated to cost up to £4,000 for room hire, training fees, text books and to help with the cost of child care for participants.

Mrs Robson-Grey is looking at funding sources and is appealing for people to donate if they want to support the initiative.

Her sister, Debbie, was killed in her home in Wheatley in 2008 at the age of 47 after suffering a campaign of violent abuse at the hands of her husband Russell Yeates.

Yeates was accused of killing her with a knife after chasing her through the streets, but took his own life in his cell at HMP Bullingdon before his trial concluded in 2009.

Mrs Robson-Grey said she wants to stop women suffering in silence and help them break out of a mindset that can justify the abuse.

One domestic abuse survivor, who spoke to the Witney Gazette anonymously, backed Mrs Robson-Gray's plans.

The woman said she was left feeling 'depressed, guilty and emotionally traumatised' when her partner turned abusive a-year-and-a-half into a three year relationship.

She said: "He was my best friend but he changed overnight.

"It was constant verbal abuse and I was hit by him when I tried to speak back.

"I felt ashamed, I kept it very hidden, even my family don't know."

It was only after a doctor raised the alarm and the woman was given a domestic abuse support worker that she began to stop blaming herself for what was happening.

She said: "You don't know where to turn or whether any one will believe you.

"Having a place to go that is safe and anonymous is very important."

A strategic review by Oxfordshire County Council last year found that there were 11,792 incidents of domestic abuse reported to Thames Valley Police in Oxfordshire in 2015-16.

However 71 per cent of victims do not report it to the police.

In a separate development, councillors from West Oxfordshire District Council will today vote on whether to approve funding of up to £35,000 per year for three years for domestic abuse services.

To support the service with funding or to find out more email deborahrobsongrey@hotmail.com