A Dartmouth woman is aiming to complete a marathon-busting challenge this month to raise awareness for victims of domestic abuse.

Ms Lawford Smith, 35, has set herself a target of running at least two kilometres a day to raise funds for Refuge, the country’s largest charity dedicated to providing help to victims of domestic abuse.

“The idea is to get people moving and get them talking about the charity, but I'm aiming for 80 to 100 kilometres over the course of the month – that’s my goal,” she said.

One woman on average is killed every five days in England and Wales by a current or former partner - representing 64.5 per cent of all domestic homicides, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

More commonly, one in four women will face domestic abuse at some point in their life, and although people of all genders are impacted by this crime, victims are mostly female, as they make up 72.5 per cent of the total (a recent report from the ONS found that nearly 1.6 million women in England and Wales experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2024).

However, as the ONS pointed out, domestic abuse is often a hidden crime that is not reported to the police, meaning data held by the police could just be the tip of an iceberg.

Although not a victim herself, Ms Lawford Smith said people she knew had been directly affected by this scourge.

“There's a sort of stigma around domestic abuse and it being just about physical violence. And actually there's a whole other aspect in terms of emotional abuse, and that's something that maybe isn't spoken about as much. People close to me have experienced that and seen the impact of that,” she stressed.

With the aid of a running app, Ms Lawford Smith calculates she has so far run more than 30 kilometres, raising almost £450 for the charity in the process. She is now close to reaching her £500-funding target ahead of the February 28 deadline, when she is due to complete the run.

Asked how people could help to open up the debate around the issue, she said there was no shame in talking about their experiences and reaching out to the domestic abuse helpline set up by Refuge, as it can offer victims a range of services.

“Getting more visibility and presence around that is really important, so that people know what's potentially available if it's something that either they're experiencing or that they see others experiencing,” she added.

Refuge provides advice for those experiencing domestic abuse in addition to offering emotional support and access to additional services. To contact the charity, call the 0808 200247 helpline.

Donations for Lisa's Fundraiser for Refuge can also be made online at justgiving.com.