Abuse can affect any woman or man from any background at any stage in their lives. Here eight women helped by Norfolk and Suffolk charities share their stories.

•Read and watch videos here from eight women describing how they broke free from domestic abuse

•What's being done to tackle refuge shortage?

Extra funding will mean women fleeing domestic abuse in Norfolk are less likely to be turned away from the county's packed shelters.

A rise in women reporting domestic violence and fleeing from abusers means charities such as Leeway, which provide safehouses for in Norfolk and Waveney, have not always had a free bed.

In the last six months, Leeway said 41 women needed a bed when none was free. In other parts of the country, funding cuts have meant shelters have closed completely meaning women have nowhere to go locally.

'We have been quite lucky in Norfolk,' said Leeway chief executive Mandy Proctor, pictured right, 'There was only a very small amount of savings we had to make a couple of years ago, but I know nationally there are problems.'

The charity receives funding from the Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) but need more space to meet the demand.

Ms Proctor also said time spent by women in their shelters was increasing because there was a lack of social housing for them to move in to.

It means women are staying between eight months and two years in the refuges.

But more beds and services are now being provided thanks to £200,000 of extra funding from the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) which will last for two years.

One bid led by King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council and another by Norwich City Council for £100,000 each were successful earlier this year. In Suffolk, the DCLG awarded more than £500,000 of funding.

Norfolk County Council, meanwhile, has commissioned Leeway to support children and their parents living in the refuges.

A council spokesman said they had also trained 800 staff as domestic abuse champions and are working with the PCC's office, police and the city council.

Norfolk PCC Lorne Green said he had put more than half of £1m of funding from the Ministry of Justice into supporting victims of domestic abuse.

That includes giving money to charity Victim Support, who help women while they wait for spaces in refuges, and training GPs and staff to better spot signs of domestic abuse.

Mr Green's office has also supported West Norfolk charity Pandora.

•National cuts

Local authorities across England have cut spending on domestic violence refuges by nearly a quarter since 2010, according to research from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

More than three quarters of councils have reduced the amount they spend on women's refuges since 2010, freedom of information requests to councils across England revealed.

Last year Theresa May and the Department for Communities and Local Government announced a £20m pot to fund domestic violence projects. The 76 successful projects were revealed in February.

But the Bureau's survey of 40 refuge managers across England revealed that 95pc of refuges surveyed have turned women away in the last six months, either because they have physical disabilities, complex mental health needs, they had too many children with them or simply because there were no beds available.

•If you need to talk to someone about domestic abuse contact Women's Aid on 0808 2000 247 or Men's Advice Line on 0808 801 0327

•If you are in danger call 999