DOMESTIC violence towards women from ethnic minorities has reached "shocking levels", a charity has claimed.

In the 18 months that Worcester Women's Aid domestic violence outreach service has been running, 120 abused women have sought their help, a third of whom are from an ethnic minority -

even though just 3.5 per

cent of Worcester's population are from ethnic minorities, according to the last census carried out in 2001.

The charity's Val Turner said recent cases included women who claimed they were:

Made to have sex with animals

Given date rape drugs before being sexually abused and raped

Locked up in their own houses

Forced into prostitution

Deprived of sleep and had their heads held

under water if they closed their eyes.

In one case, a young Asian woman was forced to sleep on the doorstep all night after refusing to hand over her payslip to her sister-in-law.

The service now desperately needs an extra member of staff to concentrate solely on this issue - but is hampered by lack of funding.

"These things are happening on our doorsteps," said Ms Turner.

"These women are in fear of their lives and sadly, in some cases, are taking their own lives."

She said that although domestic violence was a problem among all nationalities, the fact that many Asian women could not speak English made it much harder for them to get help.

She is now urging anyone who suspects a woman is being abused at home to get in touch.

"We can't access ethnic communities so we need women who are a part of them to come to us," she said.

"We can offer support and advice to victims who either want to stay in their own home or who need to go into a refuge."

Anyone wishing to get in touch can call 0800 980 3331 (24 hours), or 01905 767333 (office hours).

Statistics reveal nearly 600 women in Worcester, Malvern Hills and Wychavon reported domestic violence incidents to the police between April 1, 2004 to March 31, 2005.

They included 403 woundings or grievous/actual bodily harm, 97 cases of common assault, 41 harassments, 21 threats or conspiracies to murder, four sexual assaults, three rapes, three woundings or endangering life, two indecent assaults and one murder - involving Frederick Jobson and his wife, Nancy, from Broadway, in September 2004.

But a spokesman for South Worcestershire Police said the statistics produced by Worcester Women's Aid did not reflect domestic violence offences reported to them.

Of the 575 domestic violence crimes reported, 19, or approximately three per cent, were from ethnic minorities.

"There is clearly a disparity between the percentage of ethnic victims who are currently prepared to report these serious offences to the police and those who are prepared only to speak about them to a non-statutory body, such as Worcester Women's Aid," the police spokesperson said.

"Fortunately, our day-to-day experiences of domestic violent crime convince us that the tide is steadily turning, both in terms of women generally and those from ethnic minority groups.

He added because of the close relationships it is often difficult to gain convictions for domestic violence offences.

Dr Mohammed Aslam, chief executive of Worcestershire Racial Equality Council, said around 12 women a year sought help from his organisation after suffering domestic violence.

"The figures from Worcester Women's Aid are very disturbing and we are very concerned if this is a true reflection of domestic violence towards women of ethnic minorities," he said.

Domestic violence offences can be reported to South Worcestershire Police on 08457 444888 or anonymously to CrimeStoppers on the freephone line 0800 555111.