DOMESTIC abuse victims are able to access specialist help and advice thanks to Welsh Water’s new portal.

The company has added a portal at the foot of all of the pages on its website which will direct users to free specialist domestic abuse support services and helplines. Users are also able to complete a questionnaire to assess the safety of their relationship, and access information on sexual violence, stalking and harassment.

It is part of the company’s support to the ‘Online Safe Spaces’ initiative to support victims and comes as statistics showed that there was a seven per cent increase in domestic abuse reports across England and Wales last summer.

Dyfed Powys Police received 900 reports of domestic abuse in August, compared with 350 reports per month in 2017.

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Royal Mail developed the technology and it can be used in the confidence that the webpage does not appear in internet browsing history and has an immediate exit function if victims need to close down the page quickly.

Welsh Water director of people and workforce, Martin Driscoll, said: “The safety and wellbeing of our customers and our employees is at the heart of everything we do at Welsh Water. Domestic abuse can be incredibly isolating, and we want to do all we can to help victims and make it as easy as possible for them to safely access the help they need.

“Including a link to the Online Safe Spaces portal on our website helps to increase the number of opportunities for victims to safely access professional support. We’re pleased and proud to be able to offer this to anyone visiting our website.”

The Online Safe Spaces portal can be found on dwrcymru.com