Experiences and perceptions of domestic abuse will be sought in the first survey into violence against women in the Jewish community.

Jewish Women's Aid will survey both service users and other Jewish women about domestic violence and the way it is perceived.

It will be conducted by Dr Sarah Abramson, senior policy researcher at the Board of Deputies, who said: "Whatever we might think, no research has ever found that domestic violence is more prevalent in any race, ethnic group or religion. It will affect one-in-four Jewish women.

"We are also sending a survey to other domestic violence charities to ask them about Jewish women who have used their services - and if they think it is necessary to have a Jewish domestic violence charity."

There will be face-to-face interviews with up to 300 women who have used JWA, an online survey of other women and comparative research with other domestic violence charities in the UK, the US, Canada and Israel. Dr Abramson hopes to publish the research in February.

JWA executive director Emma Bell explained that the survey was "partly inspired by the fact that in the last financial year the number of women we supported in the community increased by over 50 per cent and the numbers who sought counselling through us also doubled.

"We want to know what people think domestic violence is. Have they experienced it? Do they know people who have? What would they do if they were abused?"

The JWA survey is available via www.surveymonkey.com/s/JWASurvey_Pub