It leaves victims scared, angry, depressed and feeling worthless.

Those are the words of a formerly violent partner who told how he faced up to the problems of perpetrating domestic abuse.

His experiences along with those of victims and support agencies, were shared at a conference at Kent Police College yesterday aimed at tackling the issue.

Incidents of domestic abuse reported to Kent Police went up by 1,205 to 21,508 between April 2007 and March 2008 compared to the previous year.

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Kent ex-offender David, 43, works as a professional consultant in London and considers himself well-paid and educated.

Last year he was convicted of common assault after an argument with his wife led to him punching her several times.

David gave himself up to police two days later and the following day was convicted of common assault. He was given three years probation and ordered to attend a 27 week Integrated Domestic Abuse Programme (IDAP) to help him face up to what he had done.

“People do not realise how widespread the problem is and that offenders are not the sterotypical type of person you might think they are” said David.

“I have two children with my ex-partner and since I have been convicted I am limited to seeing them for two and a half hours a week. What I did has affected my life entirely and I lost my right to fatherhood.

“My ex-partner was left scared, angry and depressed by the incident. I nearly lost my job because the firm I work for had to have a board meeting to decide if I was bringing the company into disrepute.

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“No area of life is left untouched when people suffer or perpetrate domestic abuse.

The seminar was organised by The Kent and Medway Domestic Violence Strategy Group with the aim of raising awareness of domestic abuse in the run up to Elimination of Violence Against Women Day on November 25.