"We realise the true rates of violence are much higher but there are significant barriers to women disclosing, not least of which is the risk of escalating violence if the disclosure is discovered, and the fear that their children will be removed from their care if they are living with violence," said Dr Claydon.
"However, our experiences have shown that by using universal screening, we are helping young women learn about the significance of power and control in relationships and identify abusive behaviour much earlier."
Tauranga Living Without Violence general manager Mary Beresford-Jones said they saw 186 women who suffered from domestic violence in the past year, a 34 per cent increase over the previous year.
The organisation works with victims of domestic violence - some of the women they see have been at risk of losing their lives and suffered from years of emotional abuse.
Mrs Beresford-Jones said their programmes offered women support and information about how to deal with the effects of domestic violence.
The organisation does an initial risk assessment with the women, then a safety assessment and safety plan of their home or immediate situation and then offers them a free 19-week course on the effects of domestic violence.
The number of women reported above does not include all the referrals from organisations, such as police, where women decline the help.
Homes of Hope chief executive Hilary Price said the number of children getting caught up in abuse and/or neglect was still a worry.
The home could house up to 18 children at any one time with an average of 16 children but was currently home to 11 children.
They could have been subjected to physical, mental, emotional and sexual abuse themselves, she said.
"In general, these children have attachment problems. They have trouble controlling and expressing emotions and then they act violently or inappropriately to situations and often overreact."
Western Bay of Plenty police Inspector Karl Wright-St Clair said one positive trend they were seeing was an increase in neighbours and third parties reporting concerns to police.
"It's clear the majority of people in our communities do not condone violence."
Staff in the front line saw a spectrum of offending from emotional to physical violence.
"Unfortunately there are some occasions where victims suffer serious injuries, but we have a strong focus on high risk victims and offenders, as well as repeat victims, and we work closely with other agencies to identify early interventions and put support plans in place, which help to prevent many situations from escalating.
"We are certainly receiving more calls for service to domestic violence and we believe this is indicative of the growing trust and confidence in the police and other agencies to provide support and hold offenders to account."
Noelle, 7, raises $292 for charity
Noelle Tito, 7, was able to raise $292.20 for Homes of Hope after she learnt what the organisation was for.
Noelle's grandmother Marion Sanders said when she found out what Homes of Hope was she went into her bedroom for an hour-and-a-half and came out with an action plan on a poster on how she could raise money for them.
She spoke to her entire school, Tauranga Adventist School, and rallied other children to help her with a bake sale.
In her own words Homes of Hope was "for children who don't have mummies and daddies". Noelle hoped the money would be used to help Homes of Hope children with horse riding lessons, swimming and art classes.
