An event to raise awareness about domestic abuse and encourage discussion of the problem is to be held at a Hamilton nightclub tonight.

Nicole E. Robinson, one of the organisers, hopes other people will find the strength to speak out after she shares some of her own experiences.

The 46-year-old is part of a women’s group called Dreams, Visions and Realities, set up to hold events and parties in aid of good causes.

Part of the proceeds from the evening at Cosmopolitan on Front Street in Hamilton will go to the Centre Against Abuse, which offers crisis support to victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault.

Ms Robinson explained: “It’s not a female event, it’s a male and female event because abuse is everybody, we’re trying to reach as many people as possible so that we can get a handle on this abuse.”

She added: “It’s like a social event for healing.

“We have to be aware that if we don’t talk about things we are not helping people.”

Ms Robinson said: “If you haven’t been abused you don’t know what it’s like to try to get out — when you have invested time in a relationship, it’s not that easy to walk away because you can’t.

“You lose yourself in a situation as well. People say, you’re strong, that won’t happen to you, but when you’re in a relationship and love is involved, you get weakened.”

She explained that some people in abusive relationships can try to make things work because they fear “failure” and may focus their energy on ensuring people around them are all right, rather than themselves.

Ms Robinson, a senior trust administrator for Clarien Bank, said victims could also feel they had done something wrong.

However, she said: “It’s never about you, it’s always about the other person.”

She added: “Domestic abuse is not just physical — it’s mental and emotional, and people have to understand that.”

Ms Robinson, from Devonshire, added: “It develops depression, it develops anxiety, it develops a loss of self-confidence and self-respect, you get into this negative way.”

Laurie Shiell-Smith, the executive director at the Centre Against Abuse, said: “We are thankful to Nicole for being an advocate and being a voice in the community.

“We are thankful for her wanting to do this to raise funds for us but also actually to do this for her community because she has a heart to help others.

“She has seen that this is a way that she can assist others with either getting help or knowing what to do.”

The event, which costs $15, starts at 6pm.

Dennie O’Connor, the owner of Cosmopolitan, said he was happy to open the club early for a good cause.

A Women in Politics forum organised by the Progressive Labour Party’s women’s caucus last month heard domestic violence should be treated as a national priority.

Ms Shiell-Smith told the group that the Centre Against Abuse had helped more than 1,500 people over the past ten years.

But she added that, although the numbers were “astronomical”, only a “small number of victims” asked for help.