Council chiefs in St Helens are supporting an anti-domestic abuse campaign being timed to co-incide with Valentine’s Day.
The campaign - dubbed Be a Lover not a Fighter - is being run by Champs, a collaboration of public health services across the nine local authorities in Cheshire and Merseyside.
It will launch a series of awareness raising initiatives to encourage people to talk about domestic abuse.
Liz Gaulton, St Helens’ director of public health, said: “Even in the 21st Century domestic abuse is a taboo subject.
“This campaign aims to break down those boundaries and stop domestic abuse being a hidden issue in communities.
“We are already working closely with a number of partners from community safety, specialist services and police on the issue of domestic abuse.”