WOMEN abused by their partners will be granted anonymity in a bid to encourage them to take their attacker to court.

A register of men who have been ordered to stay away from their victim will also be set up to help police track their movements across the country.

The crackdown on domestic violence follows shock research revealing that three people - mainly women - are killed by their partners every week.

One in four women suffers abuse at home, but it takes an average of 35 incidents before the victim contacts the police to make a complaint.

Now the Government wants to ensure it is the abusive partner - rather than the victim - who is forced to move out of a troubled home.

That would be achieved by allowing an interim non-molestation order to be issued, without the need for the police to go to court.

Men who breach the orders will get a criminal record - and face a prison sentence - to stop them being widely ignored.

But Home Secretary David Blunkett does not favour a comprehensive register of abusive partners, similiar to the register of sex offenders.

Instead, he is planning a list of men issued with the civil orders -information that is not currently available to police investigating acomplaint.

Mr Blunkett said: "We are trying to deal with what is an horrendous situation.

"A quarter of all violence is domestic violence.

"We are going to give the power of arrest where it doesn't currently exist and we are going to make sure that children are put first, because moving them like pawns is terrifically disrupting to them.

"But, above all, we are saying to women 'If you are experiencing this, please come forward, please given evidence. Prevention is better than cure'."

Solicitor General Harriet Harman warned the Government was "serious" in getting the message across that wife-beating was unacceptable, and a criminal offence. "Beating your wife is not an all right thing to do if she has wound you up, or she is planning to leave. It is as bad as hitting a stranger in the street, it is a crime, it is criminal assault."

"It is not a family relationship thing - people used to talk about stormy relationships, but we are moving on from that.

"We are talking about criminal assault, GBH and homicide, because that is what domestic violence is." The suggested changes will be the subject of a 12-month consultation.

Updated: 11:10 Thursday, June 19, 2003