The courts will sit one day a week in Wolverhampton.

Magistrates and court staff are to be given special training to deal with domestic violence.

It is hoped the scheme will help reduce the number of repeat cases.

This specialist court can help to provide a more user friendly environment for cases to be heard

Sue Lindup, Domestic Violence Forum

The performance of the courts will be monitored over the next year by the Regional Research Institute at Wolverhampton University.

Sue Lindup of Wolverhampton Domestic Violence Forum said: "I am really pleased that after two years of discussions a specialist domestic violence court is being launched in Wolverhampton, which will be accompanied by a support service for victims

"The vast majority of victims of domestic violence are women, many of whom have experienced domestic violence repeatedly.

"The development of this specialist court can help to provide a more user friendly environment for their cases to be heard."

Domestic murders

Superintendent Paddy Mulligan from Wednesbury police station said: "Each month there are approximately 100 domestic violence incidents at Wolverhampton courts.

"By supporting this new court, we should see the number of repeat victims fall."

Nationally, the Crown Prosecution Service deals with 13,000 cases of domestic violence a year.

One-third of all murders in England and Wales are classed as 'domestic'.

Changes in law

It is a major cause of offences, accounting for a quarter of all cases of violent crime.

Earlier this year Solicitor General Harriet Harman called for changes in the law to protect women from domestic violence.

She called on the Law Commission - the independent body which advises the government on law changes - to carry out an in-depth review of how domestic violence cases are tackled.

And she said there would be further changes in law to show women courts were "on their side" and to prove the government's "renewed commitment" to tackling the problem.