SIOBHAN Baillie’s excellent letter (SNJ February 6) is very timely, for we do indeed need a national conversation about domestic abuse, write readers John Geale and Jane Mace.

We also need to reallocate resources – not least to restore three out of the four women’s refuges in Gloucestershire that have had to close their doors in recent years, following withdrawal of public funding.

For very many of the abused that she refers to, the draft Domestic Abuse Bill will not be enough.

It will help, but it will not solve the problem.

In support of her call for increased public awareness, the good news is the launch in our area this month of a new play by Journeymen Theatre called ‘Rock and a Hard Place’.

This tells the real story of a young woman they call ‘Kayleigh’ – and also shines a light on what we can do.

At the start of their national tour, the first performances will be in Gloucestershire at

Stroud Subscription Rooms, 7.30pm, February 28, subscriptionnrooms.org.uk

Chantry Centre, Dursley, 4pm, March 3, eventbrite.co.uk and

Sundial Theatre, Cirencester, 7.30pm, March 8, sundial-theatre.co.uk

Please help promote this opportunity to expose the hidden violence suffered by too many women and their children – and the need for services to support them.

John Geale and Jane Mace on behalf of Gloucestershire Quakers