A scheme to protect women from domestic abuse by removing violent partners from the family home is to be piloted in three police force areas from next summer, the home secretary, Theresa May, is to announce today.

The go-ahead for domestic violence protection orders forms part of an updated Home Office strategy to tackle sexual and emotional crimes against women and girls.

The 12-month pilot schemes are to be run in Greater Manchester, Wiltshire and West Mercia, and will give the police powers to step in and protect the victim in the immediate aftermath of an attack.

Under the so-called "go orders", the police will be able to ban violent men from the family home initially for 48 hours to prevent the victim from having to flee.

"They help women to break the cycle of domestic violence by giving them the space and time to access the support they need most," said a Home Office spokesman.

"This will fill the gap which often sees victims only receive immediate protection when the attacker is arrested and charged. In cases where no action can be taken or civil injunctions are impossible, the domestic violence protection order will be used."

The civil orders will give the police the power to put an initial notice in place until a court can rule on a longer period of removal from the home, normally 14 to 28 days.

Plans to pilot the "go orders" from this October in Wiltshire and the West Midlands were deferred in July pending the outcome of this autumn's comprehensive spending review. The Home Office was also asked to "explore options for reducing costs of implementation".

A spokesman said that the pilots would help assess the likely final costs and practical issues involved.

May said that tackling violence against women was a priority for her personally and for the government. "These new powers will allow the police to step in when the victims are most vulnerable to give them vital space and time which could ultimately save their lives."

The strategy document being published today will also confirm May's plans to use the proceeds from the £15 victim's surcharge, which is paid by offenders who face court fines, to reverse the decline in rape crisis centres. Her proposals include the opening of new centres where they are most needed.

Deputy Chief Constable Carmel Napier of Gwent police, who is the Association of Chief Police Officers' lead on domestic violence, said that domestic abuse was an enormous issue with one in seven of all reported violent crimes linked to it.

"Last year ACPO was asked to take part in a review of police powers and laws around tackling violence against women and girls.

"The implementation of the domestic violence protection order was a key recommendation from that review and mirrors police powers already being used elsewhere in Europe," she said.

Ed Balls, Labour's shadow home secretary, said the go-ahead was a very welcome reprieve for an important set of new powers first announced by the Labour government last year.