Women who claim Fifty Shades of Grey promotes domestic violence and glamorises abusive relationships are rallying outside the film's UK premiere in protest.

Feminist campaigners Fifty Shades Is Domestic Abuse say the novel dangerously romanticises the idea that women can fix broken men.

A handful of men and women stood outside the central London premiere in Leicester Square today, unfurling a banner calling Christian Grey 'a rapist' as stars made their way along the red carpet.

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Protesters who say 50 Shades of Grey promotes domestic abuse rallied outside the UK premiere of the film this evening

Feminist group Fifty Shades Is Domestic Abuse argues that the novel glamorises abusive relationships and dangerously romanticises the idea that women can fix broken men

Alarming: A Twitter account, Fifty Shades is Abuse, claims that the novel glamorises domestic violence

Defending the film on the red carpet, Dakota Johnson, who plays Anastasia Steele in the film, said she wanted the demonstrators to see the movie.

'There is no part of the movie where [Anastasia] is abused. All the choices she makes are her choices and it's all consensual,' she told the BBC.

'Ana is a woman with incredible integrity and strength. I think that she is fearlessly exploring her strength and sexuality and I think that's a beautiful thing.

Dakota Johnson said the film did not show her character being abused

'I would love for [the protesters] to see the movie which I think has the opposite message.'

Ahead of the release of the controversial film on Valentine's Day, activists called on the public to consider whether they should endorse the movie.

Natalie Collins, who runs campaign group Fifty Shades Is Domestic Abuse, said the story portrays an abusive relationship.

She said that if readers consider the lead character, Christian Grey's behavior out of context it would appear extremely alarming rather than alluring.

She said: 'Is it romantic when somebody tracks your phone, when somebody knows where you live before you tell them, sells your only means of transport, or buys the company you work for?

'How can you marry that with being romantic?'

Ms Collins, who is a consultant working to end the abuse of women, said that after reading all three books, she was left 'deeply concerned about the amount of domestic violence that was being romanticised and celebrated'.

She added: 'The thing that I would say to people who are reading the books, who are going to see it, is, if he wasn't rich and very attractive, would this behaviour be normal?'

The group asked users to take photos of placards that explain why the story is offensive to them, beginning with 'Fifty Shades is...'

One photo sees a victim holding up a sign that says: 'Fifty Shades is...telling survivors that what happened to us is really just "romance"'.

A handful of men and women stood outside the central London premiere in Leicester Square today, holding placards and chanting slogans

Proof? The Twitter account posted this picture where a reader had folded down all the pages in the trilogy of novels where there was abuse mentioned, and the result was shocking

Distasteful: Victims of domestic violence say that EL James' book trivialises what they have been through

The group doesn't wish to censor, they want to make viewers and readers aware of the concerning themes

Amid the protests, some Fifty Shades fans dressed up and spanked each other as they waited outside the cinema

Another says: 'Fifty Shades is... giving the dangerous impression that unwanted control, manipulation and stalking are forms of love.'

She also criticised 'exploitative' retailers who had taken advantage of the franchise's popularity and created branded merchandising to cash in on the publicity.

The books, written by EL James, follow the sado-masochistic sexual relationship between the two protagonists, Seattle billionaire Christian Grey and demure student Anastasia Steele.

Ms Collins said the campaign group were not against the sexual nature of the book but there were other far more worrying themes in the novel

'We are not against BDSM (bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism), it is the other issues in the books and films which we say glamorise domestic violence.

'I have spoken to people who have said that he (Christian Grey) was abused as a child and that is why he is the way he is.

'It is also very dangerous to suggest that people abuse because of their childhood and that women can fix broken men with enough love.'

Ms Collins said the aim of the protest is not to prevent people from seeing the film but to make viewers aware of what they are ignoring.

Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan share a joke as they arrive at the London premiere this evening

Shelley Hicks (left) and Maria Smith slept in Leicester Square last night in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the stars at the premiere

Die-hard enthusiasts slept out overnight with others arriving before sunrise. But the film has failed to get critics hot under the collar

'It is not about censorship - people have the absolute right to go and watch it - but there is something about the credibility that is given by the number of people who go and watch it.'

She further expressed her concerns that the franchise has become part of everyday life, with some cinemas even hosting 'mummy and baby screenings'.

Die-hard Fifty Shades enthusiasts slept out overnight, with others arriving before sunrise today, hoping to be first in the queue to catch a glimpse of the stars as they arrived at the premiere.

After endless hype, excitement hit fever pitch at the film's world premiere in Berlin last night, as screaming fans scrambled to get a selfie on the red carpet with stars Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson, who play Christian Grey and his lover Anastasia Steele.

The film is also expected to be a hit at the box office, with more than £1million in ticket sales a week before it opens.