Liverpool Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram and Tabitha Morton of the Women’s Equality Party will join representatives of the six local authorities, and the police, to discuss the issue. Tony McDonough reports

An “epidemic of violence” against women and girls across Merseyside is being addressed at a summit in Liverpool this weekend.

On Saturday, October 21, Liverpool Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram and Tabitha Morton of the Women’s Equality Party will join representatives of the six local authorities, and the police, to discuss the issue.

Other voluntary organisations as well as housing associations will also attend the event at Mann Island with the aim of developing a local strategy.

Figures show that Merseyside police dealt with 4,622 offences of domestic violence between April 2016 and March 2017, with women far more likely to be on the receiving end.

An incidence of domestic violence is reported every 15 minutes in Merseyside.

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The Women’s Equality Party claims the real figure is likely much higher due to underreporting and it is estimated that in 2015 there were approximately 14,500 female victims aged between 16 and 59 in Liverpool.

The move comes after Ms Morton stood for the  party in the Liverpool City Region Mayoral election in May. Before and since the election she has worked tirelessly to put violence against women and girls on to Mr Rotheram’s agenda.

The party says it would like three overall outcomes to come from the summit:

• A strategy based on the Istanbul Convention definition of violence against women and girls
• A move to a commissioning model of funding and away from bid based models
• A real increase in ring fenced funding for specialist services to tackle VAWG

Ms Morton said: “It has been hard work to get here and it shows the value of the Women’s Equality Party standing in the metro election.

“Our region is blighted by the most severe rates of domestic violence in the UK and that is an important problem to tackle, but all too often other elements of violence against women and girls such as sexual harassment and female genital mutilation are overlooked.”