Cumbria's police, fire, and crime commissioner has pledged his support for a campaign to tackle violence against women and girls.

David Allen met with Cumbrian Soroptimists to mark the beginning of the 16 days of activism campaign.

According to the police, nearly one in three women experience violence in their lifetime.

The 16 days of activism is an annual United Nations campaign, with this year's theme being 'to unite to end violence against women this winter.'

The Soroptimists are a global volunteer organisation focused on providing women and girls with opportunities for education and training to support 'economic empowerment'.

Public displays will be held in Whitehaven, Workington, Cockermouth, Keswick, and Penrith libraries until December 10.

Mr Allen said: "I firstly want to start by thanking the Soroptimists for meeting with me.

"Their campaign is one that I absolutely support.

"One of the main pledges I made when running for election was to tackle violence against women and girls.

"Violence against women and girls happens far too often, and I will do whatever I can to ensure that Cumbria Constabulary tackles this effectively and to ensure that support is out there for those suffering abuse."

The Crime Survey for England and Wales estimated that 2.3 million people aged 16 years and over (1.6 million women and 712,000 men) experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2024.

Claire Rawlinson, who is the lead on the Orange the World Campaign for Cockermouth's Soroptimists, said: "It was great to meet with commissioner David Allen, detective inspector Mike Taylor, and other agencies to understand how Cumbria Constabulary are tackling domestic abuse and violence against women and girls.

"There is clearly more work to be done, but we understand that the commissioner and Cumbria Constabulary is taking this work seriously, and we look forward to working with them in future."

Detective inspector Mike Taylor, who is Cumbria Constabulary's tactical lead on domestic abuse, said: "It was a pleasure to meet the Soroptimists today to hear about the work they are doing and how we can work in partnership going forward.

"We need all partner agencies to work with us in a whole system approach to tackle the epidemic of violence against women and girls."

Anyone experiencing domestic abuse or stalking should report it to the police on 101 or 999 in an emergency or contact Victim Support Cumbria for support and advice.