One in nine women in Brighton and Hove has been a victim of domestic violence.

Reports to the police from victims are falling but the number of women seeking help from specialist counselling groups in the city is increasing.

Now a massive campaign is being launched to tackle abuse in the home.

Last year approximately 11,000 women in the city were the victims of domestic abuse – one in nine of the female population.

A further 3,000 women were sexually assaulted while 7,000 were stalked.

With these figures in mind, agencies from across the city will gather to try to work out how to bring down levels of violence against women.

Experts from across the country will head to Brighton and Hove for the 16-day event which will begin on November 25.

The 16 Days conference has been organised by Brighton and Hove City Council and Safe in the City, an umbrella group of various agencies including local action teams.

It is also supported by the domestic abuse charity RISE and Sussex Police.

Issues such as female genital mutilation, forced marriages, sex trafficking and abuse will be addressed.

The conference will feature events aimed at tackling violence against women and encouraging more victims to come forward.

People are asked to sing a pledge “never to commit, condone, or remain silent about men's violence against women in all its forms”.

Eleri Butler, Brighton and Hove's domestic violence strategic co-ordinator, said: “Locally referrals to RISE have gone up. But what we know is there is still an under-reporting of domestic violence.

“Our target locally is to increase reporting of domestic violence.

“We want to increase reporting. We need to prevent forced marriage, abuse and domestic violence which women are more likely to experience in their lifetime.”

She warned that some areas of the city had worse levels of abuse than others.

Naomi Bos, from RISE, said one in four people would be a victim of domestic violence in their lifetime.

Detective Inspector Miles Ockwell, of Sussex Police's Brighton and Hove anti-victimisation unit, said: “We take all reports of domestic and sexual violence very seriously."