NORTH Yorkshire Police should put ending violence against women and girls at the top of its priority list, an election candidate has said.

Dr Hannah Barham-Brown of the Women's Equality Party today launched her manifesto to become the next North Yorkshire Police Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC).

She is among the candidates for the byelection on November 25 that was called following the resignation of the former PFCC Philip Allott over his comments about the murder of Sarah Everard who was killed by a serving police officer.

Dr Barham-Brown, who lives in South Milford, said: “I am contesting this election for one reason and for one reason only: to put ending violence against women and girls front and centre in our policing and political priorities in North Yorkshire, and I challenge all of my fellow candidates to join me in this.

"Whilst this doesn’t mean I won’t engage with residents' concerns on a wide range of topics, it does mean I will be singularly focused on ending violence in my campaign. "

She claimed that nine women are sexually assaulted and seven are raped in North Yorkshire every week and accused other parties of paying "lip service" to the prevention of violence against women and girls.

At her manifesto launch at Oatlands Community Centre in Harrogate she pledged to fund specialist support for everyone reporting abuse or sexual violence, introduce expert scrutiny panels for rape and sexual violence cases and ensure there is community funding in place as well as policing targets to prioritise violence prevention.

Her plan also includes rooting out misogyny in the police force, addressing racism in domestic abuse cases and guaranteeing migrant women have access to specialist support services, such as refuges.

The Women’s Equality Party was founded by Sandi Toksvig and Catherine Mayer in 2015 to promote women’s equality.

The other candidates standing are: James Barker (Liberal Democrats), Zoe Metcalfe (Conservatives), Emma Scott-Spivey (Labour) and Keith Tordoff (Independent).