Falkirk councillors unanimously agreed that more action needs to be taken at a local level to tackle an “epidemic of violence against women and girls”. Labour councillor Siobhan Paterson was supported in her request to “tackle the issue head on” by the SNP’s Stacey Devine, with the backing of Falkirk Council’ s Conservative group and Independent members. In her speech, Councillor Paterson highlighted that “worldwide we鈥檝e seen a sharp rise of online misogyny and abuse towards women”. Read more: Falkirk gymnastic programme to quit building facing repair backlog Falkirk has consistently high levels of domestic violence in particular, she said, while in the last ten years Police Scotland have seen a 50 per cent increase in sexual crimes across the country. She added: “We must recognise that Falkirk has above average incidents of domestic violence as well as persistently high amounts of child protection registrations as a result of domestic abuse. “So then it is right that we give our focus to tackling the issue head on through offering the right support at the right time, tackling misogyny and unhealthy relationships through schools as well as activism.” Cllr Paterson said her intention was to raise awareness of the scale of the issue but also to ensure that women are aware of the support that is available to them. She stressed that the council’s ability to make an impact “should not be underestimated” and added that she wanted to highlight the “amazing work” that is currently been done in the area. In the motion jointly agreed by all groups, the council pledged to intensify its work with survivors, local specialists, and ‘by and for’ services to keep the focus on violence against women and girls. They also want to ensure that age – and stage – appropriate education on healthy relationships is available across Falkirk schools. SNP councillor Stacey Devine spoke as a survivor of domestic abuse and she also praised the work that is already happening in the area by the council and its partners. “I am a survivor of domestic abuse, so I speak first hand about how important it is to tackle this head-on. “It’s important to acknowledge the lived experience of women and girls and to understand that this experience is one that a lot of women, share regardless of their background or position in society. Councillors also agreed that the council would take part in and promote the national campaign to highlight violence against women and girls, 16 Days of Action, in November. A report on the actions that have been undertaken as a result of the motion will be made to a Falkirk Council meeting by January next year. For more Falkirk stories, sign up to our newsletter here .