THE Diocese of Salisbury Mothers' Union held a launch service of worship at Salisbury Cathedral today as part of a campaign highlighting gender based violence.

The organisation is participating in the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence campaign which calls for an end to all forces of violence against women.

Reverend Jo Naish officiated at the service.

The Mothers’ Union works in more than 80 countries trying to tackle the issues in a number of ways from empowering women worldwide with literacy and numerical skills and in the UK, offering practical support to women experiencing violence by providing shelters with food, toiletries and clothes.

The campaign aims to encourage people to hold a prayer vigil or service on a regular basis or special days, support their local women’s refuge and to use messages in their social media such as Twitter and Facebook.

The Diocese of Salisbury Mothers’ Union has also linked up with the White Ribbon Campaign which lends men’s voices to ending men's violence against women.

To participate in the campaign follow @MothersUnion on Twitter or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MothersUnion.