6. 5. Statement: Progress on Implementation of the Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:10 pm on 21 June 2016.

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Photo of Carl Sargeant Carl Sargeant Labour 4:10, 21 June 2016

I thank the Member for his comments. People who know me will really understand that there are certain things that excite me about the opportunity to make a difference; this is the field where I’m really passionate about making a difference, because this is the difference between life and death. For many people who have tragically found the latter, it sort of escapes them from domestic violence, but it’s a tragedy for them and their families and friends.

The issue around the national strategy will be an important one. It’s about delivery—are we doing this right and can we deliver on all of the issues that the Member raises: the coercive control, the child sexual exploitation, physical, verbal, coercive control, and financial—all have an influence on people and we’ve got to make sure that, collectively, we can find solutions to that. Governments do many things, and they don’t always get these things right, but there are some people out there who are experts in the field, and what we have to do is open the doors to make sure that we bring these people together, work with national advisers and work with an advisory group. I’m looking at refreshing the advisory group, because when we were developing this groundbreaking piece of legislation, which had worldwide recognition, we listened to people and understood what it really meant for delivery. That’s what I intend to do as we move forward on the implementation of this Act. It is a great start, but there’s so much more work we can do collectively.