Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. This week marks the fortieth anniversary of Welsh Women’s Aid. I'm hosting a St Dwynwen’s Day event in the Pierhead under the banner of 'Still We Rise—Fe Godwn Ni', to acknowledge the progress made and work that still needs to be done to tackle violence against women in Wales.  

There were only a handful of refuges when I started work as the first co-ordinator of Welsh Women’s Aid, but we were determined to campaign for change as well as providing refuge and support. Progress has been made, but the shocking fact is that one in three women in Wales experience violence and abuse.

Monica Walsh, a speaker at the event tomorrow, was one of the first women in the Cardiff refuge, which opened in 1975. She has shown great courage in her life, became a front-line trade union representative, a Labour councillor and Lord Mayor of Cardiff, continuing to campaign for women’s rights to this day. We have a duty in this Chamber to back her and the work of all those who tackle violence against women on a daily basis.

St Dwynwen, a fifth century saint, devoted her life to promoting loving relationships after surviving rape by her partner and escaping her father’s attempt to force her to marry a man she did not love. In recognition of St Dwynwen’s courage and the anniversary of Women’s Aid, still we rise—fe godwn ni.