Women's Safety

Part of 4. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:20 pm on 17 March 2021.

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Photo of Delyth Jewell Delyth Jewell Plaid Cymru 3:20, 17 March 2021

Thank you, Minister. This is a deeply personal issue for me, not least because I am the same age as Sarah Everard, who was so devastatingly killed near London recently, and whose vigil was so horrendously mishandled by the police. At least seven women in Wales this year alone have died at the hands of male violence. We are still counting dead women, including Wenjing Lin, who died in Treorchy. My concern over the policing Bill is rooted not just in the context of assaults on the right to peacefully protest, though these are worrying, but I have grave concerns at the treatment of male violence against women. It is a Bill that doesn't centre on survivors; it places greater sanctions on people who attack statues than on those who attack women. Heavier sentences would be given to fly-tipping than for stalking. I was involved in the inquiry and campaign in 2012 that brought in the new laws on stalking, and Minister, this development is offensive to all of the survivors who played such a crucial role in that campaign.

If the last week has taught us anything, it should be that for women in Wales, as in all of the UK, navigating fear and adapting our behaviours to reduce the risk of violence is a normal occurrence. Women and young girls are taught not to do certain things instead of tackling the underlying reasons why male violence happens. In failing to tackle the prevention of male violence against women, this Bill is not just a missed opportunity; it is a catastrophe that will play out in slow motion. Surely we need a public health approach that focuses on prevention, early intervention, changes to how we educate young girls and boys, changes to how women are portrayed in the media, in magazines. I'd ask you, Minister, how much discretion Welsh police forces will have in how they implement this Bill. I'd also ask you if you agree with the suggestions of Chwarae Teg about using the curriculum to tackle gender stereotypes, ensuring planning guidance specifies women's safety as a central consideration in designing urban spaces, and the need for more funding and awareness-raising campaigns like Ask for Angela, which offers women in bars a way of getting out of dangerous situations.

And finally, Minister, aside from this radically different approach we need to take in Wales, doesn't this Westminster legislation show why we need the devolution of policing and justice? I'll close with this, Dirprwy Lywydd: if we don't do something radical, if this daily horror in our society isn't fixed, we will go on mourning yet more women we never knew.