Women's Safety

Part of 4. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:22 pm on 17 March 2021.

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Photo of Jane Hutt Jane Hutt Labour 3:22, 17 March 2021

Thank you very much, Delyth Jewell, for that very strong, impassioned and committed speech. As a woman of the age of Sarah Everard, you have enabled us to again remember, as I did yesterday, the recent killing—that senseless, awful killing of Sarah Everard. It has sent a shock wave through us all, it has reignited this national conversation about women's safety, and you'll have seen that reflected in my written statement yesterday. That was a statement on women's safety in Wales, and it's reminded us, of course, as I said in my statement, that violence against women and girls is far too common. It's highlighted again the impact that violence and abuse has on the daily lives of women. And so my recommitment again in terms of our pioneering legislation—and I thank Nick Ramsay; he raised this yesterday, as other Members did across the Senedd—is that it's our commitment in Wales to end violence against women and girls.

I think it's also a wake-up call, isn't it, to us all that we must honour Sarah's life by making changes to society and culture, and that is what I said in my statement. But I think it is very important, as I said yesterday, that I have called on the UK Government, and indeed also call on the UK Parliament, to make sure that this Bill is a Bill that should strengthen the safety of women and girls, and of course, we have the opportunity now to comment on that. I think it's crucial that we recognise that the Bill that's coming forward, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, should be about strengthening the criminal justice system to protect women and girls, and also—equally strongly, I would say, and I did say this yesterday—enabling people to continue to express their concerns freely.

I also agree with you that this is a public health issue, as did our great national adviser, Yasmin Khan, on Sunday. On many occasions, she talked about the need for a culture change, and she recognised that this was a public health issue, that we had to hold perpetrators to account, that we had to have a trauma-informed system, and also that we cannot be bystanders. That's why we have a strong Don't Be a Bystander campaign as part of our violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence legislation and strategy. I'm also very proud of the fact that we actually do now have in our new curriculum, in the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Bill, that statutory duty to make raising awareness about healthy relationships and sexuality education part of the curriculum for children up to the age of 16. It will help young people to challenge toxic attitudes and behaviours.