Part of 4. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:28 pm on 17 March 2021.
Thank you very much, Mark Isherwood. Can I thank you also for speaking up as a father and in terms of all the women in your life? We know that men are standing up, as they do year in, year out. The November International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is an important event. Every year we have our vigil, don't we? Our virtual vigil this year was very much led by Joyce Watson—always led by Joyce Watson—with a cross-party response, as you say, Mark Isherwood. I'd like to pay tribute to all the men across our services who are White Ribbon ambassadors. I think Jack is here today; I know that he is a key White Ribbon ambassador, as are so many, of course, not just here, but represented across Wales.
I just want to say, just on the Bill, that we received, as I said, the final version of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill last week. It is a UK Government Bill, and we are considering its provisions in detail and its impact on Wales, but we are calling on the UK Government to strengthen the Bill to ensure the criminal justice system protects women and girls, because we are concerned about many aspects, just receiving the Bill as it is, and seeking advice in terms of those measures and provisions. It will be important for, obviously, our colleagues in the Westminster Parliament to look, scrutinise this, and there have been many concerns already raised about the Bill. But we need to make sure it is scrutinised effectively. But I would say today that we have got to do, within our powers in Wales, and of course there are powers in terms of the Thomas commission—and Delyth made that point—that we seek to consider, being powers that we would recognise that could enable us to strengthen our responsibilities in this area. But we seek in Wales to work closely with our four police forces, our local authorities, as well as the UK Government, and all our third sector organisations, to ensure that the safety of women and girls can be at the forefront of our powers and our provisions, our priorities, and our budgets.
And that is why, of course, our Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015, our pioneering legislation, is so crucially important, and that we do have our Live Fear Free helpline. And I will use the chance again to say this is a free 24/7 service for all victims and survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence. And not only has it remained open, of course, through the coronavirus restrictions being in place, that means that home shouldn't be a place of fear, but it has been extremely concerning to us all in the Senedd about the impact of COVID-19 on people who are restricted because of COVID-19. But we have given additional funding to Live Fear Free, and of course we're working with our Don't Be a Bystander and 'ask and act' training provisions, as well as funding Hafan Cymru's Spectrum Project, which of course is promoting healthier relationships effectively in our schools and with our young people.