Violence Against Women and Girls

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:03 pm on 23 November 2021.

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Photo of Delyth Jewell Delyth Jewell Plaid Cymru 2:03, 23 November 2021

First Minister, as we've heard, this week marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Every year we mark this day, and yet every year more women die because of male violence, and every day women modify their behaviour to avoid being attacked or killed. It sounds extreme, but that is an everyday calculation that countless women make. You recently supported a Plaid Cymru amendment calling for a Government strategy on preventing sexual assault and harassment. Could you tell us more about that strategy, please, and, importantly, how it will make life safer for women and girls, since 97 per cent of women between 18 and 24 have already experienced harassment in their lives? Four out of five women experience workplace harassment, and at least nine women are suspected to have had their lives taken by male violence in the last year in Wales. If we're talking about eliminating male violence against women, First Minister, it seems we do still have a very steep hill to climb.