6. Statement by the Minister for Social Justice: The Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Strategy

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:04 pm on 7 December 2021.

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Photo of Sarah Murphy Sarah Murphy Labour 5:04, 7 December 2021

I want to thank the Welsh Government for their continued work on this strategy, and also the Minister for ensuring that the onus of violence against women does not fall on women to modify their behaviour. For too long in our history the narrative has focused on the actions of the victim and not enough on how we put an end to violence against women, because there are no victims without perpetrators.

It is positive to see that, in many local authorities across Wales, work is already taking place to address the issue of violence against women. In my own constituency of Bridgend, Bridgend County Borough Council has introduced a groundbreaking perpetrator scheme. Within the scheme, effort is put in to safeguarding victims and also rehabilitating perpetrators to end any future cycles of abuse. And with the recent cases of spiking in the night-time economy, we cannot let the narrative shift from the root cause of the problem. We must start by changing the culture that has allowed attacks such as these to occur so frequently.

So I just wanted to end by asking the Minister, I suppose, how much you are aware of the perpetrator schemes and how they're spreading across Wales, and your support for those. And also I would like to recognise, as you said, the many survivors who have contributed to this scheme. They have been incredibly brave and selfless in sharing their stories so that they can protect and save lives.