Stalking

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:25 pm on 25 January 2022.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 2:25, 25 January 2022

There was a series of important points made by the Member there. Just to be clear, Llywydd: we do not agree with the approach of the Home Office, which seems to place the focus on women acting to protect themselves by altering their behaviour rather than changing the attitudes and behaviours of those who carry out the abuse. Now, here in Wales, we have a programme as a Welsh Government of raising awareness, better identification of stalkers, regional training for practitioners in order to address some of the problems that the Member raises. Of course, much of what she says, as she acknowledged, lies in the hands of the police, the non-devolved service. But I can absolutely assure her that the Welsh Government continues to engage directly with the four police forces in Wales on this matter.

Jane Hutt, as the Minister responsible, met the national—by which I mean UK—police lead for violence against women on 1 December. She chaired the police partnership board on 2 December, and that included an update on the police's contribution to the consultation on the VAWDASV strategy from chief constable Pam Kelly, the chief constable of Gwent. And Jane Hutt was again engaged on 19 January with the lead police and crime commissioner for Wales, where discussions included the issue of misogyny. So, our aim is to use our powers as much as we are able to, in that consciousness-raising way, in making sure that practitioners are well equipped, but to work with the police as well, so that they exercise their responsibilities and their powers in Wales that are effective against the issues that the Member raised.

And, Llywydd, maybe I could just finally urge once more anyone who is yet to do so to respond to the Welsh Government's consultation on our revised VAWDASV national strategy. That consultation closes now quite soon on 7 February, and it will be a way of us taking forward many of the points that the Member has raised this afternoon.