6. What discussions is the Minister having with nightclubs and other stakeholders about improving the safety of women in their venues? OQ57611

The Welsh Government is in contact with both representatives from the nightclub industry and the police regarding the safety of women both socialising and working in these settings. Building on our work in this area, we have now committed to expand the 'Don’t be a bystander' training and awareness campaign to include this workforce too.

I thank the Deputy Minister for that response. You'll of course recall, Deputy Minister, the Welsh Conservatives debate on spiking and women's safety, held on 10 November. Even though the debate motion was amended, it was clear during the debate that there was consensus right across the Chamber that action needed to be taken to keep women safe in venues like nightclubs. This is obviously an incredibly serious matter for many young women across Wales. Whilst the media attention today perhaps might not be on it in the same way as it was in November, it's still a reality of nights out for many, and I think it requires Welsh Government to work with partners to deliver real change for women. It can't be left to businesses to act alone. So, can I ask, Deputy Minister, 13 weeks on from that debate here in the Senedd, what has changed for women in Wales?

I thank the Member for his question and that significant remark at the end. I think there's a theme today about actually making sure that people feel safe in places right across the country, whether that's spiking or women fearing for their safety because of perhaps the behaviour of certain men in these settings. I know we say it's not all men, but I could guarantee that most women have felt in a situation where they have been uncomfortable in a nightclub or in a bar. I know it's happened to me not too recently in a bar, where I sat there with my wife and I could see somebody—and I could see our home of democracy. I'll try not to use unparliamentary language, but I was quite firm when this person wouldn't go away.

Going back to the substance of the Member's question, I know that my colleague Jane Hutt, following that, has met with representatives of the police forces in Wales, looking actually at how we can spread that good practice in terms of the 'Don't be a bystander' campaign. But I think, really, there are opportunities. As you say, it's not for hospitality alone, and it's not for Government alone; it's a thing that we can only tackle collectively. I think there are probably broader opportunities we can look at in terms of licensing and things, and actually things that we can put in to make sure people are kept safe, and that people who work in these premises know the sorts of things we're looking for as well, to try and stamp them out and make sure we take a zero-tolerance approach to this.

As you know, Minister, thousands of women in Wales work shifts and that often entails unsociable hours, where they're expected either to start or finish work late at night. Understandably, many workers, particularly women, have expressed concern about their safety when travelling to and from work during the night. In most instances, it's the responsibility of the employee and not the employer to get themselves home safely during those unsociable hours. Unite's 'get me home safely' campaign, which addresses this particular issue, calls on employers to take all reasonable steps to ensure workers are able to get home safely. Minister, what discussions has the Welsh Government had with employers such as those in the hospitality sector regarding actions that they are taking to ensure that their employees get home safely? 

Can I thank the Member for her question? I'm familiar with the 'get me home safely' campaign she refers to from Unite, because I was actually at the same session when we heard from people that work in that sector now and their very real stories—particularly women, too, again, in these circumstances, who have been left to perhaps work longer on their shift when they hadn't planned it, and there's no public transport, or they're closing up on their own. I think it's a really important campaign they're doing, not just to raise awareness, but to demonstrate the tangible actions that we can take, going back to the previous question around, actually, the opportunities, I think, in licensing to look at these things. I have invited them, on the back of that meeting, to contact both myself and the Minister for Social Justice to see actually what we can do collaboratively to action some of the calls in that campaign.