6. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to improve support for men experiencing domestic abuse? OQ58650

Thank you for that question. We are continuing to improve our response to domestic abuse through our national strategy. We fund the Dyn project to support male victims of domestic abuse and continue to fund awareness training to recognise indicators displayed by men who may be experiencing domestic abuse.

Thank you, Minister, for that response. Presiding Officer, I ask this question whilst, of course, recognising that violence against women and girls in particular is far too prevalent in society, and, as men, we must challenge abuse and violence in all of its forms, and I agree with what's been said; I too was a White Ribbon ambassador for my previous organisation, and I'm happy to continue that in this one.

However, I want to use this question to raise an issue of men who are experiencing domestic abuse. Whilst it's not a topic that is often discussed, it too is an issue that occurs far too often in society. The Older People's Commissioner for Wales noted that around a quarter of people who experience abuse are male, and that male victims tend to be older, with the highest proportion of those affected aged 75 or over. Whilst organisations such as Both Parents Matter Cymru offer support, the report by the older people's commissioner found that men may be reluctant to seek help due to the stigma of being a male victim of abuse. The small number of domestic abuse services targeted specifically at men are under-resourced, meaning that the support that they're able to provide is often very limited. Minister, what action is the Welsh Government taking to raise wider awareness of abuse against men, and particularly older men? And how are you working with the commissioner and other public bodies to ensure that the adequate support services are available? And, finally, what consideration have you given to ensuring that a strategy to eradicate violence against men is put in place that can sit alongside the great work that is already happening to prevent violence against women and girls?

Well, thank you very much, Peter Fox, for starting your supplementary with the recognition of our response to the earlier question, with your support and endorsement for the White Ribbon campaign, and recognising, in terms of the statistics, the impact of violence against women and girls and just looking at the fact that the percentage of domestic abuse-related offences recorded by the police identified that 73.1 per cent of offences affected female victims and 26.9 per cent male victims, ending March 2021.

But I think your point about domestic abuse affecting older people, and older men particularly in relation to your question, is key. Because I've recently met with the older people's commissioner myself and we discussed the findings of her report on improving support and services for older men experiencing domestic abuse. So, we now have our next phase of the strategy of the violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence, implementing the legislation, and we are looking at these issues. We're going to have an older person's working group within the blueprint, which is the approach we're taking now. I'm co-chairing a national implementation board with the police and crime commissioner for Dyfed Powys, and we're looking at this from the criminal justice as well as the social justice perspective, so I do believe that the older person's working group within the blueprint will look at these particular issues that you raise.