Written question WQ83634

Violence against women and girls is far too common. Harassment, abuse and violence are daily occurrences for women and have conditioned their lives for far too long. We must unite to end violence on our streets, we must unite for change and we must unite to allow everyone to live fear free.

Welsh Government has always been clear about its ambition to end violence against women and girls. Violence against women and girls is a societal problem which requires a societal response. We must challenge attitudes and change behaviours of those who behave abusively. It is not for women to modify their behaviour, it is for abusers to change theirs.

Through our Programme for Government, we have been strengthened our approach to violence against women by explicitly adding harassment in the public space to the scope of our Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence National Strategy. We are currently revising our strategy to tackle abuse and harassment in the street and workplace as well as the home in order to make Wales the safest place in Europe to be a woman.

The refreshed strategy has been developed alongside a group of key partner organisations including the specialist sector. A public consultation on a draft Strategy will take place later this year.

Through our Live Fear Free campaigns we will continue to raise awareness of harassment, abuse and violence against women in all aspects of life including the street and other public places. These campaigns provide practical advice for those who may be suffering abuse as well as highlighting the support available to enable friends, family and the wider community to recognise harassment and abuse and take safe action.