Written question WQ84781

Harassment, abuse and violence are daily occurrences for women and have conditioned their lives for far too long. Abuse or harassment can never be tolerated in any workplace and women in public life should not have to face such behaviour in the course of their work.

In line with our Programme for Government commitment, we are strengthening our National Strategy on Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) to include a focus on violence and harassment against women in the street and workplace as well as the home as part of our ongoing work to make Wales the safest place in Europe to be a woman.

As part of the development of the strategy we have consulted with a variety of stakeholders including survivors, key partners and the specialist sector. While this is not a specific assessment of the scale of the issue for women in public life, our engagement has sought the views of a wide range of women. We are currently finalising the Strategy, taking in to consideration this broad range of views, in readiness for publication in late spring.

The Strategy reflects evidence that women and girls are disproportionately affected by all forms of abuse. This is a societal problem which requires a societal response and we must challenge attitudes and change behaviours of those who behave abusively.

Our ‘Call out only’ campaign aims to do this through raising awareness of stalking, harassment, violence and abuse against women wherever they are. We want those inflicting these behaviours to reflect on their actions and realise it is unacceptable, unwanted, offensive and objectionable.

Where it is safe to do so, we want our communities to call out inappropriate behaviours and offer support to those affected, this includes males being empowered to engage with other men and boys to call out abusive and sexist behaviour to promote a culture of equality and respect.