Jane Hutt MS
Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip, Welsh GovernmentJane Hutt writes about her commitment to making Wales the safest place to be a woman in the UK.
It is my belief that women and girls should be safe in all aspects of their lives. They should be safe to walk through public spaces. They should be safe at home. They should be safe to go to work and school. They should be safe in the day and safe at night.
The recent high-profile murders of women at the hands of strangers have rightly shocked the public but sadly, many more die every year at the hands of violent men who are known to them. Many thousands more suffer violence and coercive control that blights their lives and stifles their opportunities.
Every day in the media and in the courts, we see the tragic outcome of violence against women.
We must put that right.
As one of the founding members of Welsh Women’s Aid, I know that harassment, abuse, and violence are daily occurrences for women and these unwanted behaviours have conditioned women’s lives for far too long.
Creating a truly safe society
In Wales, we want to create a truly safe society where everyone can thrive. It’s why we have long prioritised tackling violence against women, domestic abuse, and sexual violence.
Our ground-breaking Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015 created duties for local authorities and the NHS to publish and implement strategies for addressing these issues in local communities.
Last year, I was proud to publish a new five-year violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence national strategy, and I am committed to strengthening this to include a focus on violence against women in the street, in the workplace, and at home.
I also unveiled the Welsh Government’s Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan, set against the vision of a Wales that is anti-racist in 2030, where everyone is valued for who they are and the contribution they make. It draws on Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic communities’ experiences of racism and race inequality to set out a series of actions that will make a real difference to peoples’ lives.
We are working at pace to help us move from the rhetoric on racial equality to ensure we deliver meaningful action, and I am pleased to have launched a pilot Migrant Victim of Abuse Support Fund. This is aimed at tackling the barriers, abuse, and hardship experienced by many migrant women seeking safety.
Complementing our existing support for people who have been affected by violence against women, domestic abuse, and sexual violence, it ensures we have a ‘no victim left out’ approach in place.
Women’s safety will not come from changing women’s behaviour
Violence against women and girls is a societal problem, which requires a societal response. It is not for women to modify their behaviour – it is for abusers to change theirs.
We must address the root causes of male violence against women, focusing on changing negative attitudes and cultures that allow violence and abuse to persist. Women’s safety will come from changing the culture that fails to tackle toxic masculinity. That’s why I want prevention and early intervention to take centre stage.
Recent Welsh Government research shows that 64 per cent of Welsh men underestimated how many women are subject to abuse. And 39 per cent of men said efforts to achieve women’s equality had led to discrimination against men – reflecting a worrying shift in attitudes perpetuated by the rise of influential misogynists in the public domain.
Challenging toxic rhetoric
We’ve been listening to and learning from men. Over the course of six months, men from a variety of backgrounds have given us detailed and valuable insight into how they live their lives, who and what influences them, what motivates them, what worries them, and how they think organisations should be engaging with them around the topic of violence against women.
Young men need clear, positive, and encouraging direction and support that removes the stigma around asking questions on how to cultivate a healthy relationship.
They need positive role modelling, trustworthy advice and, importantly, the encouragement to participate in open and honest conversations among their male peers without fear of judgement.
We have launched a major new campaign encouraging young men to reflect on their own behaviours, putting them at the centre of efforts to tackle gender-based violence and toxic masculinity.
Our Sound campaign provides young men, aged 18 to 34, with engaging and informative content around healthy relationships to counteract a narrative shared by some social media influencers promoting ‘ultra-masculine’ views. In Wales, we’re giving young men a positive alternative, which de-normalises violence against women and girls.
I believe it will give them the encouragement to ‘sound out’ their relationships, behaviours, and thoughts with each other. We want to encourage self-reflection by drawing attention to harmful behaviours, such as love-bombing, gaslighting, and coercive control – helping men to recognise these behaviours and get trusted advice on how to address them.
I’m very proud the campaign has been informed by perpetrators and survivors of abuse, ensuring content is appropriate and beneficial to all those with direct experience of violence against women, domestic abuse, and sexual violence.
Ending violence against women
Our vision is to end violence against women and girls, domestic abuse and sexual violence. It is a bold statement, and some may think we can’t realise this ambition. But I think it’s important to believe that violence against women, domestic abuse, and sexual violence is not inevitable.
Societal norms, attitudes, and beliefs must be challenged as these are what continue to excuse and legitimise this kind of behaviour.