Mid and West Wales AM JOYCE WATSON has called for further Assembly action to tackle violence against women and children.
Joyce Watson AM asked Rhodri Morgan to extend the current domestic violence strategy to include all forms of violence against women and children. Speaking during First Minister’s Questions in the Assembly, she praised current work but asked for it to be widened.
Joyce Watson set up and chairs the cross-party Assembly group on trafficking of women and children.
Mrs Watson said: “I greatly support the commitment that the Assembly Government has consistently demonstrated to tackling domestic abuse across Wales. However, do you believe that we should now seek to extend the domestic violence strategy to include all forms of violence against women and children? A strategy to end violence against women would be more useful, because it would include things such as female genital mutilation, forced marriage, honour killings, and trafficking into the sex trade. Will you consider such an all-encompassing strategy, which would widen that focus?”
First Minister Rhodri Morgan replied: “Brian Gibbons, the Minister with responsibility for these issues, has launched a three-year action plan on forced marriage and honour-based crime. That was done in Wrexham on 1 April at a black and minority ethnic communities outreach service. Likewise, a Cabinet paper on our forced marriage and honour-based crime action plan will be considered soon. We have not seen that paper yet, but perhaps I will write to you after we have received it and have had a Cabinet discussion on it.”
12th May 2008
-
