A National Assembly for Wales Committee has agreed the general principles of the Gender-based Violence, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Bill but has called on the Welsh Government to make "significant changes" in order for it to effectively reduce the rates of gender-based violence, domestic abuse and sexual violence in Wales.
The Bill, which has been put forward by the Welsh Government, is designed to provide a strategic focus on these issues and ensure consistency in the delivery of preventive, protective and supportive services across Wales.
In agreeing with witnesses who contributed to the inquiry that the Bill was necessary, the Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee stated that it believed the Bill should ensure a statutory right to services for all victims, an approach in line with international recommendations and already adopted in the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.
The Committee called upon the Minister for Public Services to include provision within the Bill for age-appropriate education in schools on healthy relationships, a component it considered "critical" in changing attitudes and having a long-term impact on levels of violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence. The Committee also recommended the Bill specifically refer to the direct and indirect damage that this violence and abuse has on children, regardless of gender.
The Bill makes provision for a Ministerial Advisor. The Committee recommended that this role should be independent of government and supported by a secretariat drawn from outside the civil service, to monitor the progress of the delivery of local strategies, with the power to conduct investigations where performance is unsatisfactory.
Funding was also a concern for the Committee, which has called for the Minister to give further consideration to the financial implications of the Bill as its implementation would be likely to increase demand for services.
Christine Chapman AM, Chair of the Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee said:
"Our report makes a number of recommendations to the Minister. We believe that the Bill should refer to "Violence Against Women" rather than "Gender-based Violence" and that this would reflect the disproportionate way in which women are affected by violence and abuse in a domestic setting
We also believe that education is critical in changing attitudes and so there should be a provision made for compulsory whole-school, age appropriate education programmes on healthy relationships."
Report on the Gender-based Violence, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Bill (PDF, 305KB)