UK Government 'heartless' and 'draconian' on domestic abuse - Plaid PCC candidate

Plaid Cymru commits to curbing Westminster’s intransigence over Domestic Abuse Bill 

Plaid Cymru’s candidate for north Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, Ann Griffith, has responded to the UK Government’s rejection of further protections for women in the Domestic Abuse bill describing it as “a heartless decision by a draconian and backward facing UK government”

Ann Griffith said that the rejection of the vital amendment to create a domestic abuse register, which was proposed by Plaid Cymru Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts last year, leaves the door open for perpetrators to continue the cycle of abuse and was a huge let down for victims.

The Plaid Cymru Police and Crime Commissioner candidate said that the decision to also reject protections for migrant victims was completely against the wishes of the violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence sector, who have made clear that include statutory protection for migrant victims is needed as a matter of urgency to prevent further abuse and deaths.

She went on to add that Plaid Cymru Police and Crime Commissioners, alongside a Plaid Cymru Government in Senedd, would place prevention and protection at the heart of decision making, acting as effective curb on “Westminster’s intransigence”

She committed to work with support services to proactively manage serial perpetrators in the community and to work to make Wales “a true nation of sanctuary for all people fleeing abuse and persecution, regardless of their immigration status.”

She said the decision was evidence of the failure of Westminster to take the problem seriously, noting how “It has only been a matter of weeks since the sad death of Sarah Everard, Wenjing Lin and others, when the Westminster Government promised to tackle violence towards women and girls."

Ann Griffith said:

“It is unconscionable that this Westminster government has rejected these vital protections for victims of domestic abuse and stalking

“The refusal by the Conservatives to include a register for serial perpetrators of domestic violence and stalking, is even more astonishing given that it has only been a matter of weeks since the sad death of Sarah Everard, Wenjing Lin and others, when the Westminster Government promised to tackle violence towards women and girls. 

“The heartless decision by a draconian and backwards facing UK Government to deny migrant victims recourse to public funds will turn women away from safe accommodation and refuges.

“Covid-19 has demonstrated that we cannot go back to business as normal whereby, more than a quarter of women in Wales suffered domestic abuse on more than one occasion, and where many migrant victims were afraid to report crimes to the police.

“Plaid Cymru Police and Crime Commissioners will curtail Westminster’s intransigence by working with support services in to proactively manage serial perpetrators in the community and work to make Wales a true nation of sanctuary for all people fleeing abuse and persecution, regardless of their immigration status."