Joyce Watson MS’s Mid Wales Journal column

This week I have been planning my visit to the Royal Welsh Show. After a challenging couple of years, I’m excited to get back to the hustle and bustle of the showground. As well as meeting lots of organisations and enjoying all the attractions and displays, I’ll be teaming up with the National Federation of Women’s Institutes-Wales to launch our annual ‘Not in My Name’ campaign.

Established in 2012, our campaign aims to end violence against women by recruiting male ambassadors to make the White Ribbon promise to: ‘never to commit, excuse or remain silent about male violence against women’. We hope to be joined by representatives from other organisations, including Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service and the Farmers’ Union of Wales, who have done tremendous work to highlight the issue in rural communities in recent years. The launch will take place at the WI stand (GH80) in the South Glamorgan Hall from 11.30am until 12.15pm. Please come along if you can.

By launching at Llanelwedd and teaming up a diverse range of groups, we hope to emphasise the message that domestic abuse is a problem everywhere, affecting people from all walks of life. And not only adults. Around one in five children in Wales will experience violence in the home. Without early support it can lead to a lifetime of problems. That is why I recently commissioned Welsh Women’s Aid to audit specialist services for children across Wales. Our report, A Duty to Support, identifies a lack of consistency across local authorities, health boards and Police and Crime Commissioners. Whilst we did find pockets of very good practice, we also found gaps and opportunities to better support children and young people who experience domestic abuse. So, I will be working with Welsh ministers, public bodies, and service providers to do that.