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WQ.116/2024
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS BY DEPUTY H.L. JEUNE OF ST. JOHN, ST. LAWRENCE AND TRINITY QUESTION SUBMITTED ON TUESDAY 2nd APRIL 2024
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 9th APRIL 2024
Question
“Will the Minister outline the specific work she will be implementing (with the Minister for Children and Families and the Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning) in respect of the support for children who have been affected by Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG); and is there, or will there be, specific assistance for schools (especially teachers) to support children that have been affected by VAWG?”
Answer
The VAWG Taskforce report highlighted the education of young people about VAWG issues as a crucial part of wider efforts to prevent this form violence. The research findings shared in the report indicated that young people felt that schools should be doing more in this area and that they had a very low awareness of the specialist support services that exist on the island. As a result, the Taskforce report made the following recommendations:
• The Government should work with schools and specialist support services to promote awareness of these services amongst young people (recommendation 65).
• An education programme on VAWG should be introduce for parents so that they are better able to support and advise their children around this issue (recommendation 66).
• The Government should work with schools to improve the way in which education on the issue of VAWG is delivered and the delivery of this education should be subject to formal assessment (recommendation 76).
• The Government should consider rolling out a whole-of-school approach to VAWG (recommendation 77).
My response to the VAWG Taskforce recommendations was developed in consultation with other Ministers and published at the end of March. In this response the Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning indicated that he would undertake work within his department “to develop a comprehensive plan to take these recommendations forward, in close cooperation with schools and support services”. I understand that the Minister intends to publish this plan in the coming months, once an approach to implementing the relevant recommendations has been finalised.