Welsh Women’s Aid welcomes the appointment of Yasmin Khan and Nazir Afzal as the new joint National Advisors for Violence against Women, Gender-based Violence, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence who will take on the role as a job share.
In our fortieth year working to support survivors to achieve independence and freedom from abuse and to strengthen specialist services and responses, we look forward to working closely with Yasmin Khan and Nazir Afzal, who each bring distinct and critically important experiences to the role.
Wales has led the way in the UK with legislative reform to prevent violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence, and commitment to protection and support of survivors. Our National Advisors have a key role to play in ensuring the effective implementation of the legislation and national Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence strategy in 2016-21, as well as ensuring a voice for Wales within UK legislative developments.
As always, most pressing is the need to secure a national commitment to long-term sustainable funding, so that the national network of specialist violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence services across Wales can continue to provide a life-saving and life changing support for those who need it most.
We hope the Advisors will place the experiences of survivors and specialist services at the centre of their work. To achieve change that lasts, we need collective solutions that are needs-based, survivor-led and trauma-informed, focussing not only on the effects of abuse, but also on preventing violence and abuse from happening in the first place.