Home Affairs

Priorities

The Chief Minister’s Ministerial letters, published on 10 August 2022, included a letter to the Home Affairs Minister, the key part of which said –

As Minister for Home Affairs, I would like you to draw on your extensive experience to ensure the high performance of the Island's vital emergency and frontline services, whilst driving forward policy improvements in response to the needs of our community.

All islanders should feel safe and be able to enjoy our island without fear of discrimination, and where discrimination exists, we must respond robustly. We also agree that the agenda to prevent violence against women is of great importance, and you will bring energy and leadership to this work.

It is essential that the high expectations islanders have for a safe and peaceful society, where crime and the fear of crime is low, continues to be achieved, and strengthened wherever necessary.

Accordingly, we must ensure that priority is given to early intervention and prevention, and work within local communities. I see your portfolio very much moving in that direction.

The chapter for the Minister for Justice and Home Affairs in the Ministerial plans for 2024 published on 19 September 2023 identified 13 priorities –

1. Recognising the unprecedented demands arising from the tragic major incidents in 2022 and 2023, ensuring that our teams are supported through the recovery phase.

2. Ensuring Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) frontline services are appropriately funded, supporting an engaged and productive workforce to operate effectively, efficiently and perform their statutory functions and addressing significant pressures and key risks affecting JHA Services.

3. Refreshing our community safety and substance use approach.

4. Developing and delivering a modern and effective youth justice policy by reviewing the findings of the previous youth justice reviews and the latest available evidence of effective practice, working with the Minister for Children and Education.

5. Responding to the findings and recommendations of the Violence Against Women and Girls Taskforce, initiating work to improve women’s safety and experience of the criminal justice system.

6. Building and enhancing relationships across Government and the justice system, as well as with the third sector and other key partners, to enable truly joined up and strategic working including preparatory work for a refreshed Criminal Justice Policy.

7. Reforming legislation by –

a. developing a new civil contingencies law with a focus on resilience.

b. continuing work on reform of the Law of Divorce by developing legislation to introduce the concept of ‘no fault’ divorce in Jersey Law.

c. reviewing firearms legislation.

8. Providing a coordinated focus on diversity, equity and inclusion.

9. Maintaining a customs and immigration function which delivers for Jersey.

10. Enshrining a rehabilitative culture within the Prison Service with
an intention of ‘releasing better neighbours .

11. Working in partnership to address policing challenges.

12. 1Improving value for money in the delivery of our public services.

13. Improving the performance of departments and services.

Violence against women and girls

On 9 November 2023 the Jersey Independent Taskforce on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) published its report. The work of Task Force is best described in the Taskforce reports page of the Government website. The page includes the full report of the task force It’s a hidden problem – the issue of violence against women and girls in Jersey, a summary report, a media toolkit and a number of research reports.

The Government press release announcing the publication of the report said –

This comprehensive report is a result of in-depth research, bringing together the experiences of victim-survivors, young people, professionals, and the broader public in Jersey to shed light on a critical issue, many aspects of which have long remained in the shadows. It represents a significant milestone in Jersey's commitment to addressing violence against women and girls.

The VAWG Taskforce is made up of a diverse range of stakeholders who all hold a key role in addressing violence against women and girls in Jersey. It includes representatives from specialist support services, criminal justice, health and social care, education, and community support services.

The Taskforce has revealed alarming statistics and testimony from victim-survivors, young people and the general public that demands immediate attention.

Nearly all respondents to the public survey reported having experienced at least one form of sexual harassment in their lifetime. One in four respondents had undergone the ordeal of rape or attempted rape.

The Independent Chair of the Taskforce, Kate Wright said: "This report is a shocking revelation of the extent and nature of violence experienced by women and girls in Jersey. I wish to thank those brave victim-survivors who have endured painful abuse and trauma yet chose to share their experiences to help us understand and confront these serious issues head-on.

“It is testament to the courage of our daughters, sisters, mothers, partners, friends, and colleagues who have endured unthinkable violence, abuse, harassment or been failed by our systems that should have protected them. By giving a voice to their experiences, we hope to spark a wave of change that will lead to real and lasting transformation."

The report exposes significant gaps in Jersey's current legislation which make it more difficult for the criminal justice system to protect victim-survivors and effectively manage perpetrators.

It underscores the necessity of independent reviews of Jersey’s criminal justice system and family court to build transparency and accountability.

The Taskforce has laid out clear and specific recommendations for change, including the need to address immigration policies that can compound the violence experienced by women who have not resided on the Island for five years.

It also highlights the urgent need for specialist counselling support for victim-survivors, which is currently extremely limited and detrimental to their long-term recovery.

In instances where these recommendations are not adopted, the Taskforce insists on a public explanation for this inaction, along with alternative proposals for action.

Such transparency is crucial for building public trust and confidence in the commitment of Jersey's institutions to tackling violence against women and girls.

Kate Wright added: "The findings of this report are a wake-up call to issues that affect many women and girls and that we can no longer ignore. As a community, we have a moral obligation to address these issues swiftly and decisively. To achieve the aims of the Taskforce, it was essential that the voices of women and girls should be at the centre of our work and that these voices were listened to without prejudice.

“Women and girls deserve to feel safe no matter where they are, whether that be at their place of education or at work, in public spaces, at home or online. However, the Taskforce’s research shows that this is not the reality for many women and girls in Jersey.”

The report represents the beginning of a much larger piece of work to address the issues of violence against women and girls in Jersey and prioritise the safety of women and girls across the Island.

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