Miss Wales finalists have met senior Welsh politicians to share their experiences of harassment and abuse, as part of a campaign to tackle violence against women.

The Miss Wales organisation was invited to the Senedd as part of the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence, where they met the First Minister of Wales, Eluned Morgan, and Social Justice Minister Jane Hutt.

Joyce Watson, MS for Mid and West Wales, invited Miss Wales 2025 finalists to discuss sexual abuse and harassment of young women in Wales.

The conversation focused on the finalists’ awareness and experience of sexual harassment in schools, universities, the workplace and socially.

“These remarkable young women are a credit to their organisation. They spoke clearly and bravely, with dignity and maturity,” said Ms Watson.

“It’s important that women of all ages are able to contribute to the dialogue surrounding gender-based violence. I am grateful to them for sharing their experiences, and I will feed their contributions into future work.”

Ms Watson first met Miss Wales contestants at the recent Light A Candle Vigil at Llandaff Cathedral, which the Miss Wales organisation attends every year. This marks White Ribbon Day, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which starts 16 Days of Activism.

The Labour MS was an organiser of the first White Ribbon service at Llandaff Cathedral, then when she was elected as an Assembly Member she set up an annual vigil on violence against women at the Senedd. She later launched the Not in my Name campaign with the Women’s Institute. The campaign recruits male ambassadors to make the White Ribbon promise to never use, excuse or remain silent about men’s violence against women.

Paula Abbandonato, director of Miss Wales and fundraising organisation A-Sisterhood which supports women’s causes worldwide, said: “We are so grateful to all the politicians for taking time out of their hugely busy schedules to meet with us. The longer conversation with Joyce Watson was really inciteful and we so appreciated her listening with genuine interest to what the Miss Wales finalists had to say. We hope to have made a valuable contribution and will continue to support their work to help support, empower and protect women in Wales.”