Wales "is not even considering" introducing a curfew for men in Wales, the First Minister has said.
Mark Drakeford put out a statement to deny reports he was considering the move to protect women in the wake of Sarah Everard's disappearance.
A body found hidden in woodland in Kent has been identified as that of 33-year-old Sarah Everard, police confirmed on Friday afternoon. She had last been seen walking home from visiting a friend in London.
In an interview with the BBC Mr Drakeford was asked whether he would consider a curfew to protect women.
He replied: "It wouldn’t be on the top of the list of things we’d consider because it would be at the very best a temporary intervention."
After being pressed further, he added: "If there were a crisis, and you needed to take dramatic action that allowed that crisis to be drawn down, then of course you’d be prepared to consider all measures that would make a difference.
"But the curfew measure you’ve described, it could only ever be a temporary answer and therefore it’s not at the top of our list. There are other things we can do and should do.
"People need to be safe and to feel safe and that’s absolutely the sort of society we wish to create here in Wales."
After critics accused him of considering a curfew he issued a statement emphatically denying it was on the cards.
He wrote: "We are NOT introducing a curfew for men in Wales – or even considering it. This is misleading and deliberately misses the real issue.
"It’s a sad distraction when what’s needed is a proper discussion about women’s safety and why a woman is killed every three days by a man in the UK."
Almost one in three women aged 16 to 59 will experience domestic abuse in her lifetime and two women a week are killed by a current or former partner in England and Wales.
A serving Metropolitan Police officer had been arrested at an address in Kent in connection with Ms Everard's disappearance.
Thousands of posts by women on social media have shown that concerns over safety when walking is widespread, even close to the place where women live.
