Debate contribution: Ending Violence Against Women and Girls
Debate contribution by Ms Michelle O'Neill on .
- MLA
- Ms Michelle O'Neill
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 21 September 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Ending Violence Against Women and Girls
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5742035
Read the official Assembly record
Text
A Cheann Comhairle
, with your permission, I will answer questions 1 and 13 together. Ending violence against women and girls (EVAWG) remains a key Executive and Programme for Government (PFG) priority. Our second delivery plan, which runs until 2028, builds on the success of our first delivery plan and is focused on continued investment in the EVAWG local change fund, on deeper partnership working and on campaigns to increase understanding of violence, abuse and harm. Since 2024, more than £9 million has been invested through the change fund in community-based action, supporting over 5,000 events and reaching more than 96,000 people. The Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes initiative, which is just one of the campaigns that we are running, was developed in partnership with Ulster University and is specifically designed to raise awareness and understanding of coercive control. The initiative has two elements to it: a public awareness campaign, which encourages people to check in with themselves and reflect on how they feel within their relationships, thus helping them recognise the signs of coercive control and understand when support is needed; and a train the trainer initiative, which is designed to equip front-line workers with the tools to recognise and respond to coercive control. We are delighted to say that, following the pilot, there has been significant interest in that training initiative. Our officials continue to work with Ulster University to develop arrangements for its wider delivery. We know that ending violence against women and girls is a long-term issue. We have said many times in the Chamber that there is no quick fix. Through sustained investment, strong partnerships and collective action, however, we will continue to play our part in ending violence against women and girls.
288 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.02 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.64).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.64 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.51 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.49 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 16:26 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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