Member's statement: Violence Against Women and Girls
Member's statement by Ms Connie Egan on .
- MLA
- Ms Connie Egan
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 21 May 2024
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Violence Against Women and Girls
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4491398
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Again, I rise to talk again about the absolutely unacceptable levels of violence against women and girls in Northern Ireland, and I make a respectful plea to the First Minister and deputy First Minister to prioritise the issue. It has been over 100 days since the return of the Assembly and Executive, and all parties have committed to making the issue their priority. Some elected representatives were told that a strategic framework and action would be ready by last year. One hundred days later, we have still not had it signed off by the Executive. With 98% of women in Northern Ireland experiencing at least one form of violence, abuse or harassment in their lifetime, how many more stories do we need to hear? Women are being murdered in their homes. They are being abused and harassed. They are suffering, while we are the only part of these islands that does not have a strategic framework or action plan to deal with the issue. Last week, on the Executive Office Committee, we heard from local women's centres, Women's Aid, Nexus, the Rural Women's Network, the Women's Resource and Development Agency and Rape Crisis. The community and voluntary sector is picking up the pieces where the Executive are failing to deliver. The sector is doing the grassroots work on the ground, supporting women, but it needs help, support and, crucially, fully funded services to support vulnerable women and girls. We cannot have any more delays. Since 2020, 19 women have been killed in Northern Ireland. We owe it to victims and survivors to fight for a better Northern Ireland so that more people can have the help that they need from front-line services and we can fund measures to prevent this, allowing women and girls to lead fulfilling lives free from harm and abuse. I call, please, for the funding needed to deliver the strategic framework to end violence against women and girls and for urgent sign-off by the Executive.
329 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: 0.05 (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 (0.95).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.99).
- Subject area: Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups.
- 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 | 0.05 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.95 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.05 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.99 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.01 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.53 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.47 |
| 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 10:31 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.