Member's statement: Violence Against Women and Girls
Member's statement by Ms Emma Sheerin on .
- MLA
- Ms Emma Sheerin
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 21 October 2024
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Violence Against Women and Girls
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4603398
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I will speak about an issue that brings me no joy whatsoever. Forty-two women and girls have been murdered in just under eight years in the North of Ireland: 42 women and girls, with their lives ahead of them, destroyed in a heartbeat. The North is, and has been for some time, one of the most dangerous places in Europe to be a girl, and the most dangerous place for many women is in their own home. After every death — every brutal murder — a lot of well-meaning people go to vigils, do a lot of hand-wringing and send condolences and sympathies. All those things are important, but they are not enough. We have to take action. Violence against women and girls is ingrained within our society, it is ingrained within all societies worldwide, and it has been for centuries. Misogyny, rape jokes, sexist remarks, commentary about women's appearance, the othering of women and the subjugation of women are commonplace in the North of Ireland. It is our job to tackle that situation; it is our responsibility to call it out and to see an end to the behaviours and the attitudes that lead to another newspaper article about another tragic loss. I want to see our strategy implemented, and I want to see us all working together so that we no longer have to stand in the Chamber and send condolences to another family. This afternoon, I take the opportunity to tell everybody affected by the most recent loss on the streets, just last week, that we hear their stories, feel their pain, send our deepest sympathies and commit ourselves to never seeing this happen again.
278 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 (0.62).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.70).
- 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 | 0.16 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.03 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.03 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.04 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.62 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.05 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.70 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.30 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.77 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.23 |
| 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 11:23 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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