Debate contribution: Action to End Violence Against Women and Girls
Debate contribution by Mrs Naomi Long on .
- MLA
- Mrs Naomi Long
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 19 November 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Action to End Violence Against Women and Girls
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4666165
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Mr Speaker, with your permission, I will answer questions 7 and 12 together. I condemn all acts of violence that endanger the safety and well-being of women and girls. In recent times, we have seen an increase in reported violence, including attacks in the Derry City and Strabane District Council area. My Department is continuing to work collaboratively with other key Departments to help eradicate violence against women and girls. That includes work under the domestic and sexual abuse (DSA) strategy, which is led by my Department and the Department of Health and builds on new offences and measures that I introduced in the last mandate to tackle domestic abuse, non-fatal strangulation and stalking that are actively helping to keep women and girls safer. We know that women and girls are not exclusively affected by domestic and sexual abuse, but they are disproportionately so. Therefore, the measures to address domestic and sexual abuse under the strategy will also directly contribute to the broader goals of ending violence against women and girls. The delivery of the outcomes and objectives under the strategy is supported by a three-year action plan that sets out a range of specific actions that are intended to create a lasting change. For the 2024-25 financial year, a ring-fenced budget of £1·62 million has been prioritised from the Department of Justice’s core budget to support the delivery of cross-departmental work to tackle domestic and sexual abuse.
238 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: 0.03 (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 (0.78).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.96).
- 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 | 0.04 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.78 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.96 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.04 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.51 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 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 11:37 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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