Member's statement: Ending Violence Against Women and Girls
Member's statement by Ms Connie Egan on .
- MLA
- Ms Connie Egan
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 25 November 2024
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Ending Violence Against Women and Girls
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4674511
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Today marks the start of 16 days of activism against gender-based violence. The next weeks are time for action and reflection on the global theme: unite to end violence against women and girls. To coincide with the beginning of the 16 days is White Ribbon Day, which is a global movement that was started by men to combat violence against women and girls. Research by Ulster University recently found that 98% of women in Northern Ireland have experienced at least one form of violence or abuse in their lifetime. That is shocking and unacceptable, and the solutions are everyone's responsibility. The challenge that I put to all legislators in our Chamber today is to amplify the voices of victims and survivors across all our briefs. Since the Assembly returned in February, we have had the publication of the strategic framework to end violence against women and girls, alongside the strategy to tackle domestic and sexual abuse. New funding has become available to provide vital support for the organisations that propped us up in the absence of a functioning Government. That does not negate the fact, though, that until September, we were the only region across these islands that did not have a dedicated action plan to tackle gender-based violence. Those steps signify only the beginning of our Executive jointly stepping up to the plate and uniting to deliver for women and girls. I cannot stand here and pretend that we can pat ourselves on the back. From 1 January 2023 to 30 June this year, 31,931 domestic abuse incidents were reported to the PSNI in Northern Ireland. This work is for everyone across our society to be involved in. Whether it is on providing preventative education, strengthening our justice system or providing support to victims, the message that we must send is one of change. Today, Women's Aid Northern Ireland launched its annual figures. It reported that, in the financial year 2023-24, 527 women and 291 children stayed in one of its emergency accommodation refuges in Northern Ireland. We cannot be self-congratulatory when we are still playing catch-up on years of inaction, and women are paying the cost of that with their lives. Our approach to ending the epidemic must be to get everyone involved. We cannot be bystanders; we must all be vehicles for change and progress.
388 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: 0.04 (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 (0.79).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.99).
- 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 | 0.06 | 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 | 0.79 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.04 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.62 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.38 |
| 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 11:38 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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