Member's statement: Domestic Violence: Housing Executive Points System
Member's statement by Ms Aisling Reilly on .
- MLA
- Ms Aisling Reilly
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 21 January 2025
- Type
- Member's statement (made as a minister)
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Domestic Violence: Housing Executive Points System
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4749520
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I want to highlight an issue that needs urgent attention, particularly from the Housing Executive and the Department for Communities: the failure to properly support women and children who are fleeing from domestic violence and need suitable accommodation. I am working with a young woman from my constituency, West Belfast, who is a victim of domestic abuse. She is being supported by Women's Aid and other community counselling and trauma services, and I thank them for all the hard work that they do in our communities. Despite accepting that that woman is a victim of domestic violence and is in desperate need of appropriate accommodation, the Housing Executive has refused to allocate her primary social needs points because, when she first presented as homeless, she did not make it aware that she was fleeing a violent relationship. For an organisation that is at the forefront of supporting vulnerable people, that approach is inexplicable. It ignores the fact that many women in that position are living in fear. Escaping an abusive relationship is the most difficult thing that they will ever do. Many will be too terrified or traumatised to put into words what they have been through. When they later find the strength to do so, their circumstances should be recognised and responded to. They should not be penalised for not speaking up straight away. However, because of the bureaucratic and inflexible approach that is currently being adopted by the Housing Executive, that is exactly what is happening. Victims are being denied points because of procedure, not because of their circumstances. My constituent is currently living in a mixed-sex hostel. She has told me that male residents have been banging on her door in the middle of the night, retraumatising her over and over again. The bathroom facilities are shared. She has no toilet in her room. She is so afraid in the middle of the night that she cannot use those facilities. That is an intolerable situation. Given that that has been caused by the Housing Executive's policy, there will, unfortunately, be many other women and children enduring similar traumatic circumstances. The Assembly has, rightly, committed itself to a strategy to end violence against women and girls. We have made clear that violence and abuse in relationships is never acceptable and that we want to change society into one in which women and girls no longer live under that underlying threat and very real risk of harm and abuse and to create a place where everyone can thrive and be safe. That cannot be delivered by one Department, group or organisation, so I am by no means singling out the Housing Executive for criticism. However, in that instance, it has a particular responsibility. I understand that the Communities Minister is now in possession of the independent assessment of the fundamental review of allocations, which explored the housing selection scheme and the allocation process. Surely that is an opportunity to deal with this pressing issue. I hope that Members join me in calling for the current points system, particularly how it relates to domestic violence, to be reformed so that we can ensure that victims of that heinous crime are properly and compassionately supported whenever and wherever they ask for help.
541 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 (0.96).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.96).
- 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 | 0.05 | 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 | 0.96 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.04 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.59 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.41 |
| 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 11:47 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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