Debate contribution: International Women’s Day 2025

Debate contribution by Ms Connie Egan on 4 March 2025.

MLA

Ms Connie Egan

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

4 March 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

International Women’s Day 2025

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4833591

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Ahead of International Women's Day on Saturday — the theme this year is "Accelerate action"— I join women around the Chamber in support of the motion. It highlights the absolute necessity of taking decisive steps to achieve gender equality and the need to address systemic barriers that exclude women from reaching their full potential. I am glad that we tabled the motion on an all-party basis and that we can come together for International Women's Day with a call to action. Women play an absolutely vital role in our society, all whilst living in one of the most dangerous places to be a woman in western Europe. Since 2020, there have been 20 domestic homicides in Northern Ireland with a female victim. Recent research from Ulster University found that 98% of women here have experienced at least one form of gender-based violence or abuse in their lifetime. That is entirely despicable and needs to change. How can we expect women to live and thrive when they are trying so hard just to survive? The Chamber has not shied away from those challenges, and the launch of the strategic framework to end violence against women and girls in September 2024, alongside the domestic and sexual abuse prevention strategy, is very welcome progress. That said, we can all agree that there is so much more to do, and we cannot lose the momentum behind those goals. That is why tackling gender-based violence remaining a core priority of the Northern Ireland Executive in the finalised Programme for Government, published just this week, was so welcome. The theme of this year's International Women's Day rings true. We cannot stagnate, become complacent or pause our progress when there are still so many challenges ahead. We must accelerate our action and keep going. This is not a job for women alone; it is a job for everyone across society. It is not a job for the justice system alone: whilst ensuring that justice is delivered when harm occurs is integral, every Minister, Department and elected representative has a role in preventing sexism, abuse and misogyny from even happening in the first place. Everyone in society has a responsibility and can play a role in shifting culture and leading change. "Accelerate action" looks like supporting women and girls into leadership, decision-making, business and STEM, all areas of society where they are under-represented. It looks like transforming our healthcare system so that, no matter your gender, you can receive the healthcare that you need. It is elevating women's achievements in sports and actively bringing them into sectors that are hard to break into. It is also making sure that the environments that women are in are safe and are adaptable to them. We need to challenge the pervasive culture of misogyny that is rife in our society. In a Secondary Students' Union report in 2022, 70·6% of pupils said that they did not believe that sexism was taken seriously enough in our schools. These are children who are trying to grow, learn and become who they want to be, but they are faced with yet another barrier to doing that. The online space is constantly growing and uncontrollable. We need to work with colleagues from other nations to ensure its regulation. All of that reinforces the responsibility on us as legislators and the need for intervention and prevention work across all sections of society. I see trailblazers leading the way in my constituency and community of North Down, working in a personal capacity to economically empower women to live to their fullest potential. I think of North Down and Ards Women's Aid and Kilcooley Women's Centre, which support women in crisis and those who need access to multiple agencies to secure their safety. I also think of our local leaders and the women in arts venues, churches, community groups and schools who consistently show up and make spaces more inclusive every day. My party and I are dedicated to ensuring that women from all backgrounds have the support needed to succeed, and we are keen to work with as many people and parties around the Chamber as possible to ensure that that happens.

695 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:06 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.

Challenge this classification