Debate contribution: Sexual Offences Legal Advisers: Impact
Debate contribution by Mrs Naomi Long on .
- MLA
- Mrs Naomi Long
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 24 March 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Sexual Offences Legal Advisers: Impact
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4865116
Read the official Assembly record
Text
The sexual offences legal adviser scheme has had, and continues to have, an overwhelmingly positive impact for victims in serious sexual offence cases. The SOLA service, which is funded by my Department and delivered by solicitors who are employed by Victim Support NI, has provided free, independent legal advice to 2,000 victims since its launch in April 2021. Victims have told me directly how valuable access to such advice has been. A high-level evaluation, conducted after the first year of the pilot, found that stakeholders largely agreed that the pilot was meeting its objective to improve the experience of complainants who are going through the criminal justice system and was leading to enhanced confidence in the process. It found that the main benefits to SOLA service users were enhanced communication and understanding of the legal process; victims being kept up to date and involved with the process; a lowering of early attrition rates and disengagement; increased confidence and a voice in the process; and the provision of an avenue of support and reassurance. In 2022, my Department established a SOLA monitoring and evaluation group, which meets quarterly to analyse scheme uptake, user data and user feedback. That ongoing evaluation continues to support the earlier findings. Many victims who have used the service say that, without a SOLA, they would not have continued with their cases. Others have said that having the support of a SOLA gave them a voice in the justice system. Those positive evaluation reports, and hearing from victims about how important it is to have access to legal advice, helped inform my decision, in November 2024, to extend the pilot for a further two years until March 2027 and to launch a new children’s service in February 2025.
291 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: 0.02 (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 (0.82).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- 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 | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.82 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.72 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.20 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.08 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:12 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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