Debate contribution: Social Media
Debate contribution by Ms Michelle O'Neill on .
- MLA
- Ms Michelle O'Neill
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 28 April 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Social Media
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4913386
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Thank you for that. You are absolutely right that it requires that whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach if we are to end the scourge of violence and misogyny towards women and girls, whether that be online, at work, in school or at home. We all have to continue to do everything that we can. We need to make space to ensure that the voices of our young people in particular are heard. Today's world, in which young people are growing up, is complex: things are very different from when I was growing up. I very much value our strategy team's work with the Education Authority (EA) and the youth engagement team over the past two years to build that wider societal approach. It has very much listened to and engaged with youth panels across the North to give them a voice in the work that we develop to respond to this societal issue. We have also established youth reference groups, which will be crucial. The Commissioner for Children and Young People, the Secondary Students' Union, the Youth Forum, Girlguiding Ulster and a raft of young people's groups are coming together to help to shape the strategy. The Member may have seen the Power to Change campaign. Young people were very engaged with that and helped us to devise that work. Collaboration will be key. For my part, I will continue to engage with young people and others to amplify their voice and empower our young people to speak up. Only by speaking out and highlighting the issues can we make the difference that, I am sure, we all want to see in our society.
273 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 (0.66).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.81).
- 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 | 0.07 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.66 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.81 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.19 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.92 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.08 |
| 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 12:26 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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