Debate contribution: Domestic Abuse: Support for Victims
Debate contribution by Mrs Naomi Long on .
- MLA
- Mrs Naomi Long
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 24 June 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Domestic Abuse: Support for Victims
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5046740
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Significant support and provision have already been made available under the seven-year domestic and sexual abuse strategy for 2024 to 2031, which my Department leads in partnership with the Department of Health. The support and provision pillar of the strategy is intended to ensure that all victims of domestic and/or sexual abuse can access tailored, responsive and specialised support and provision to allow them to recover and rebuild their life. Support that is in place under the strategy includes the sexual offences legal adviser (SOLA) pathway project, which provides victims of serious sexual offences with a wide range of legal advice and information up to the point of a trial. I have extended that project from February to include a children's SOLA service. There is a domestic violence and abuse disclosure scheme that is aimed at protecting victims and future victims of domestic abuse, and that includes the right to ask and the power to tell. There is the ASSIST NI advocacy service for high-risk victims of domestic abuse and victims of serious sexual offences who are engaged with the justice system, and a bespoke children and young people's service?under the same auspices is due to commence on 1 July.? There is a 24-hour domestic abuse helpline in Northern Ireland that is provided by Nexus and funded jointly by DOJ, DFC and DOH. Advocacy support services are delivered to families after the domestic homicide of a family member or friend. It is important to acknowledge, however, that domestic and sexual abuse is not just a Justice or a Health issue and that other Departments have also made a range of support available. As implementation of the strategy progresses, further action plans will be developed, building on earlier actions where necessary and developing new actions as appropriate.
296 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 (0.63).
- 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 | 0.63 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | 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 | 0.74 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.23 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.03 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:52 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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