Debate contribution: Ending Violence Against Women and Girls: Update
Debate contribution by Ms Joanne Bunting on .
- MLA
- Ms Joanne Bunting
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 6 October 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Ending Violence Against Women and Girls: Update
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5156647
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the Member for asking that important question. The Power to Change campaign is really important, because it urges men and boys to play their part in effecting a cultural and societal shift. That cannot be done by women and girls alone. It challenges men and boys to check and change unwanted behaviours and attitudes towards women and girls, including those activities that demean and inhibit women. The campaign uses the active bystander approach, as I mentioned earlier, to challenge men and boys to step away from negative attitudes, to challenge their friends and to have the confidence to step in safely and put a stop to behaviour that may escalate or that may put their friends at risk of offending in the future. The campaign had a wide reach right across Northern Ireland, with targeted messaging on social media, posters, billboards and buses and in pubs and restaurants, as well as on the radio. The campaign toolkit has been delivered to teachers for use in schools right across Northern Ireland, and that is starting a conversation that needs to be had right across society to encourage men and boys to be part of the solution. The next phase of the campaign will be developed with input from young men, and that will help us reach a younger audience in a way that will make sense to them and equip them to make better decisions when they witness challenging behaviour towards women and girls. I highlight the fact that, through the local change fund, a lot of councils are doing great work in that area. There are a lot of projects that engage not just women and girls but boys and men in the areas of understanding and prevention.
290 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not qualifying”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (qualifying needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not qualifying).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.79).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.94).
- Subject area: Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-qualifying 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 | 0.09 | 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 | 0.79 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-qualifying threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.94 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.06 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.61 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.39 |
| 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 13:22 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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