Debate contribution: Violence against Women and Girls: Deaths of Amy Doherty and Ellie Flanagan
Debate contribution by Ms Connie Egan on .
- MLA
- Ms Connie Egan
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 23 March 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Matter of the Day
- Heading
- Violence against Women and Girls: Deaths of Amy Doherty and Ellie Flanagan
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5465166
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I rise in real anger and devastation that two more women in Northern Ireland have had their lives tragically taken away from them.
That the murder of Amy Doherty in the Foyle area over the weekend followed on so quickly from the murder of Ellie Flanagan in Enniskillen is beyond comprehension. Since 2020, 30 adult women have been killed in Northern Ireland. They were all beloved women with their interests, dreams and opportunities ahead. They had their whole lives to look forward to, but, instead, they were cruelly and unjustly taken away. I send my sincerest condolences to the loved ones of Amy and Ellie. I cannot fathom the pain and grief that they must be experiencing right now.
Violence against women and girls remains an insidious blight on our society. When will everyone finally get a wake-up call, stand up and take it seriously? We cannot take our attention away from putting it to an end. In order to truly tackle such violence, we must look upstream and recognise the behaviours that often precede it. That includes the misogynistic attitudes and behaviours that most women experience almost daily. Everyone, particularly those of us in the Chamber, has a role to play in challenging misogynistic aspects of our culture that lead to gender-based harm, violence against women and the rape and murder of women. As public representatives, we have a duty to model the respectful behaviours that we need everyone across our communities to exhibit for change to happen. I urge anyone who has any information about the deaths of Amy and Ellie that could be relevant to the investigation to please get in touch with the police as soon as possible. My heart breaks for those women, their families and their children.
293 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: 0.04 (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).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.82).
- 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 | 0.17 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.03 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.03 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.04 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.33 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.04 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.82 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.18 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.74 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.26 |
| 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 15:06 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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