Debate contribution: Violence against Women and Girls: Deaths of Amy Doherty and Ellie Flanagan
Debate contribution by Mr Mark Durkan on .
- MLA
- Mr Mark Durkan
- Party at the time
- Social Democratic and Labour 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 5465174
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Today, Derry is mourning a devastating loss following the murder of Amy Doherty, a young mother, a carer with North West Care and a woman who gave so much of herself to others. Alongside that grief, something else is sitting heavy in all of us: anger and a deep uneasiness that so many women know only too well.
Our hearts go out to Amy's children and family. I visited them last night and struggled to find words of comfort in the aftermath of that unspeakable crime. They have lost a daughter, a sister, a niece, an aunt and a granddaughter. Two more wee children face a future in this frightening world without their mammy. It is shameful and shocking but, sadly, not surprising that we are here again, grieving the loss of another woman in such horrific and heartbreaking circumstances. I spoke with people at the weekend, and they told me in no uncertain terms that this is why women do not speak up and why they are afraid to leave their abusers. It feels like an impossible choice: leave and risk death or stay and risk it anyway, all the while trying to manage, placate and survive day by day in situations that no one should ever have to endure. Women are being silenced, broken down and murdered in their homes, because the system too often does not catch them when they are falling and support does not come until it is too late. We need a system that protects women from day 1, one that believes victims and allows them to access support early and safely without fear or judgement. We need to ask why the North is the most dangerous place in Europe for women to live and why 30 women have been murdered here since 2020. Amy's name was on the lips of everyone across the city this morning. Going about our day-to-day lives does not feel right, nor should it, because something is deeply wrong with our society. Again and again we stand here after the fact, mourning, remembering and asking questions that we have asked so many times before: what do we do, and how do we stop this? Talk to your daughters. Talk to your sons. Believe victims the first time. Perpetrators of abuse must be punished, but the prevention of abuse is paramount. My thoughts are with women across this island and those who are afraid, feel trapped and feel that no one is listening. We see and hear you. We cannot —
— and will not accept a world where your safety is uncertain.
433 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: 0.06 (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 (0.98).
- 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 | 0.12 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.03 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.03 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.55 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.06 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.98 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.02 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.53 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.47 |
| 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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