Debate contribution: Violence against Women and Girls: Deaths of Amy Doherty and Ellie Flanagan
Debate contribution by Mrs Linda Dillon on .
- MLA
- Mrs Linda Dillon
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- 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 5465192
Read the official Assembly record
Text
First, I offer my sincere condolences to the families of Ellie and Amy and to the families of all the other women who have died in the North at the hands of men. That is the thing that is missing from this conversation: it is violence against women and girls by men. Who are those men? They are mostly men who are related to them. They are partners or ex-partners who are known to the women and are supposed to love, protect and look after them. They are not strangers or bogeymen. Many of the men who perpetrate those crimes are men in leadership roles. We in this Chamber are in leadership roles, and we need to show leadership. We need to show people that there is no tolerance for any level of misogyny and no tolerance for any level of violence against women and girls, whether that is through what you say or what you do. We have seen many in very high positions in the PSNI and some elected representatives be accused — some have been found guilty — of very serious crimes against women and girls. We have to be honest about that and call it out for what it is. We need people to stop making excuses for men and boys who carry out horrific actions against women and girls.
We need to say that and call it out for what it is. If we do not change the culture and we do not change society, all of the investment in the world in any statutory body or voluntary and community organisation will not be worth a jot. We have to be honest about it.
I absolutely concur with the commentary about the need to fund organisations such as Women's Aid and many others that help and support women. People need to stop saying, "Why do they not leave?". Where the hell would they go? Where would many of those women go with families and children? They have no home to go to, and, often, they do not have family support or the means to leave, so people should stop saying that. As has been highlighted today, women are often in the greatest danger when they try to leave. Let us take that out of the conversation and the equation. In many cases, those women cannot leave. We need to be honest about who is a danger to them. It is not the bogeymen in the streets; it is the men who live in their homes. It is their male relatives, their partners and their ex-partners.
430 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: 0.08 (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 (0.65).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.71).
- 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 | 0.40 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.18 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.10 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.08 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.65 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.08 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.71 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.25 |
| Adopts it | 0.04 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.82 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.18 |
| 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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