Debate contribution: Violence against Women and Girls: Deaths of Amy Doherty and Ellie Flanagan
Debate contribution by Ms Paula Bradshaw on .
- MLA
- Ms Paula Bradshaw
- 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 5465198
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Thank you, Claire, for raising the matter in the Chamber today. My party colleague Naomi Long, the Justice Minister, is at a family funeral this morning; otherwise, she would be with us in the Chamber. The tragic and heartbreaking recent deaths of Amy Doherty, aged just 30, in Derry and Ellie Flanagan, just 23 years old, in Enniskillen illustrate to us all the reality of violence against women and girls in our society. First and foremost, we must highlight what their families have lost. They were two young women with futures, friendships and lives that mattered. Their deaths are not just individual tragedies; they are part of a wider, deeply troubling pattern in Northern Ireland. If we fail to confront that pattern honestly, we fail them and their loved ones. Too often, when such cases arise, the public conversation focuses narrowly on their circumstances. However, we know that violence against women and girls is not random; it is systemic and is rooted in inequality and in harmful attitudes and behaviours that are too often minimised, excused or ignored until it is too late. That is precisely why the ending violence against women and girls strategic framework exists. It recognises that this is not simply a policing or justice issue but a societal one. It requires a whole-system approach from education and early intervention to support services and the consistent enforcement of the law. I thank the voluntary and community sector organisations that are delivering on programmes related to the strategic framework. We have to ensure that that work is sustained, targeted and funded at the level required to make a real difference to our society. Behind every statistic is a person, and behind every missed opportunity to intervene is a life that might have been saved. There is a responsibility of all of us in the Chamber and beyond to lead cultural change. That means calling out behaviours that demean women, supporting organisations on the ground that do that vital preventative work and ensuring that the issue never slips off our political agenda. Unless we are prepared to confront the root causes, we will continue to see similar tragedies.
359 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 (0.82).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.96).
- 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 | 0.06 | 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 | 0.82 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.96 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.04 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.58 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.42 |
| 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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