Member's statement: Community Conference on Domestic Abuse: Donaghadee
Member's statement by Ms Connie Egan on .
- MLA
- Ms Connie Egan
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 10 March 2026
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Community Conference on Domestic Abuse: Donaghadee
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5436047
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I highlight an incredibly important event that took place in my constituency in the town of Donaghadee last week. Donaghadee Community Development Association, alongside North Down and Ards Women's Aid, organised a community conference that focused on domestic abuse and violence, which was called When Home Isn't Safe. The event shone a light on the often hidden crime of domestic abuse in our communities. It was an opportunity for those who have been affected, for people who wanted to learn more and for organisations providing vital support to come together and share information, bust some of the myths and highlight that anybody in our community can be a victim of that horrific crime. We had presentations from organisations such as Hourglass, the Men's Advisory Project and Women's Aid. They highlighted the wide range of services that they offer and the brilliant work that they do in supporting women, children, men and elderly people with unique services that each of them needs, reiterating that anybody can be a victim of that type of crime. 'The Souls of our Shoes' exhibition from the Mothers' Union was on display. It was incredibly moving and showed lived testimony, with the display of a simple article — shoes — from a victim or survivor, which, often, had been used to walk away to safety or to achieve justice, alongside a quote from that victim. It really brought home to many of us who were there that evening the impact that those crimes have. The PSNI spoke, and it was welcome to hear how it is using the relatively new offences of coercive control and non-fatal strangulation to address abuse and violent behaviours.
It was very clear, however, that despite receiving a call relating to those types of crimes every 16 minutes, it believes that they are still under-reported. The most powerful contributions came from victim and survivor testimonies. This insidious crime affects people across society, and the support, recovery and justice journey will be different for them all. They bravely spoke up to raise awareness, in the hope that sharing their story could help someone else and prevent that type of crime happening. I thank the organisers and everyone who attended on the evening. It was a truly worthwhile event, and it will make a difference.
381 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).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues.
- 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 | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.29 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.68 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.32 |
| 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 15:09 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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