Debate contribution: Protecting Victims of Coercive Control

Debate contribution by Mr Paul Frew on 5 May 2026.

MLA

Mr Paul Frew

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

5 May 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Protecting Victims of Coercive Control

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5525186

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I support the motion and the amendment. There is absolutely no doubt that there will be many victims of coercive control and sexual and domestic violence. Máiría Cahill is only one of them, but the case is clear as to what she went through and how she was coerced after the fact and after the offence took place. The motion presents a real opportunity for Sinn Féin Members if they are serious about protecting victims of coercive control. Many of you are. I have worked with many of you in Committees, not only in Justice but in Finance, and we have worked through other legislation, including the Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings (Northern Ireland) Act 2021. Sinn Féin Members were just as committed as I was to introducing legislation on coercive control. So, this is a real opportunity for Sinn Féin here to acknowledge that past, to demonstrate a genuine commitment to doing things differently and to ensure that all victims out there are protected. It could happen to any one of us, even some of us in the Chamber, so it is really important that we get to grips with that. My party and I will support the motion and the amendment because it is a really serious issue. I was all over the Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings (Northern Ireland) Act 2021. I helped to shape and amend it, which I am always proud to do, to try to get legislation that was cutting edge. We had not, at that point, legislated for coercive control, so there was a real challenge in the Department to bring in law that could do that. Did we get it right? Probably not, but that Bill represented the best chance possible for all victims who were caught up in coercive control and domestic and sexual violence. I commend the Department for the work that it did at that time. We realise now that we did not put in commencement clauses, but there was real angst at that time from all the other parties involved in the Bill, including the judiciary, as to how they would handle it. However, I have absolutely no doubt about it: if you are a perpetrator of coercive control, you will use every weapon at your disposal, and that includes the courts — the family court and the criminal court. Those people have a brass neck for anything and everything. They will use all at their disposal to hurt, intimidate, humiliate, degrade, punish and frighten their victims, so it is really important that we get this right. I call on the Minister to put down clear timelines to commence all aspects of that Act and to make sure that everyone involved, including the judiciary, is fully informed and fully educated on what that law actually means. That should be a no-brainer. I should not even have to say that in the Chamber as a legislator, but we do see that disconnect. I suppose that we all feared that that would happen, so a piece of work must be done — a real, concentrated effort made — to ensure that all the cogs in the justice system work appropriately to safeguard victims. If we do not do that, what will happen is that no victim will want to come forward if they know that their perpetrator will use as a weapon the very vehicle that they, as a victim, are meant to use to seek justice. That is why it is really important that we get the law right. It is also very important that we progress law around coercive control. That is why I am tabling two amendments to the Justice Bill to bring in elements with regard to animals. I have just talked about the perpetrator using any weapon that they can use, and I was able to bring forward the offence of child aggravator in the Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act if the child was threatened or intimidated or if a threat to a child or victim would make them do whatever the perpetrator wanted. It would be the same with an animal. Therefore, I propose to table amendments to the Justice Bill, and I hope that the House will be able to support those amendments.

711 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:38 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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