PSNI launches first action plan to tackle violence against women and girls

The Police Service of Northern Ireland has today, September 27, formally launched its first Tackling Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) Action Plan for policing.
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Women and girls in Northern Ireland are disproportionately affected by violence, abuse and intimidation. From April 2021 to March 2022, in Northern Ireland, they made up 78% of all victims of sexual crimes, 68% of domestic abuse, 64% of harassment and as of April 2022, 95% of stalking crimes.

This makes tackling VAWG a top priority for the Police Service of Northern Ireland, and today, Chief Constable Simon Byrne has said the service is ‘sending a strong message that it will not be tolerated’ and that if you are targeting women and girls ‘you will be relentlessly pursued’.

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This important document sets out, for the first time in Northern Ireland, a clear framework for how the Police Service will play its part to tackle this important and enduring societal issue.

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It is aligned with the UK National Strategy under three key pillars:

1 Building trust and confidence in policing to tackling violence against women and girls

2. Relentlessly pursuing perpetrators of violence and supporting victims

3.Creating safer spaces for women and girls

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The Action Plan is focused on prevention, early intervention, partnership working and enhanced support for victims and has been influenced at a local level in collaboration with numerous key partners for example, experts within the wider criminal justice system and victim support and advocacy groups.

Chief Constable Simon Byrne said: “We cannot ignore the lived experiences of so many female victims. Harassment, intimidation, violence and abuse is a violation of human dignity.“We will be working to better recognise, understand, address and reduce the fear experienced by women and girls.

“We can and we will be pursuing those who seek to harm them, using every power available to us.

“Through our action plan we will also be focused on bettering our own culture and continuing to educate our officers and staff to understand the impact of unacceptable attitudes and behaviours, taking effective and appropriate action against those who may take advantage of their trusted position in society.”

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National Police Coordinator for Violence against Women and Girls, Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth, said: “Violence against women and girls is a shameful stain on society. Too often women and girls do not feel safe at work, home, on the streets or online and perpetrators are the cause.

“I welcome the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s action plan which demonstrates their commitment to relentlessly pursue perpetrators, ensure women and girls are given safe routes to report and get support, and root out toxic misogyny in our own ranks and in society. Police are increasing the use of unique powers to bring perpetrators to justice, monitor offenders and disrupt their vile activities. Each action plan written is another crucial step towards achieving our mission to turn the tables so violent men feel under threat and not women and girls.

“I am confident that the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s approach to developing this plan including working in partnership, focusing on prevention and engaging with the right people will give the service every opportunity to achieve its objectives, and most importantly, protect women and girls.”

Between 2017 and 2021, 34 women and girls across Northern Ireland were killed by men. Many others faced other forms of male violence, abuse and intimidation, both within their own homes and the wider community.

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Addressing this harrowing statistic, Chief Constable Simon Byrne added: “It is important to recognise that this targeted behaviour crosses social and economic boundaries. To effectively tackle complex societal issues like this, we need everyone to actively champion the change that is needed.

“The actions we will be taking over the next two years are clear, and there will be more priorities and actions taken thereafter but policing can’t end violence against women and girls on its own.

“For this to really work, to really make a change for all women and girls, we need to work in partnership with all parts of society.

“This is a watershed moment. Never before has there been such a shared focus and ambition to radically reduce violence against women and girls and we must keep the momentum going.”

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Endorsing the Police Service’s approach, Women’s Aid Federation of Northern Ireland’s CEO Sarah Mason said: “The launch today of the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Action Plan to tackle violence against women and girls is an historic day for all women and girls in Northern Ireland, finally bringing Northern Ireland into line with the rest of the UK.“The Police taking this first step is welcomed by Women’s Aid but we are clear that we need a whole Northern Ireland approach to tackle VAWG in all its forms and look forward to local Government taking the next step. Women’s Aid would like to acknowledge the partnership approach from the Police Service in developing this action plan.”

An Independent Advisory Group will be set up to oversee the outcomes of the action plan and public scrutiny into this work is expected.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Tackling Violence against Women and Girls action plan sets out how policing will tackle this area over the next two years.

It incorporates recommendations from the UK Government, National Police Chiefs’ Council and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Service. It will also be driven locally by the district policing leads and neighbourhood policing teams.

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This is for the Police Service. It is a policing action plan. However, recognising that VAWG is not an issue that can be solved by policing alone, the Police Service will also be working closely than ever before with a range of partner agencies within Northern Ireland to drive a wider partnership approach. These actions are also set out in the document.

Building Trust and Confidence

The Police Service is putting a priority focus on building public trust and confidence in policing, recognising it is just as important to ensure the very highest professional standards.

Superintendent Claire McGuigan, the Service Lead for this priority explained: “We recognise that our organisation is a reflection of society and just as we will pursue perpetrators of VAWG in our communities we are just as committed to rooting out those that may be in our own ranks.

“The vast majority of our officers and staff go to work every day with the number one priority focus of keeping people safe. They put themselves in often very dangerous situations and come in contact with people who are at their most vulnerable.

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“They have specialist powers at their disposal and we do not want their position to ever be abused in any way. We want the public to feel reassured and have full confidence in our abilities to tackle VAWG and to know that we will do our very best to keep them safe from harm.

“We have plans to further increase our work with women’s groups to ensure we listen to the voices of all women and girls and that their experiences continue to be reflected in our police training to better our response.”

Relentless pursuit of VAWG perpetrators

The Criminal Justice System needs to respond quicker and with a particular focus on violence against women and girls. Through the action plan, the Police Service wants to reduce incidents of VAWG and better understand why some women and girls do not seek a criminal justice outcome. They are also going to continue to actively pursue perpetrators and work with criminal justice partners on stronger outcomes.

Detective Chief Superintendent Anthony McNally the Service Lead for this priority explained: “We want those that target women and girls in Northern Ireland to know that we are actively pursuing you. We want to secure as many convictions as possible.

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“We want to break down the barriers that stop women and girls from reporting to us. We don’t want any in our society suffering in silence, fearing they won’t be believed.

“We are pursuing those who seek to harm women and girls in any way, using new legal tools at our disposal to bring offenders to justice for offences like coercive control and stalking.

“Since the introduction of domestic abuse legislation that criminalises coercive control, in February this year, we have arrested 213 perpetrators in the first five months (up until June 2022). Since the introduction of new stalking legislation in April this year, we have charged 25 people with stalking offences.

“We know crimes like these predominately affect women and girls and we are coming down hard on the perpetrators.

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“We want to continue to improve the criminal justice outcomes for women and girls – this means even better detection rates and more robust cases brought before the courts. We will use every policing power we have.”

Making spaces safer

For so many women and girls, home is not a safe place for them. From April 2021 to March 2022 the Police Service dealt with, on average, around 1,737 domestic abuse offences a month, 1,186 perpetrated against women and girls.

The action plan seeks to reduce the opportunity for this type of offending and encourage even more women and girls to come forward so that we can take perpetrators off our streets.

As well as feeling safe at home, women should not be looking over their shoulder, fearful when out and about in our local communities. The Police are actively working with the night-time and entertainment sectors to ensure women and girls have safe spaces to attend.

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Officers will be on patrol in identified ‘hotspots’, proactively looking out for predatory behaviours and safeguarding those who may be presenting as vulnerable.

We know that women and girls are also targeted, harassed and abused online. The Police Service have dedicated teams who are cracking down on crimes against women and girls that are happening in digital spaces.

Superintendent Gillian Kearney, the Service Lead for this priority explained: “The peaceful enjoyment of our public spaces and being safe online and at home are basic expectations. We will work with partners to make this is a reality for women and girls in Northern Ireland.

“We want to reduce the opportunity for offending and make all spaces safer.”