Violence against women and girls 'is a cancer on society and must end'
The First and Deputy First Ministers have spoken of the urgent need to tackle violence against women and girls as they branded it ‘a cancer on society’ and warned that ‘enough is enough’.
Foyle SDLP representative Sinéad McLaughlin meanwhile has said that adequate resourcing and funding must be allocated to ensure the new strategy is fully implemented as she warned that ‘volence against women and girls is deeply rooted here, fuelled by misogynistic attitudes that are present through all levels of society’.
Ms., McLaughlin was speaking after the Northern Ireland Executive launched the new strategy and its first ‘Delivery Plan’, which will see a £3million investment in a range of voluntary and community sector projects.
The new strategy has been widely welcomed, and speaking at the launch, First Minister Michelle O’Neill said: "Violence against women and girls must stop. That has been highlighted even more so in recent weeks with the deaths of four more women in horrific circumstances. To their families, I extend our deepest condolences and reiterate our commitment to working together to ending this violence, harm and abuse.
"Today we bring forward a Strategic Framework and first Delivery Plan. This framework intends to bring together a whole of society and whole of government response to address this issue which impacts the lives of far too many women and girls across our society.”
The strategy, the First Minister said, was written based on the voices and views of those with lived experience and the expertise of those working in this area.
"Their knowledge and experience has been crucial in helping us develop this strategy and we want to thank them for their commitment and support,” she said.
“The Delivery Plan will support those organisations working to prevent and challenge the attitudes, behaviours and culture that can lead to violence against women and girls. It will deliver real change for those who suffer harm and abuse across our society every day.
“There is something everyone can do and we must all work together to take this strategy forward and bring about the changes needed to ensure that we create a better society where women and girls can feel safe and be safe everywhere.”
Deputy First Minister Emma Little Pengelly said that the message had to go out that ‘enough is enough’.
"Violence against women and girls is a cancer on society and must end. We need to act now.
“The main focus of this strategy is on prevention. We recognise that tackling the underlying causes of violence, abuse and harm towards women and girls and stopping it before it starts is vital.
“We also want to support delivery of high-quality services that address the needs of women and girls who are victims and survivors and help prevent further violence from taking place.
“The strategy and delivery plan build on the good work already being done and sets out a coordinated approach to tackle what is an extremely complex problem. It is vital we all continue to work together to build the transformative change we need so that women and girls can live free from violence. That work starts today.”
Sinéad McLaughlin welcomed the publication of the strategy but added that it must be fully implemented and funded.
Ms McLaughlin said: “Ending violence against women and girls should be a central mission of government and the publication of this strategy is long overdue. Over the years, we have all stood at vigils and rallies to declare that this epidemic must end.”
Pointing out that 23 women have been killed in Northern Ireland since 2020, Ms McLaughlin said the publication of this strategy ‘must represent a moment of true change if this is to be ended once and for all’.
“Violence against women and girls is deeply rooted here, fuelled by misogynistic attitudes that are present through all levels of society. It will not be addressed overnight and requires action throughout government and wider society. It will come as a shock to some that the First Minister’s statement referenced a fund of just £3 million, to be spent over two years.
“While the implementation of the strategic framework is key and funding cannot solve every issue, many people will rightly be asking whether change can be achieved without the requisite level of funding that is needed.
“Meanwhile, in the South, the new domestic violence agency is funded by over £60 million with a team of thirty-five members of staff. I absolutely appreciate that we are in a different working environment than the South, but this cannot excuse a lack of ambition or transparency on the amount of public funding that could be allocated to implement the strategy.”
The Community Foundation for Northern Ireland has also welcomed the introduction of the Strategic Framework and first Delivery Plan.
Its CEO Róisín Wood said: "More than 20 women have been killed in Northern Ireland since 2020, with three women having been murdered over the last 4 weeks.
"Violence against women and girls is a problem that women and girls face every day. We agree with the First Minister that this is a whole society problem and it is time for everyone to step up and play their role in calling out all forms of misogyny, sexism and violence.
“This strategy has been developed through a co-design model and we would like to extend our thanks to all those organisations and individuals who have invested their time in achieving both this framework and delivery plan – in particular those victims of violence who engaged in this process.
"Women and girls should feel safe everywhere and at all times and we commit to working with partners across Government and the Voluntary and Community sector in achieving this vision.”