DoJ engaging with Derry policing partnership after sexually motivated attacks on women
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00:00I condemn all acts of violence that endanger the safety and well-being of
00:03women and girls. In recent times we've seen an increase in reported violence
00:07including attacks in the Derry and City and Strabane District Council area. My
00:11department is continuing to work collaboratively with other key
00:14departments to help eradicate violence against women and girls. This includes
00:17work under the domestic and sexual abuse strategy which is led by my department
00:21and the Department of Health and which builds on new offences and measures that
00:24I introduced in the last mandate to tackle domestic abuse, non-fatal
00:28strangulation and stalking which are actively helping to keep women and girls
00:32safer. We know that women and girls are not exclusively affected by domestic and
00:37sexual abuse but they are disproportionately so and so the
00:40measures to address domestic and sexual abuse under the strategy will also
00:44directly contribute to broader goals of ending violence against women
00:48and girls. The delivery of the outcomes and objectives under the strategy is
00:51supported by a three-year action plan which sets out a range of specific
00:55actions that are intended to create a lasting change. For the 2024-25 financial
01:00year a ring-fenced budget of 1.62 million has been prioritised from the
01:04Department of Justice's core budget to support the delivery of cross
01:08departmental work to tackle domestic and sexual abuse.
01:13Can I thank the Minister for her response. Minister, as the Minister for
01:19Justice what measures are you taking to actually increase confidence for women
01:24and girls in the justice system and ensuring that they get proper access to
01:30support as well? With respect to support for victims most of that support is
01:36provided via other departments in collaboration with my own department.
01:39However there are a range of cross departmental priorities where we have
01:43allocated funding in terms of the assist advocacy service, advocacy for the
01:48families of victims of domestic homicide, training for law enforcement and other
01:52frontline professionals, support for domestic homicide reviews, interventions
01:57such as Operation Encompass, the development of educational resources
02:00within CCEA hub, all to support prevention of domestic and sexual abuse.
02:05There is also funding coming in this area from the Executive Office in order
02:10to fund the executive strategy for ending violence against women and girls.
02:15So from my perspective in terms of building confidence it is about ensuring
02:19that people get the service that they need at the time when they need it and
02:22that means if they don't get the service they need at the time when they need it
02:25then they know the routes to be able to make complaints about that. It is
02:29important that people are familiar with the victim and witnesses charters, that
02:32they understand their entitlements and their rights and that they feel
02:35confident enough to exercise those even in a point of crisis.
02:38Cara Hunter.
02:39Thank you Mr. Speaker. I'd like to thank the Minister for her answer so far.
02:42Understandably women right across the Northwest are still feeling very unsafe.
02:46There's been a community response with self-defense classes in Limavady which I
02:50think is brilliant. Can I ask the Minister since these attacks just weeks
02:54previous has she engaged with the local PCSP in Derry and the wider Northwest
02:59area?
03:00Yes we have through the department engaged with the PCSP in terms of
03:04additional funding and how they're spending the money that they have at the
03:08moment. It is something I'm aware for example that the PSNI have increased
03:12patrols. The PCSP also has I think some additional measures in place where
03:16people can for example get alarms from some of the PCSP's that they can carry
03:20with them for additional reassurance. So there are some challenges and it is not
03:24an easy issue. Ultimately my department mainly leads on the issue of policy and
03:29there are no quick policy fixes to violence against women and girls. The
03:33operational side in terms of the delivery of service generally falls to
03:37those arm's-length bodies over which I don't have direct authority and control.
03:41But it is important to say that we have engaged both with the local community
03:46and with the PCSP and with the PSNI to ensure that they have the resources
03:51available to them to be able to do the work that they need to do in this
03:56context. And it is important to say that if people remain fearful, if people
04:00remain afraid, that is something that is to me unacceptable. We need to change the
04:04culture both in this place and in other places where it is acceptable either to
04:10be aggressive towards women or violent towards women or abusive towards women.
04:15And until we get that right in this house as everywhere else we will not see
04:19a sea change in terms of how women are treated on our streets.