Tuesday 23 March 2021
Rachel Woods MLA has urged the NI Executive “to get on with” the development and implementation of a Violence Against Women and Girls strategy, saying, “lives of women and girls depend on it.”
The Justice Committee member, speaking during an Assembly debate on violence against women and girls, continued:
“Women and girls are losing their lives with appalling frequency. One death is one too many yet eight women and girls have been killed in the space of one year since lockdown began.
“There is very clearly something wrong when it’s normalised for women to be subjected to murder, sexual violence, misogyny, abuse and harassment.
“This is a long standing and deep problem in our society with its roots in gender inequality and gender based violence.
“To save lives we must rely on evidence-based policies and interventions to ignite and sustain wider societal change.
“The Recommendations of Lord Justice Gillen and Judge Marrinan can provide the basis from which we can begin to turn things around.
“Specifically, we need action on the provision of standardised and comprehensive Relationship and Sexuality Education through schools to eradicate sexist attitudes and build lifelong, positive relationships.”
ENDS
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