Ending violence against women and girls in Northern Ireland

Status / emerging findings

• 98% of women aged 18+ and 73% of girls aged 12-18 in Northern Ireland have experienced at least one form of gender-based violence in their lifetime—rates higher than other UK regions and most of the world.
• Online violence has a disproportionate 'silencing effect' in Northern Ireland: 53% of women who experienced it withdrew from online spaces, versus 35–42% elsewhere, with knock-on effects for political participation post-conflict.
• Major social media platforms (Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube) lack knowledge of recent case law and remain unaware of high-profile cases like Alexander McCartney (3,500+ child victims), revealing regulatory gaps in platform accountability.
• PSNI faces a £21 million funding shortfall with only 6,200 officers versus the required 7,500, constraining both prevention capacity and response to VAWG cases.
• UK Government's VAWG strategy applies primarily to England and Wales; Westminster has limited direct levers in devolved areas (policing, education) in Northern Ireland, though strategies between governments are broadly aligned.

Why it matters

Northern Ireland has the highest prevalence of violence against women and girls in the UK and comparable to global hotspots, yet silencing effects and under-reporting mask the true scale—fixing this requires cross-government and cross-border coordination that current structures may not support.

Tone arc

Opened cooperatively with police and NGOs documenting scale and barriers to reporting; shifted to critical after the online violence session, where platform awareness gaps and regulatory failures emerged as systemic problems requiring urgent intervention.

Key witnesses

Jess Phillips MP (Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls), Detective Chief Superintendent Zoe McKee (PSNI), Professor Olga Jurasz (Open University, online VAWG researcher), Bernie McNally OBE (Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland), Dr Siobhán McAlister (Queen's University criminology), Jessica Smith (Ofcom), Sonya McMullan (Women's Aid Federation Northern Ireland), Gisela Carr (Home Office deputy director)