Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission calls for urgent action to tackle violence against women

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission has called for urgent action to tackle violence against women.

The 25th of November marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, an initiative that calls for action to end all forms of discrimination and gender-based violence against women and girls.

Last year in Northern Ireland, the PSNI recorded almost 32,000 domestic abuse incidents, the third highest level since records began in 2004.

Their recent statistics have also shown that a domestic abuse incident occurs every 16 minutes.

Alyson Kilpatrick, Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, said: “Much more needs to be done to end these abuses and the impunity that allows these human rights violations to continue.

"The Commission recommends urgent action from the UK Government and NI Executive to withdraw the reservations against the Istanbul Convention and take action on its four pillars protection of human rights; prosecution of offenders; prevention of violence; and provision of services to survivors.”

In 2022, a number of measures were introduced in NI which aim to reduce violence against women and girls including the Protection from Stalking Act 2022, the Domestic Abuse (Safe Leave) Act 2022, and the first ‘violence against women and girls action plan’ published by the PSNI.

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