Ms Bronagh Hinds:

I pay tribute to women in all of the other parties as well. The first assembly comprised only 10% women. We have been able to raise that to 30%. We still have a way to go, another 20% to get to 50:50.

In her last comment, Ms Gildernew mentioned engagement at every level. It is, therefore, disappointing when that does not happen at every level. I am an independent assessor for the Commissioner for Public Appointments so I am very keen to see diversity in public appointments in Northern Ireland. When the Commission on Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition was set up by politicians and there was one woman on it and that was unacceptable. In north Belfast, an economic working group composed entirely of men was set up. That is not acceptable. We can agree that we have way to go.

Let me also refer to the issue of the language and the bullying which came up. The Women's Coalition faced it very much in the forum for political dialogue that was running in parallel to the talks. When comments such as women should go back to the kitchen and stand behind the loyal men of Ulster were made, the great Pearl Sagar stood up and started singing the song "Stand by Your Man". She had humorous way of dealing with this kind of thing. Some 12 or 13 years later, I was sharing a platform in Carrickfergus with a member of the DUP. She asked if she could have a quiet word with me afterwards. She wanted to apologise that she had allowed herself to be encouraged to do that and she was very sorry. She could see what we were trying to do for all women. I was very appreciative of that. It was a very big gesture of her. I will not name her in case it is an issue for her. I was pleased. People move on and learn.

Ms Gildernew made reference to the GFA being sent to people's homes. Before that, these agreements were always banked on previous agreements and work that had been done. A frameworks document was circulated before the Belfast-Good Friday Agreement. There was outrage that it was being sent to people's homes. During that time, I was director of the Ulster People's College and we were one of the leading organisations in developing dialogues in local communities to understand the agreement. We ran major events with politicians, political journalists and civic society contributing. We also had a women's contribution to it looking at these issues and debating them. It is important that people understand these debates.

I am behind protecting the fundamentals of the Belfast-Good Friday Agreement. They must be protected. The Women's Coalition, as much as the Alliance Party, had difficulty with the issue of the cross-community designation and, indeed, used to re-designate themselves depending on what needed to be done until it was outlawed. People have criticised some of the fundamentals as being inappropriate and leading to division. That is not my view. It was essential that we had the cross-community protections in voting. We need to ensure we have cross-community protections but we need to rethink how we do so, whether it is with a higher threshold or some other proposal. We need to look at the changes in voting patterns, which are bringing forward more and more "other" voting, and see how we can be inclusive. We cannot throw these out but we have to have a debate about how we can build on those protections, extend them and make them as inclusive as possible.

Regarding paramilitarism, last month the Chief Constable of the PSNI reported to the Northern Ireland Policing Board that he has to make another 6% cut in expenditure. In 2020, the New Decade, New Approach Deal made a commitment on policing. Policing has been one of the significant good results of the Belfast-Good Friday Agreement.

I also pay tribute to the women and those in civil society who took leading roles in the first district policing partnerships, when not all parties were involved in that, and withstood some horrific intimidation. I remember a time in Derry when women had to stand up against people trying to storm them, and provide protection for others, because women were 50% of those panels at that time and were taking a hard edge. It is concerning that certain numbers for policing were promised in 2020 and what is now being reported is we will be down by 800 police officers. We need to see that in the context of tackling paramilitarism. I will also put on the table that we are about to see a significant Executive policy on violence against women and girls. Last year, the PSNI launched its strategy on violence against women and girls. How will we tackle those issues, which are deep in communities, along with paramilitarism, intimidation and criminality, with reduced numbers for policing?

We have made progress on reconciliation; that was talked about in the context of the community. Frankly, my problem is it is seen as a little thing for communities to do but it is a big job. We know it is a big job. What is left out of the debate is politicians' leadership responsibility for reconciliation. Communities and civil society have been building cross-community bridges. As a former director of the Ulster People's College, I come from the perspective of saying it is not just about mutual understanding but having those deep debates about the past, what we are looking for in the future, different cultures, different identities and rebuilding. We must have the hard discussions just as we had in the Ulster People's College, just as the Workers Educational Association did, and just as community dialogue tries to do. Those are the initiatives. We do not have the first two of those organisations now. Community dialogue and organisations like that are not sufficiently funded. We have deep dialogue to do but we expect leadership from our politicians, demonstrating reconciliation by their leadership, behaviour and language. It cannot only be left to communities.

On the legacy proposals, this committee has heard from Ms Sandra Peake of WAVE Trauma Centre. It could not have heard from a better person or organisation. These proposals are devastating for families. They have to believe, and their hearts are upheld by seeking a sense of justice. That cannot be closed to them. We all come to terms with what happened in our own way but we have no right to block out other people's access just because we think it is better to leave the past behind. We cannot put it in a box. It will resurrect at some other time. Parties, churches, victims commissioners and all these groups, are opposed to these proposals. It is very important that victims have their space, time and access to justice.