Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)

As we heard already, domestic violence and violence against women continues to be an epidemic across the island and that is why we need this Bill. Since 2020, 37 women have been killed in the South and 27 women have been killed in the North of the country. The vast majority of those women were killed in their own home. I also want to mark the latest tragic killing of Sarah Montgomery, who was killed in Donaghadee. She was a pregnant mother of two. I remember her today, her friends, her family and especially her two children.

It is for this reason I am proud the cross-party group is using our Private Members' time to carry this Bill forward. Domestic violence must be treated seriously within the courts. We have seen high levels of domestic violence protection orders be breached by perpetrators, placing victims, often women, in serious concern for their safety and their lives. This Bill sends a clear message that breaching a court order in the context of domestic violence is not some form of technicality. It is a breach of an order that leaves a person, again mostly women, who sought the order fearing for their safety, and for their children's lives if they are involved. When there is no real threat or deterrent, this woman shall always be looking over her shoulder. She will be afraid to look at the phone or to answer the door. This can lead to a life of going out only when it is absolutely necessary and having to be accompanied by family or friends - basically a total loss of autonomy and living in constant fear. Far too often, survivors are granted protection orders only to be retraumatised by persistent breaches, stalking or the perpetrator showing up at their homes and workplaces. These actions are not minor. They leave the victim, the survivor, in a constant state of fear. They can never switch off or relax. They cannot get a good night's sleep because they never know when they will be targeted by the perpetrator again. Those actions are part of a pattern of coercive control and need to be treated as such in law.

I welcome this Bill, which will enable prosecutors to use their discretion to bring indictable charges for breaches where appropriate, which should lead to a more robust court response in the protection of survivors. I particularly welcome the move to create an indictable offence under section 33 . It gives our justice system the tools to respond proportionally to serious, ongoing or violent breaches. Survivors deserve to know when an order is made and that it will be backed up with real, meaningful consequences. This Bill is about ensuring a piece of paper from the courts offers more than just symbolic protection. It offers real deterrence, real consequences and real safety.

We cannot solve domestic violence through changes to the justice system alone. We need a multi-track approach towards zero tolerance across our society. I heard our male colleagues speaking today about what men need to do, but that is not an individualistic thing. We need a strategy from the Department of education that comes into schools and looks at culture, media and the arts across the landscape.