Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Fleur Anderson and David Smith(3 weeks, 6 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr Speaker
Order. We want to get to PMQs, but we will not achieve it at this rate.
David Smith
According to Women’s Aid, a fifth of all crime in Northern Ireland is domestic abuse. We know that paramilitary organisations make reporting, confronting or escaping such abuse even more difficult. How are the Government working with the Northern Ireland Executive to break down those coercive barriers to support for women and girls?
Fleur Anderson
I thank my hon. Friend for raising that question. Alongside the alarming femicide statistics, there are other factors that add to the complexity of gender-based violence in Northern Ireland, and it is important to recognise and take action to prevent these factors—paramilitarism is one of them. We need to tackle the grip of paramilitaries to end this abuse.