Ferguson says ‘increase in attacks on and violence against women and girls’ in Derry is ‘stain on society’ - video Dailymotion

Ferguson says ‘increase in attacks on and violence against women and girls’ in Derry is ‘stain on society’

Transcript

00:00My constituency, Foyle, has concerningly witnessed an increase in attacks on

00:04violence against women and girls and it's important that we are doing

00:07everything we can to stop this stain on society. Can the Deputy First Minister

00:11update me on the rollout of the strategic framework to end violence

00:14against women and girls? Thank you Mr. Speaker, I thank the Member for

00:19her question and indeed as indicated previously the First Minister and I when

00:24we came into these posts just over a year ago this was a key area of

00:28importance for us. We wanted to push forward with this and not just to

00:31deliver the strategy but of course to deliver the framework as well because

00:35that is where the action is in all of this and I'm really pleased that the

00:39change funds have come out not just in terms of region wide but of course

00:43through local councils as well. So those are now I think open and most councils

00:47got a call for applications from local groups that will be working in these

00:52areas particularly around the area of prevention. This work is incredibly

00:55important but we also know that the groups on the ground do such valuable

00:58work. They see the challenges, they know the issues and they're able best I think

01:03they are in the best position to be able to step forward with these projects and

01:07initiatives as well. So we expect that the first of those will be able to roll

01:11out from about the 1st of April. Ms. Ferguson. Thank you Deputy Speaker for

01:17your answer thus far. Does the Deputy First Minister agree with me that

01:20although this strategy is most definitely a first positive step we

01:25must continue making ending violence against women and girls a top priority?

01:29Thank you Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for her questions. I am pleased that

01:35this has been prioritised within the programme for government. We want to make

01:39clear that this is a priority for us. Every single act of violence towards a

01:43woman or girl, every death of a woman or girl through that violence is wrong. It

01:48needs to stop. We want to do everything that we can not just to reduce but to

01:52eliminate that. I think there will be a combination of factors but including

01:56that political leadership which I think we've all shown right throughout this

01:59House thus far. But of course those actions around prevention are key. It

02:04will not be done tomorrow or next week or next month. We know that this is

02:08something that needs to be invested in now in order to see those results

02:12further down the line. That can be working within schools, primary schools,

02:16post-primary community groups, within communities and importantly within

02:19families all around calling out and challenging those issues that give rise

02:25to violence against women and girls.