Every Voice Matters: Violence Against Women in Northern Ireland

The issue of violence against women and girls (VAWG)
has been noted as a significant global challenge.
During 2018, it was estimated that 736 million
women, almost one in three, had experienced some
form of physical and/or sexual violence at least once
in their lifetime (WHO, 2021). Whilst this finding
is stark, it is also highly likely that it is a significant
underestimation. Many women and girls will not
report their experiences. Violence in a blatant physical
form is more easily captured than some other forms
of abuse or harassment which are often normalised
or accepted such as unwanted sexual attention or
harassment. It is often these subtle forms of violence
that perpetuate the normalisation and anticipation of
harm to women from the home to the streets, with
an intolerable status quo of fear and caution among
this group (Bunch, 1997). Indeed, the deaths of Sabina
Nessa, Sarah Everard, and Aisling Murphy further
demonstrate the real risk to life for women and girls
on the basis of gender. The recent deaths of Caoimhe
Morgan, Katrina Rainey, Karen McClean and Stacey
Knell in Northern Ireland also tell us that this is not
an issue for somewhere or someone else, this is a
Northern Ireland issue that needs immediate address.