Publications

Submission to the Council of Europe Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence

Date produced: December 2023.

Below is a summary of our recommendations and messages.

You can also download the full document through the links provided.

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission recommends:

Summary recommendations/messages
• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to introduce a Single Equality Act for NI and provide the necessary support to secure the necessary political consensus to deliver this.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that intersectional multiple discrimination claims in NI are effectively addressed, including providing for intersectionality within equality legislation as required.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to consider and take into account the full range of equality and non-discrimination standards during the development and implementation of legislation and policy relating to victims and survivors of violence against women and girls and domestic abuse in NI, inclusive of its commitments under Article 2 of the Windsor Framework.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to develop and roll out training and guidance on Windsor Framework Article 2 across government departments and act promptly to ensure that guidance on policy and legislative development is updated to include consideration of Windsor Framework Article 2.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services based on age is prohibited in NI, this includes ensuring that the necessary legislative changes are promptly made.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that the gender pay gap and insecure, low paid employment of women in NI is effectively addressed and monitored. This includes ensuring that the provisions regarding mandatory pay gap reporting in the Employment Act (NI) 2016 are brought into effect in NI.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to commit to ensuring that, to the extent that the EU Pay Transparency Directive amends or replaces the EU Gender Equality (Employment) Directive, the law in NI is amended to keep pace with these changes to ensure compliance with the Windsor Framework.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that childcare facilities and arrangements in NI are available, affordable and accessible.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to promptly develop, implement, monitor and adequately resource an anti-poverty strategy for NI, with a measurable action plan, that is guided by meaningful engagement with affected individuals and their representative organisations at every stage of the process.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to ensure data on domestic abuse in NI includes child-related information that is comprehensive and disaggregated.
• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to promptly publish and implement a robust, gender-sensitive Gender Equality Strategy, which takes a human rights-based approach in line with international human rights standards and Windsor Framework Article 2. This includes this strategy being accompanied by a measurable plan of action and effective monitoring mechanisms.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to explicitly adopt a gender-sensitive approach to tackle all forms of violence against women and girls in NI. This includes access to specialised, gender-sensitive, accessible support services.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that all policies aimed at tackling violence against women and girls in NI complement and enhance each other.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure women’s participation in public and private life is proportionate to NI’s population.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to consider the specific gendered effect of paramilitarism in NI when implementing programmes to tackle the issue, particularly its effect on women and girls that are victims and survivors of violence and domestic abuse.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that the final domestic and sexual violence and abuse strategy in NI explicitly adopts a gender-sensitive approach, including providing for specialised, gender-sensitive, accessible support for victims and survivors of domestic and sexual abuse. This includes the strategy recognising the structural and societal issues which result in domestic and sexual abuse disproportionately affecting women in NI and should include measures to address these issues.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that the necessary resources are ring fenced for the development and effective implementation of the domestic and sexual violence and abuse strategy in NI. This includes ensuring that the resources allocated are long-term and have sufficient flexibility to address needs as and when they arise.
• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure due consideration and priority is given to the opinions and views of victims and survivors in NI and their representative organisations throughout implementation and evaluation of the domestic and sexual violence and abuse strategy in NI. This includes identifying and committing to mechanisms to effectively collate and ensure meaningful engagement with views expressed by victims and survivors and their representative organisations within the strategy.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to engage with individuals with lived experience in NI. This includes conducting such engagement with specialised support and in a sensitive and appropriate manner so as not to re-traumatise victims and survivors.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to make explicit provision in the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Strategic Framework for women and girls in NI who are at an increased risk of violence or who face additional barriers to accessing justice, service provision and specialised support, including legal support. This includes ensuring that specialised services are consistently available and fully accessible in NI.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Strategic Framework provides for data collection in NI that is disaggregated, comprehensive and comparable.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to secure ring-fenced long-term funding that extends across the seven-year span of the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Strategic Framework and that includes a contingency plan in the latter years of the Strategic Framework to ensure long-term initiatives in NI can continue effectively without resource constraints.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that strategies aimed at addressing violence against women and girls in NI adopt a coordinated response to preventing online-based and technology-related violence, abuse and disinformation. This includes such measures being adaptable to take account of new developments.
• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure the implementation of a human rights-based approach at all stages of the budgeting process in NI, including in the planning, formulating, executing and auditing of budgets.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that a comprehensive assessment of the cumulative impact of the 2023-2024 budget cuts in NI is conducted with a focus on the human rights of disadvantaged and marginalised individuals and groups.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that civil society organisations in NI, are appropriately resourced to ensure their long-term sustainability in the provision of services.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that the findings from the review of the co-design process adopted by the Department of Communities in NI are promptly published with key learning, actions identified and implemented.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to give due consideration and priority to the opinions and views of civil society organisations in NI in the development of relevant the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the relevant policies.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that the expertise of the victims, survivors, experts and representative organisations that it consults and engages with regarding violence and abuse of women and girls in NI, including that the input made is appropriately and sensitively reimbursed.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to adopt measures that improve the collection of disaggregated data on violence against women and domestic abuse. This includes collecting data in a way which reflects society in NI and enables comprehensive comparison with other parts of the UK.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps, in partnership with representative groups, to ensure awareness raising campaigns are clear and accessible, particularly for groups that face additional barriers to accessing support. This includes ensuring that information is fully accessible, including that it is tailored to a range of communication requirements. For example, through the provision of language translations, large print, easy read and audio versions.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to review the application of the Homes for Ukraine scheme in NI to ensure that safeguarding measures are significantly robust and gender sensitive.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to develop, implement and monitor awareness raising campaigns in NI that are linked to the Homes for Ukraine Scheme and aimed at increasing understanding of how to identify inappropriate, abusive or exploitive behaviour, how to report such behaviour and where to access support if experienced or witnessed such behaviour. This includes the campaigns giving particular consideration to women and children, being culturally sensitive and being tailored to the full range of communication requirements.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that the guidance being developed by the Department of Education NI outlines the key elements that should be included within ‘comprehensive’ relationships and sexuality education in NI. This should be developed to achieve the aim of ensuring that all elements of comprehensive relationships and sexuality education are delivered within every post-primary school in NI.

• Through engagement with relevant stakeholders and experts, the UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to develop, implement, evaluate and monitor guidance that ensures relationships and sexuality education programmes in NI are inclusive and meet the educational needs of all students. This includes, but is not limited to D/deaf and disabled students, ethnic minority students, and students with diverse gender and sexual identities.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to develop, implement, monitor and evaluate a strategy to raise awareness of the benefits of holistic relationships and sexuality education, which also addresses myths or misconceptions related to the provision of relationships and sexuality education lessons in NI that may increase the likelihood of parental withdrawal.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to develop, implement, evaluate and monitor measures to mitigate against the adverse impact of children and young people being withdrawn from relationships and sexuality education lessons in NI. For example, requiring schools in NI to advise parents of the right of children and young to education and participation, developing guidance on when children and young people may decide to opt back into relationships and sexuality education lessons, and providing alternative educational arrangements for children and young people who have been withdrawn from relationships and sexuality education.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that the Domestic and Sexual Violence and Abuse Strategy in NI includes effective provisions for gender-sensitive training of all professionals across the course of the reporting, judicial and support journey of a victim of domestic and sexual abuse. This includes consideration of groups with specific needs, such as D/deaf and disabled persons, LGBTQIA+ persons, and persons of national or ethnic minority background. This training should also include a specific focus on the links between domestic abuse and offending.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to adopt measures to support employers in NI to develop, implement, evaluate and monitor effective domestic abuse workplace policies and policies on workplace based sexual harassment and violence. This includes engaging with expert and representative organisations, with the input and expertise recognised and appropriately reimbursed.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to develop an action plan to further develop the Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference process in NI that is in line with the recommendation of the Criminal Justice Inspection NI, and does so in consultation with all relevant stakeholders.

• UK Government and NI Executive, in consultation with older victims of domestic abuse and the organisations which represent them, take effective steps to review the effectiveness of Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences for older people and address the findings.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that all information provided to victims and survivors of violence against women and girls and domestic abuse in NI is timely and accessible for the purpose of ensuring that everyone in NI is aware of and has access to protection from violence and abuse.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that all women and girl victims and survivors of violence and abuse in NI can access effective, specialised services that are consistently available and fully accessible on an equal basis.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to undertake and publish an evaluation on the pilot Identification and Referral to Improve Safety programme, with any findings implemented going forward.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that General Practice staff across NI undertake specialised training on domestic and sexual abuse and violence, including refresher training.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to identify and minimise procedural barriers to migrant people in NI, regardless of immigration status. This includes introducing guidance for healthcare professionals on providing effective access, strengthening communication between General Practitioner services and health trusts and ensuring that patients are not wrongly charged for services.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that victims and survivors of violence against women and girls and domestic abuse in NI who require it, have access to appropriate housing and accommodation in line with provision for other imminent risks. This includes addressing the disparity between NI other regions of the UK.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to fully implement the recommendations from the Gillen Review on improving complainants’ experience of reporting sexual assault in NI, including by enabling victims and survivors to submit complaints and feedback on their experience.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that adequate, long-term resources are guaranteed for the purpose of ensuring and enabling access to specialised support services for all victims and survivors of violence against women and girls and domestic and sexual abuse in NI. Furthermore, that any decisions on funding do not result in regression regarding specialised support and protection for women and girl victims and survivors of violence and abuse in NI.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to monitor and ensure that a due diligence process in line with the Procurement Policy Note on Human Rights is adhered to when awarding contracts. This includes requiring external agencies to demonstrate compliance with human rights standards and, where relevant, their specialism.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that all victims of modern slavery and human trafficking in NI are able to access specialist support services, appropriately tailored to take account of age, gender and culture, regardless of how they came to enter the UK.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that there is enough emergency refuge accommodation in NI to meet the needs of victims and survivors of violence against women and girls and domestic abuse, and that refuges in NI are appropriately funded to carry out their function on a long-term basis.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure current available specialist support for victims and survivors of sexual assault and violence in NI, including child victims, is effectively and regularly evaluated, with any identified issues addressed. This includes ensuring that these services are consistently available and readily accessible on a long-term basis for anyone in NI that needs them.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that the best interests of the child is a primary consideration in tackling domestic abuse in NI, for example, by including a requirement to adopt the Barnahus approach where relevant.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure the costs associated with applying for non-molestation and occupation orders are affordable and that mitigations are in place as required to ensure that all victims of violence against women and girls and domestic abuse in NI can avail of such orders if required.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that the court process or child contact arrangements in NI are not being used to perpetrate domestic abuse. This includes conducting a review of Family Court procedures in NI with any identified issues addressed.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure specialised training and capacity-building is provided on any new violence and abuse offences to all professionals in NI who may come in contact with a victim during their reporting, judicial and support journey, including across the criminal justice system, police and public officials.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to expeditiously introduce legislation to repeal all legal provisions permitting the marriage of children in NI and increase the minimum age for marriage to 18 years for all children in NI.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that cross-Departmental efforts to combat forced marriages in NI are strengthened, including by sensitising parents on the need for full and free consent of their child to marry.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of female genital mutilation in NI. This includes implementing a prevention strategy and action plan, which includes increasing efforts to raise awareness, particularly within affected communities, that female genital mutilation is a form of both child abuse and gender-based violence against women and girls. It also includes ensuring specialised support is available and accessible to victims of female genital mutilation in NI.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to improve the way in which data on the prevalence of female genital mutilation in NI is gathered and monitored to ensure that every case of female genital mutilation in NI can be captured and addressed, including that such data is comprehensively disaggregated.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to repeal the defence of reasonable chastisement of children in NI and to develop and implement a strategy that effectively promotes positive and non-violent forms of discipline in NI.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to include gender as a protected characteristic within hate crime legislation in NI. This should adopt a gender-sensitive approach and provide for intersectionality across the full range of protected characteristics.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to include misogyny and transmisogyny as aggravating factors in hate crime legislation in NI.

• UK Government withdraws its reservation to Article 44(4) of the Istanbul Convention, in respect of offences committed under Articles 36 and 39 of the Istanbul Convention.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that victims and survivors of historical abuse outside the remit of the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry have an effective remedy in NI, including expedient access to thorough and effective independent investigations that offer effective redress (including compensation) and are subject to public scrutiny and meaningful victim participation.

• UK Government and NI Executive, in line with the rest of the UK, take effective steps to promptly introduce a freestanding offence in NI where an individual, who has the care of another individual by virtue of being a care worker, ill-treats or wilfully neglects that individual.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that findings from investigations into abuse in health and social care settings in NI are addressed immediately and fully remedied.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that effective complaints mechanisms relating to health and social care settings are in place in NI. This includes that these complaints mechanisms are fully accessible and monitored to ensure that any identified breaches do not recur in the future.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to promptly and fully implement the Criminal Justice Inspection NI and Gillen Review’s recommendations aimed at tackling undue delay within the criminal justice system in NI.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that all file quality, disclosure and case progression within the Police Service of NI and Public Prosecution Service for NI are of a minimum standard that adheres to a human rights based approach.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that the enforcement of Non-molestation Orders in NI are reviewed and any identified issues addressed. This includes ensuring that the review is conducted in partnership with victims and survivors and their representative organisations in NI.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure there is immediate protection to victims and survivors of all forms of domestic abuse in NI. This includes promptly introducing Domestic Abuse Protection Orders and Notices in NI, ensuring that these are fully accessible across the criminal justice system.

• the UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that the Gillen Review recommendations relating to sexual history and rape myths in NI are implemented, regularly monitored and evaluated, with any identified issues addressed.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that the effectiveness of the Prisoner Release Victim Information in NI is regularly reviewed and any identified issues addressed. This includes giving consideration to automatically enrolling victims, with an option to “opt-out”.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to review the Domestic Abuse Disclosure Scheme in NI and that any findings are addressed. This includes conducting the review in partnership with victims and survivors and their representative organisations in NI.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that, in circumstances where an abuser is also party to proceedings, special measures are extended to domestic and sexual violence and abuse victims and survivors in the family and civil court setting in NI.

• In partnership with victims, survivors and representative organisations, the UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that consideration is given to developing a dedicated domestic abuse system within courts in NI. At minimum, this includes rolling out across NI the approach to listings of domestic violence and abuse cases taken in Derry/Londonderry with ring-fenced, long-term funding.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that the implementation of the remote evidence centre in Belfast is regularly monitored and evaluated and that any identified issues are addressed. Care should be taken to ensure any utilised new technologies do not inadvertently hinder access to justice for individuals with specific needs. Consideration should also be given to introducing remote evidence centres across NI that are provided with ring-fenced, long-term funding.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure measures are developed, implemented and monitored for the purpose of ensuring that victims and survivors of domestic abuse in NI are aware of their right to legal aid in private family law cases. This includes ensuring that information is fully accessible, including that it is tailored to a range of communication requirements. For example, through the provision of language translations, large print, easy read and audio versions.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that the provision of legal aid in NI continues and is available to individuals that need it to ensure their access to justice, with particular consideration of victims of domestic abuse.

• UK Government withdraw its reservation to Article 59 of the Istanbul Convention.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to ensure that victims of violence against women and girls and domestic abuse with insecure migration status in NI can report crimes to the relevant authorities and seek means of support without having their residence status reported to the Home Office.

• UK Government review documentation requirements in relation to proof of residency and take action to address barriers to the application process for the EU Settlement Scheme, particularly for women experiencing domestic abuse.

• UK Government and NI Executive take effective steps to urgently develop appropriate safeguards through statutory regulations and guidance to ensure the enactment of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 and the Illegal Migration Act 2023 do not undermine existing protections for refugees and people seeking asylum in NI regarding matters of devolved competence, including for women making gender-based asylum claims.

• UK Government takes effective steps to ensure that asylum law that applies in NI is human rights complaint, including the principle of non-refoulment, and is in compliance with its obligations under Windsor Framework Article 2.