Women's Aid Federation Northern Ireland reports that 30 women have been murdered in the region since 2020.

Regional Services Manager Sonya McMullan stated that gender-based violence statistics in Northern Ireland are extremely high. She linked elevated rates to the legacy of conflict and paramilitarism, which normalized violence and reinforced patriarchal patterns.

McMullan noted Northern Ireland was the last part of the island and UK to adopt a strategy on violence against women and girls. She attributed limited examination of related crimes to stop-start government operations.

Courts face significant backlogs and delays, McMullan said. The criminal bar is currently on strike over access to justice and legal aid issues in civil and criminal areas.

She called for restored public confidence in policing to encourage reporting of assaults. McMullan stressed holding serial domestic abuse perpetrators accountable and noted a sentencing bill progressing through Stormont.

Internal trafficking poses an ongoing issue, particularly for vulnerable looked-after children at risk of sexual exploitation, according to McMullan. Her organization conducts community training on the topic, targeting boys and young men.

Such education covers healthy relationships, trust, equality, and respect as basic children's rights, McMullan said. Many young people lack models of healthy parental relationships due to prevalent domestic abuse affecting one in three women.