A new initiative aimed at tackling violence against women and
girls living in rural areas has been launched.
The First Minister, deputy First Minister, and the Minister for
Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) made the
announcement to mark the International Day of Rural Women.
The community-led review will be jointly led by the Rural
Community Network (RCN) and the Northern Ireland Rural Women's
Network (NIRWN). It will focus on delivering targeted
recommendations to prevent and respond to violence against women
and girls in rural areas, who can face challenges accessing
support, protection and justice.
First Minister said: “To mark
International Day of Rural Women, we reaffirmed our commitment to
ensuring that every woman and girl — no matter where they live —
can live free from fear and harm.
“Living in the countryside can be such a positive
experience, but very often those who abuse will use this to
further isolate women and girls from access to help and support.
We recognise this issue and tackling it is a key action in our
Ending Violence Against Women and Girls delivery plan.
“I am confident that this review, based on real-life
experiences, will help us better understand the realities of
rural life and will ensure that our actions deliver the help and
support these women and girls
need."
Deputy First Minister said:
“Every woman and girl deserves to feel safe and be safe,
no matter where they live. We are aware that rural women
and girls often face unique and hidden challenges when it comes
to accessing support and justice. We are committed to doing
everything we can to address those challenges and ensure their
needs are met.
“This important review, led by trusted rural
organisations, will help us better understand those needs.
It is also vital that everyone gets involved so that the
voices of rural women and girls are heard. By sharing your
personal experiences and thoughts, you can help us identify the
areas that need addressed and ensure that we can deliver
meaningful change that will make a real difference for all living
in our rural communities.”
DAERA Minister said: “Through this
community-led review, I believe we will be better informed as a
society about the lived experience and tragic impact violence has
had on women and girls living in rural communities. These
insights will help identify the barriers in terms of accessing
support in rural areas and inform actions we could take forward
as an NI Executive, and in partnership with the voluntary and
community sector, to address the concerning trends of increased
violence against women and girls in our rural
communities.
“I would therefore strongly encourage all sections of our
community, be that sports clubs, community groups, churches, boys
and men, to participate this community-led review as we all have
a part to play in making Northern Ireland a safe place for
everyone to live and enjoy.”
The Community-led Review is a joint initiative between The
Executive Office and DAERA. It reflects a shared commitment
across the Executive to tackling violence against women and
girls.
Notes to editors:
- The Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG)
Directorate in The Executive Office is responsible for the
Strategic Framework to End Violence Against Women and Girls and
the first Delivery Plan 2024-26.
- Ending Violence Against Women and Girls is a priority in the
Programme for Government (PfG).
- The EVAWG vision is of ‘A changed society where women and
girls are free from all forms of gender-based violence, abuse and
harm - including the attitudes, systems and structural
inequalities that cause them'.
- This is a seven-year Strategic Framework to End Violence
Against Women and Girls.
- There is a first two-year (2024-2026) Delivery Plan that
accompanies this EVAWG Strategic Framework.
- The Community-led Review on Rural Women and Girls is a key
action under the EVAWG Delivery Plan 2024–2026. Anyone wishing to
find out further information should contact Rural Community
Network (RCN) via email: info@ruralcommunitynetwork.org
and Northern Ireland Rural Women's Network (NIRWN) via email:
info@nirwn.org
