AQO 305/22-27


Miss Nuala McAllister
Alliance Party
North Belfast


Tabled Date: 11/04/2024
Answered On Date: 22/04/2024
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister of Justice for an update on a new Domestic and Sexual Abuse Strategy.


Answer:
Work is well advanced on the new 7 year Domestic and Sexual Abuse Strategy for the period 2024-2031. It is jointly led by my Department and the Department of Health, with input from the Department of Education, the Department for Communities and the Executive Office.  
Under this new Domestic and Sexual Abuse Strategy we plan to take forward a range of work to protect and support victims and to address abusive behaviours which will benefit all victims of domestic and sexual abuse.  The draft Strategy consists of 5 pillars; Partnership, Prevention, Children and Young people, Support and Provision and Justice.  
 
I want to thank voluntary and community sector partners who have  provided invaluable input and helped reflect the brave voices and opinions of those with lived experience in the Strategy.  I am confident that this will lead to a more effective strategy that really makes a difference to those affected by domestic and sexual abuse and their families. 
I recognise the need for alignment with the Executive Office’s Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy; this has been pivotal in our approach.  
 
I believe it is appropriate that we have two strategies and it is important that we recognise the distinctions between them (that is, that the Domestic and Sexual Abuse Strategy will encompass all victims irrespective of age, race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and background, and the EVAWG Strategy will also need to address wider forms of gender-based violence predominantly affecting women and girls).  Nonetheless it is crucial that we recognise their interdependencies and work collectively to ensure that there is alignment and that they complement and reinforce each other. My Department will continue to work collaboratively with TEO to ensure join up, amplify our collective responses and provide effective responses for victims. 
 
Officials from my Department and from the Department of Health are due to brief our respective Committees on 30 May and a date is currently being sought for clearance by the Executive. I intend to publish the Strategy, Performance Framework and Action plan, jointly with the Minister for Health in June.