Paul Frew
North Antrim · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“I thank the Minister for that intervention. Nevertheless, there are concerns that I want to address. The Minister and the departmental officials will know that, even from the range of questions that I have asked. We need to make sure that we get the balance correct.”
“In the written and oral evidence received then, the Committee was advised of potential amendments that the Minister may table at Consideration Stage, including an amendment to remove the commissioner that is being considered in liaison with OLC.”
“That in itself causes some victims and witnesses bother, because they are in a system that they are not part of, which means that they do not get the support that they require. That can sometimes leave them feeling retraumatised, as though they have been put through the wringer again.”
“The Bill makes provision to offer those protections and provide clarity to victims that they do not have to face their perpetrator in court. <BR /> <BR />Members asked questions about a range of matters, including the independence of the office, the ability to review the performance of any future commissioner, the costs of establishing th…”
“I thank the Minister for her intervention. She was absolutely right to take that action, as it means that victims' voices are right at the heart of the matters under discussion. It is now obvious to us that that should have been done years ago, but it is good that it is being done now.”
“Officials explained that the Bill would legislate on the disclosure regime not to prevent an application for disclosure but to set out a process whereby the defence would have to show the relevance of the information that it was requesting. That is an important protection.”
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“It is something that I have struggled with for many weeks when dealing with this. Where do we stop? Where do we stop allowing protection for the staff? My wish in respect of this sort of work is that, some day, we will have protections like this for staff who work in an emergency department setting. However, that was too big an issue to grasp within the time frame of the Bill because there are many issues surrounding it. If you protect everybody who works in an emergency department, you could be protecting people who are not emergency staff. They could be clerical workers. There could be all sorts of ramifications around that. That was a challenging period for me when trying to define it. We also have home help health workers who go out, sometimes daily, to assist patients who live at home or the elderly and vulnerable in the community.”
“Yes, I thank the Member for his contribution. I was coming to Mr McMullan's contribution on that. <BR /> <BR />I will finish the point that I was going to make about an ambulance worker's duty. It is clear that there are many occasions — I spoke about this in the previous debates on this — on which ambulance drivers and ambulance workers can be plonked down into a scenario. . They can be placed in a stadium or at an event. They do not have to be in an emergency setting for an emergency to take place or for them to assist people or, very importantly, for them to be attacked and assaulted. That is why the wording is as it is. <BR /> <BR />I will address Mr McMullan's point. As the Chairman of the Committee, Mr Alastair Ross, has stated, he raises a very valid point.”
“That wording is very important, because it is not always the case that ambulance workers will shoot off with blue lights blazing and go out to an event, horrific as it might be, whether it is a —”
“He must be commended for that. I simply took the baton from Lord Morrow, and I appreciate his work and due diligence in that regard. <BR /> <BR />Whilst I talked at the start about obstruction and assaults, it was clear, looking back at previous legislation, that obstruction of ambulance workers was already covered to some degree. It was very important that we stuck to assaults, so that we would not do harm or mischief to any previous legislation or allow an anomaly to be created. I am glad that that has been closed. <BR /> <BR />I am glad too that we have been able to get the definition and add to it the various societies and charitable organisations that do sterling work in our community. Amendment No 6 refers to assaults on:”
“I have been a member of the Committee throughout the Bill's passage. I want to talk about amendment No 6, tabled by the Minister, which has tidied up my previous amendment, and some of the issues around that. First of all, I thank the Minister for his diligence on the issue and his support in latter days in moving the amendment forward to produce something that is tighter and better for ambulance workers and to clarify the definition of an ambulance worker, which is very important. I also put on record my appreciation and thanks to his DOJ officials and the DHSSPS officials who were involved in shaping and amending the original amendment to make it much better. I also place on record my thanks to Lord Morrow, who originally came up with the idea of amending the Justice (No. 2) Bill to accommodate and add protection for ambulance workers.”
“While we were all engrossed in watching Carl Frampton win his second belt on Saturday night, Ballymena's very own Alan Philpott became the new Lonsdale bantamweight champion in mixed martial arts.”
“I appreciate the Member giving way. Does the Member not realise that it is better to bank the progress now and have it in the bag? He talks as if legislation cannot be moved, everything is set in stone and we will not have the agility to progress further down the line. I believe that we will and must evolve into something better and slicker, something that our people deserve. Does the Member not think that, if those decisions, which are made outside the House and which affect the House, are made in the next term that we will not be agile enough to have an agreement that will serve our people well?”
“It is good for this place, and it assists the businesses and communities that we represent. It is all good today. I think that I used the word "rejoice" the last time around, in Further Consideration Stage. It is something that we have aimed to get to and have aimed to meet, and I am glad that an objective has now been ticked off the DUP wish list.”
“I, of course, support this Bill at Final Stage. The Bill has been a real long slog, as has been the campaigning for change that we in the DUP have been engrossed in since way back the early 2000s, when we were the only party to support a reduction in the size of government. We see this day as a success. We see that we need to do more. We believe that we should have done more, but we understand that, when you make agreements, that is success and progress. We will honour those agreements where and when they are made. <BR /> <BR />As the junior Minister stated, it is not the only thing that we want. We have already secured the reduction in Departments. We move towards a day when there will be an opposition in this place. I think that all of that is good for politics in Northern Ireland.”
“I speak in support of the Bill. It was forged out of agreement, and I am glad that that agreement has come about. One of my party's objectives is to reduce the number of Assembly Members. We did not get everything that we wanted, but we are making progress. That must be welcomed, and we are certainly going in the right direction. That is all that I have to say on the matter.”
“I take on board exactly what the Minister says. I think that we have all grappled with the issue. I struggled with refining the amendment, and I came to the conclusion that I could not bite off more than the House could chew at any given time. That is why I plumped for ambulance workers. I will bring forward amendments at the next stage that will define clearly what organisations, bodies and groups of people are to be covered by the amendment. I agree with the Minister that there has to be more thought given to what we can do to protect other people.”
“I am happy enough for it to be left there. <BR /> <BR />I hope that I have the support of the House for the amendment. I believe that it is the right course of action. It is the right way to go. I put the amendment to the House.”
“The difference is that they leave the hospital setting and travel in ones and twos to an event, not knowing what will happen or what will unfurl. In many cases, it will be a volatile situation. There may be drunkenness, riotous behaviour and people panicking. All sorts could happen. <BR /> <BR />There is another reason why I struggle to extend it. Does a nurse on a mental health ward really want to penalise someone who strikes out at them when they may not be in their full senses? Home helps are vulnerable too, as they go out in ones and twos. What happens if they go to an elderly person's home and that person is in an agitated state and strikes out? There is much more work to be done in that regard. That is why I have kept it to and capped it at paramedics now. That is true to Lord Morrow's objectives.”
“<BR /> <BR />That is why I struggle with where to stop. If someone is transporting an organ for transplantation and is attacked, is that not a serious offence too? If someone is making their way to get a boat for the coastguard, is that not a serious offence, too, that could risk someone's life? I struggle with that. If I am brought back to this place in the next mandate, I will look at doing something, even if it is through a private Member's Bill, to protect, in some way, hospital staff in A&E. <BR /> <BR />Here is my other dilemma: what if a wage clerk happens to walk through A&E and is attacked? What if a doctor in the gynaecology ward goes to help out in A&E and is attacked? Will they be covered? Those are things that I have to tease out in the weeks and months ahead. That is why I have plumped for paramedics.”
“The problem that I had was, "Where do I stop?" The Emergency Workers (Obstruction) Act 2006 also defines people like the coastguard and even those who transport organs. Are they not doing a service? Why is it that we protect the blue-light people? We protect the blue-light services because they are going to help someone. After they help that person, they go and help someone else, and someone else after that. If they are attacked and prevented from doing their job, not only do they become a casualty themselves but they cannot help anyone else. If you beat up or assault a paramedic, firefighter or policeman, you could be putting somebody's life at risk. Someone could die because you have attacked a paramedic. That is why we need it to be defined in legislation. That is why these people need to be treated differently.”
“<BR /> <BR />I would have liked to have gone further with this amendment. I would have loved to have included A&E workers. On many occasions, nurses have come to me after having been attacked in the accident and emergency rooms — not only attacked but pinned down for minutes on the floor with no help. One went off sick and never returned to work. Subsequently, there was a muck-up with sick pay, return to work and pension. That person suffered mental illness due to that attack and could never return to work, but she did not leave with even the right pension because the authorities and organisation messed it up. That lady would not have experienced any of that trauma or mental illness if not for that attack that one night with that one drunk. We need to do a job of work to protect hospital and accident and emergency staff.”
“We will not appreciate it now, but when the annals of this place are written, Lord Morrow should feature greatly because of the work that he has done around human trafficking and issues like this. Lord Morrow deserves a place in those annals. It was his work and experiences as a constituency MLA that prompted and motivated him to start this job of work. I only follow. I only continue the good work that he started. <BR /> <BR />He would tell you of occasions when police and ambulance staff at the same scene were attacked and, in most cases, the paramedic came off worst. Yet when that went to court, the police officer's wounds were considered the greater offence and caused the greater sentence to be handed down. That is not right or fair. Paramedics deserve the same treatment and protection.”
“We have the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and the Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 but why not specifically state in legislation the protection for paramedics and ambulance staff in the same way that we do for firefighters and the police, when they go to the same emergency, fire, car crash or riot. <BR /> <BR />At this point, I would like to pay tribute to Lord Morrow. It was Lord Morrow who decided to do something about this. It was Lord Morrow who came to the Committee to speak to his amendment. I was simply the one who picked it up, so the credit must go to Lord Morrow. We all know Lord Morrow, but I do not think that we actually really appreciate Lord Morrow. Lord Morrow is one of the great reformers of this House.”
“They work alongside the police and firefighters oftentimes. Section 66 of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 refers to any person guilty of attacking or wilfully obstructing a constable in the execution of his duty. If it is good enough and reasonable enough for us to have legislation to protect police officers, it is right to protect paramedics. If article 57 of the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 provides that it is an offence to assault or obstruct a fire and rescue officer or a person assisting them, it is right and proper that we have the same level of protection for a paramedic or ambulance staff member. <BR /> <BR />People will say that we already have protection and laws.”
“That is level 5; we know that it is level 5. Maybe we should use the term level 5 instead of "statutory maximum". I do not want to put a figure in there because, sooner or later, the maximum will change. I would not want then to have to go through and amend all the bits of legislation, so I believe that that will become level 5 as opposed to the statutory maximum. I believe that, with those minor adjustments, the amendment does no harm or damage to the clause or the intentions of the clause. I hope that it makes it more workable and more acceptable to the House. It was important that I started off by telling people the amendments that I wish to make at Further Consideration Stage, if the Bill gets passed today. <BR /> <BR />Why do we need this law? Why do we need to protect ambulance staff and paramedics?”
“I will look at the wording on the maximum penalty to make sure that it reads consistently with Northern Ireland law. That is not to say that I am going to change the penalty. The amendment reads:”
“Limiting this to emergency situations may be too restrictive. <BR /> <BR />I will be looking at whether the clause should focus on situations where paramedics are assaulted on duty, as on duty is more important than emergency circumstances. We have all been to events — I have been to Windsor Park to see Ballymena United lift silverware — where you see paramedics parked. They are not necessarily responding to an emergency, but it is no more acceptable for someone to step out of the crowd — someone supporting the opposing team, of course — and attack a paramedic. It is completely unacceptable. I would not want anyone to get off on a technicality just because that paramedic was not responding to an emergency. <BR /> <BR />I also need to look at the best way to define paramedics for the purpose of this clause.”
“That takes obstruction out of it. Obstruction is already covered with penalties and fines. It will then become a law on assaulting ambulance staff. The clause will focus on creating a specific offence of assault and ensure greater parity with other blue-light workers. <BR /> <BR />I will also need to look at whether focusing the clause on emergency situations will add unnecessary complexity. I believe that it may do so. The way that clause 42B(2) on responding to emergency circumstances reads means that, if you assault somebody responding to emergency circumstances, you commit an offence. I believe that it has to be tighter. The key intention is to provide additional protection for paramedics in line with their police and fire colleagues and to send a signal that assaulting paramedics is not to be tolerated.”
“I believe that I have support for the amendment in the House. <BR /> <BR />It would be helpful if I mentioned the adjustments now. I intend to remove the references to obstruction of paramedics. We know that there is already adequate law in the Emergency Workers (Obstruction) Act 2006. I picked up the wording, description and definition of the relevant NHS body from that legislation. I recognise that, in that law, there is already the crime of obstruction. I do not want to do harm by creating two competing legal provisions on obstruction, as that may well undermine any judicial process. So, I am prepared to lift out "and obstructing" so that the title will read:”
“It is my intention to amend it to make the Minister of Justice, as well as the Health Minister and the House, more secure.”
“That person should be entitled to disclosure, but the police or whoever it is should be taking note of what they have said, because they will realise straight away that they are a victim, and then the support mechanisms should kick in. This is not just about enforcement; this is about protection. It is also about awareness and education, and I believe that they are important. Fear and terror are primary weapons for a perpetrator of domestic violence. I will leave it there. <BR /> <BR />I move on now to amendment No 57, the new clause on ambulance workers. I acknowledge straight away that the wording can and will be tidied up. I am determined to do that at the next stage. It is important that I outline my thoughts on the wording, even though it is my own.”
“Does the Member want to continue? He is finished. <BR /> <BR />I agree with him 100%. A false sense of security is an issue. That can be countered by the way that the information is distributed. The answer can be worded to make sure that someone does not walk out of a police station, GP surgery or anywhere else with a false sense of security. <BR /> <BR />The advantages outweigh the negatives, because it will also work as an early detection system when the person has never been detected. If you say to the police, "This is happening to me, and I am starting to get really concerned. Can I have disclosure on this person?".”
“In the previous Justice Bill, I brought forward the child protection disclosure scheme. Why is it that people out there, the public, are the last to know? Why should that be the case? Every agency in officialdom may know something about someone, but the very person who ends up closest to them knows nothing. Not only should they have the right to ask; they most definitely should have the right to know. PPANI arrangements already allow for someone to be told that they are at risk if their new partner has committed sexual offences against children or vulnerable adults.”
“Of course, we have to make sure that the PSNI is up to speed with this. I believe that PSNI officers who attend houses with domestic abuse issues see this day in and day out. Maybe even they do not know how to react or how to work it out or whether it is a crime or not. They will sometimes walk away, not knowing what to do. We need to make sure that the PSNI is fully informed of and briefed on the new law, whatever it is, and knows how to apply it appropriately. I will not move the amendment in the good faith that the Minister has delivered on what he promised to Dolores Kelly at the time of the previous Justice Bill in bringing forward a consultation. <BR /> <BR />Some of the questions in the consultation were things like, "Is it right for people to be able to ask if a new partner has a history?". Absolutely.”
“Victims' groups are worried that such a law might just become another tool or pressure point that the perpetrator uses against the victim: "If you go to the police because I hit you, I will go to the police to say that you are controlling me". These are things that we have to be careful of, and we must worry out.”
“We do not really know how it has worked yet, so I agree with the Minister that it is right to hold off and do things right. We do not want to do harm. That is the last thing that I want to do, and the last thing the Assembly should do is do harm through legislation that will make things worse. <BR /> <BR />We have to take into consideration another issue. If we have a law on controlling and coercive behaviour, how can we be assured that the perpetrator does not use it against the victim? It is notoriously hard to prove some of this stuff. That has to be thought out well and ironed out. I hope that that is teased out in the consultation.”
“It is just as dangerous, and it has a devastating effect on those people. <BR /> <BR />I have said enough on this now. I have got the point across, and I hear what the Minister says. Because of the consultation launched last Friday, I will not move the amendment. But I ask everyone in the Assembly to encourage people out there to inform themselves about the consultation, to consult and to actually put something down on paper and get it to the Minister. There is a job of work to do here. It could have been done today, but it is right to take time to reflect on what the law here should be. A law has been passed in England: the Serious Crime Act 2015. Part 5 is on the protection of children and others, and, under domestic abuse, section 76 is "Controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship".”
“Do not be thinking that you will come down here one day a week to see the children; you will not be here at all". There are also very serious cases. A man actually got his children out of bed in the middle of the night and performed sexual acts on his wife in front of them. That only happened once, but it only had to happen once, because he threatened it every other time. What would a mother do in such a situation? <BR /> <BR />People are faced with such pressure every day. We think that we have pressure. We go to work, and we have to talk to the media, and we worry about it for a minute or two. However, there are people living in this country — our constituents — who are suffering in silence. They are hiding the bruises. In many cases, there are no bruises, and it is just as painful.”
“These are the things that happen on a day-to-day basis, and they have to stop. I am realistic enough to know that cases like this will always happen. People will always act in certain ways, and that is why it is important, at that point, that we somehow step in and inform and educate those victims that they are indeed victims. Of one thing you may rest assured: there are many victims out there who believe that it is their fault and that there is nothing they can do about it. "I have made my bed, and I have to sleep in it". You do not. There is help out there. There is Women's Aid, the Men's Advisory Project and people who will help. Please contact those people and tell your story. That may be the only way that the abuse will stop. <BR /> <BR />People use children as a weapon: "You will not see the kids any more if you leave.”
“His relationship with his child was seriously affected because of the way that his wife talked to him. All his finances, everything that he had, was tied up in that house: the mortgage, the electricity bill, the heating that he could not turn on if he was in the house by himself — he paid for it all.”
“I want to make a difference, and, if I cannot make a difference in this place, there is something badly wrong. That is my motivation for tabling the amendment. <BR /> <BR />There is another story that the Men's Advisory Project told me. It started after two years of marriage when the wife started to kick, slap and shove. Again, she fell pregnant, and she made it clear that, if they did not stay together, he would not see the child at all. Remarkably, when the child was born, the kicking, slapping and shoving stopped. But the threats carried on. He had to keep his clothes, which were torn and dirty, in the car or the shed because he was not allowed to keep them in the house. He was not allowed to have the heating on if he was the only person in the house.”
“Imagine the courage that that man had plucked up to come and tell me that he was prepared to leave his wife. You do not really want to get involved in someone else's disputes, but I said, "Look, if you think that's the right thing, you must do it". He went home that night, and, when he came in the next day, I asked him how it went. The man told me that, before he could speak, his wife told him that she was expecting a child. That changed everything for him. He felt that he was trapped, he could not do anything and that he was stuck in that situation for ever and a day. <BR /> <BR />I have lost track of that man. I do not know what happened. I do not know what happened to the family unit, to him or his wife or what happened to their baby. Maybe there are more children; I do not know. It is people like him I think about and want to help.”
“I know that the boys are hassling you and I'll deal with them, but is everything OK at home?". It took courage for me to do that as his foreman. He broke down in front of me. I am talking about a building site, one of the great bastions of being a man, so to speak. He broke down and told me that he was having a horrid time at home. What could he do? He was married. Is that not what happens when you are married? People get cross. Tempers and patience fray. He told me, "I just said the wrong thing. It was my fault". That put me in an awful position too, of course. I tried to advise that man as best I could, but I knew that whatever I was telling him was never going to be enough. Then, that man, under his own steam and in his own time, came in one day and said to me, "I've decided that I'm going to leave my wife".”
“He came in one time with a facial injury, and the boys on the building site said, "What happened to you? Did your wife hit you?". It was a bit of a joke that caught on, and the boys latched onto it. Maybe it was the response that the young lad gave, but it caught on. It became a daily occurrence. As foreman, I got wind of it. You want to be one of the guys when you are on a building site and build up a rapport, but you also have to be very aware of what is happening and look through people as much as look at them. I saw that it was having an effect and not just a bullying effect, although that is bad enough — constantly getting the same joke over and over again. <BR /> <BR />I got that man to a quiet part of the site and said to him, "Look, is everything OK?”
“Why can they not sleep? It is not because of illness or a condition that they have; it is because their partner will not let them go to sleep. Is that not amazing? Can we even believe that your partner will not let you go to sleep at night, even though you have to get up the next day to go to work? They keep themselves up to keep you up. Is it not incredible that that happens in this day and age and we cannot do anything about it? We cannot help, we cannot support and we cannot protect. That is why we need new and different laws and why our laws have to change to suit our times and the knowledge that we have. Once you hear these things, you cannot unhear them. <BR /> <BR />I was a foreman electrician for many years. I knew a young lad who was a "spark" — an electrician — who was quiet enough and very sensible.”
“What sort of life has Sally had up to now? How dare anyone tell someone that they are worthless and that their opinions do not count? How dare anyone say that to another human being, especially one who should have loved and cared for Sally and supported her? How dare any human being treat someone else like that? <BR /> <BR />I also work with the Men's Advisory Project, which is based in Northern Ireland and has sister organisations in mainland UK. Its members tell me stories about men who suffer not violence so much, although it does happen a lot, but psychologically through sleep deprivation. I heard that term a lot in my twenties when I was a member of the Territorial Army (TA), so I know what sleep deprivation feels like. However, it was my choice to be in the TA. Some people in this country go home at night and cannot sleep.”
“The mother died of cancer, which left Sally on her own with her father and her brother. Sally tried everything to keep things running smoothly, but her father would find flaws and mistakes in everything that she did and would blame Sally for anything that went wrong in the home. Some days, things were OK for Sally, but, most days, they were not. <BR /> <BR />I could go on about Sally and the things that her father called her, but Sally plucked up her courage, saved up a bit of money and left home. She became homeless and slept in a tent in a doorway in another town in the UK. Somehow, by chance, someone who knew her and her father came across her and told the father. The father went to that town and brought her home. She then ran away and now lives safely in Northern Ireland, but she is heart-feart that her dad will find her again.”
“I want to talk to you about Sally. From a very young age, Sally's father told her that she was worthless. She was not allowed to go out and mix with other children. She had a brother, and she recalls that they were treated very differently. He was allowed to go to people's houses and play, while she was not. Sally was told that she was stupid and that there was no point in her even in going to school, as she would never make anything of herself. She was made to dress in unfashionable clothes that made her peers laugh at her. Sally was told in no uncertain terms, from a very young age, that her opinion was not worth listening to. <BR /> <BR />Her mother experienced that same abuse and worse. Her mother fell ill, but the father would not let her go to get checked out.”
“Some 71 women were supported through pregnancy in refuges. Outreach services from Women's Aid were accessed by 5,962 women, and 34,420 calls were managed by the 24-hour domestic and sexual violence helpline. I could go on and on. I could talk all night about numbers and statistics, but we do not have all night — or maybe we do, because this is a serious issue. I can talk about numbers and people will hear them, but they will go in one ear and out the other. Let us talk about people. Of course, the names that I will mention are not real names.”
“That should shock and worry us all. <BR /> <BR />In 2014-15 alone, 28,287 domestic abuse incidents were recorded — the highest number recorded since the data series began in 2004. There were 13,426 domestic abuse crimes reported in 2014-15. This is a serious issue in our society that we must get to grips with — not only must we get to grips with it, we must protect and support the victims who are suffering at this precise moment. As I speak, there will be people at home who feel fearful and threatened, who have low self-esteem and are depressed, going through all sorts of turmoil and telling no one at all. <BR /> <BR />Over the course of my work on this amendment, I spoke to groups such as Women's Aid and the Men's Advisory Project. In 2014-15, 932 women and 689 children were supported in Women's Aid refuges.”
“That is very important. As I said, we can all see bruises, cuts and damaged limbs. <BR /> <BR />The trends in domestic violence over the last 10 years are alarming. 'Trends in Domestic Abuse Incidents and Crimes Recorded by the Police in Northern Ireland 2004-05 to 2014-15' was published on 6 August 2015. Over that period, there were 11 female victims of domestic abuse crimes aged 18-plus per 1,000 females in the population and five male victims of domestic abuse crimes aged 18-plus per 1,000 males in the population. This is not a gender thing; it does not happen just to women. There were 11 female victims per 1,000 and five male victims per 1,000. The majority, 61%, of domestic abuse victims aged 18-plus were female and 26% were male. Surprisingly, and worryingly, 13% of the total were under the age of 18.”
“Since I tabled the amendments, people have asked me what it means, what it looks like and what it is. Here is a definition:”
“Who is the victim? It is very important to thrash those out and use best practice from around the world as quickly as we can to protect those people — those vulnerable people — who see no other way to turn and are victims of domestic abuse. <BR /> <BR />I have deliberately used the term "domestic abuse". We all talk about domestic violence. We can all see bruises, cuts and damaged limbs, but we do not see the psychological damage that is being done. There are words in the English language that we use: threats, control, coercive behaviour, psychological abuse, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, financial abuse, emotional abuse. Most of that will be criminal behaviour, but some will not. Most of it should be, and it is very important that we get to grips with this issue. <BR /> <BR />What does "coercive behaviour" mean?”
“<BR /> <BR />Everyone has the right to feel safe and secure at home. If you cannot feel safe at home, where can you feel safe? We hear it all the time. We hear phrases like, "You can do whatever you want behind closed doors; it will not bother or annoy me." We use that term so loosely on so many different subjects. It is not all right to do whatever you want behind closed doors if you are committing a crime. For so long, in years gone by, domestic violence was one of those crimes that no one talked about and that people, dare I say it, even ignored. People felt pity, even distress, but they would have gone home and that would have been the end of it. <BR /> <BR />Even in this day, we worry and wonder about definitions of domestic violence crimes. What is domestic violence? What does it mean? Who is affected? Who is the offender?”
“I will speak on the two amendments that have been tabled in my name. The first is amendment No 56, which will insert a new clause to deal with domestic violence. I have listened very intently to what the Minister and other Members have said about that. <BR /> <BR />I begin by paying tribute to the work that Mrs Dolores Kelly has very ably done on that subject, especially in the Justice Act 2015. That began as another miscellaneous Bill that we were able to hook on to and really push forward agendas and our thoughts and objectives in a very considerable way. Dolores Kelly should be applauded and acknowledged for the work that she has done overall on domestic violence and in trying to relieve the pressure on victims. I commend her and place on record my praise for the work that she has done to date.”