Lived Experience Research On Violence Against Women In Northern Ireland

The issue of violence against women and girls has been noted as a significant global challenge. During 2018, it was estimated that 736 million women—almost one in three, had experienced some form of physical and/ or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime (WHO, 2021). Whilst this finding is stark, it is also most likely a significant underestimation. Many women and girls will not report their experiences. Violence in a blatant physical form is more easily captured than some other forms of abuse or harassment which are often normalised or accepted such as unwanted sexual attention or harassment. It is often these subtle forms of violence that perpetuate the daily oppression of women from the home to the streets, with an intolerable status quo of fear and caution among this group (Bunch, 1997). Indeed, the deaths of Sabina Nessa, Sarah Everard, and Aisling Murphy further demonstrate the real risk to life for women and girls on the basis of gender. The impacts of violence exposure on mental and physical health is well understood, with a plethora of research to date demonstrating the adverse outcomes for women and girls (e.g. Lagdon, Armour, and Stringer, 2014; García-Moreno, and Riecher-Rössler, 2013; Grose, Chen, Roof, Rachel, and Yount, 2021; Bacchus, Ranganathan, Watts, and Devries, 2018). Such research has resulted in major movements within and across regions to develop prevention-focused responses and interventions within diverse settings including education, justice and health care. In addition, gallant efforts by social activists calling for further action at a legislative and policy level have resulted in more subtle forms of violence such as coercive controlling behaviors, being acknowledged and made into a criminal offense. While this is a major step forward, there remains much to learn with regards to the nature of these types of violence and abuse that women are exposed to, particularly at the regional level. Indeed, there are women impacted everyday by incidents of unwanted behaviour but who may not see themselves as victims. Further, social norms and structural inequalities have an important role to play in violence against women and girls. The social ecology of a particular region may be the very factor that is sustaining harmful behaviours through tolerance and weak legal and institutional frameworks (Haylock, Cornelius, Malunga, and Mbandazayo). “The 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by member countries in 2015, calls for the elimination of violence against women and girls—namely through target 5.2 under goal 5 on gender equality and women's empowerment†(Sardinha, Maheu-Giroux, Stöckl, Meyer, and García-Moreno, 2022, p.3). Empowerment begins with giving a voice to the issue and allowing those affected to share their experience. The aim of the proposed research is to obtain reliable data on the experience of violence against women living in Northern Ireland.