Elaine Crory: Armed Patriarchy in Northern Ireland Continues to Terrorize Women
A court last Monday secured a conviction in the December 2022 murder of Natalie McNally. Amy Doherty was killed the previous day. Their cases joined a growing list of murdered women across Northern Ireland.
Between those two deaths sit the names of 13 other women. The tally also includes girls. Ellie Flanagan was added to the list earlier this month.
Scale and location of the crisis
Women’s Aid maps every woman murdered on the island with single dots. The data shows a clear concentration in the north-east of Northern Ireland.
For a small population, Northern Ireland records a disproportionately high rate of femicide. Advocates warn the pattern demands urgent attention.
Legacy of conflict and armed actors
The region’s decades-long conflict has shaped local attitudes toward violence. Some forms of abuse were historically dismissed as private or secondary issues.
As Elaine Crory: Armed Patriarchy in Northern Ireland Continues to Terrorize Women argues, paramilitaries remain embedded in deprived communities. That presence compounds threats for many women.
State shortfalls and service pressures
Legacy policing and administration costs now strain public finances. That squeeze reduces resources available to domestic violence services and housing.
Social housing scarcity forces many to remain in unsafe homes. Temporary accommodation is often distant or unsuitable, blocking escape routes.
Support services face long waiting lists for physical and mental healthcare. Courts also have backlogs, delaying justice for survivors.
Political disruption and delayed reforms
The Assembly has been non-operational for almost half the period since the Belfast Agreement. That stop-start governance has stalled key legal work.
Coercive control legislation had to be restarted after the 2017–2020 collapse. A provision for ten days’ paid domestic abuse leave remains unresolved four years after passage.
Work on a strategic approach only began in January 2025. That start came 15 years after the equivalent strategy in England and Wales.
Cultural responses and political messaging
Some public figures have downplayed misogynistic behaviour as acceptable political debate. One MLA was reprimanded for such conduct, yet the focus shifted to free speech.
That MLA’s party, the TUV, later printed his words on promotional pens for a conference. Far-right groups also tried to co-opt concerns about violence against women last year.
Despite naming the issue a priority in the Programme for Government, the draft budget allocates comparatively little funding to it. Campaigners call this shortchanging a national emergency.
What must change
Advocates say prevention requires long-term investment and consistent politics. Short-term rhetoric will not stop the rising toll.
Restoring services, increasing social housing, and clearing court backlogs need generational funding. Political leadership must match words with durable commitments.
Elaine Crory is the women’s sector lobbyist at the Women’s Resource & Development Agency. Reporting for Filmogaz.com.
