Statement by TUV MLA Timothy Gaston:
“On 16th September – more than three months ago – I raised the prospect of biological men being able to access women only prisons in the Assembly. My comments were dismissed with a patronising swipe of the hand.
“Questioning Ms O’Neill on the Executive’s Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy I asked:
“In Scotland, there was a ridiculous situation where a rapist was held in a female prison before, rightly, being moved. Is there anything in the strategy to defend women-only rights and women-only spaces and to oppose the efforts of a biological man who thinks he is a woman to gain access to female-only spaces?”
“Ms O’Neill totally ignored the question and responded by saying:
“It is unfortunate that you take that approach, but we will not be distracted. We are here to launch a strategy to end violence against women and girls. It is endemic in our society, and it must stop. The focus of the framework is on prevention and tackling the root causes of violence against women. We will remain focused on the work that we are trying to do. It is a whole-society approach. I encourage you even to get behind it, because it is really important. It is about women who are being murdered. We need to end violence against women and girls. I would like to think that everyone who has been elected to the Chamber has the same goal in mind.”
“Now we discover that the Department of Justice has conceded the challenge brought by a biological man to be held in Hydebank Wood because the Department had no clear policy on the issue.
“Presumably a similar challenge could be successfully mounted by rapists as well.
“Such a situation was – as my question three months ago illustrates – entirely predictable. How can the Executive claim to be concerned about violence against women when they fail to have a policy to prevent a man facing charges of threats to kill from being detained in our only female prison?
“Indeed, what is the point of having a female prison if we now face the prospect of men being detained in it as well?
“This is not a case of woke politics but a serious challenge to female safety.”