To ask the Minister of Justice to outline any steps she is taking to progress legislation on making street harassment a crime.

Harassment in all its forms is unacceptable and should not to be tolerated in any way. I am committed to ensuring that the law is adequate in dealing with those who harass and that everyone, regardless of gender, can feel safer within our community.

I have introduced the Protection from Stalking Bill to the Assembly which will create the specific offence of threatening or abusive behaviour. Depending on the specifics of the individual case, I believe this new offence could be used in dealing with behaviour of this type, as the conditions of the offence can be met where only one incident has occurred. Incidents of street harassment often involve a single incident.

That said, I am conscious of developments made in international jurisdictions which have legislated in this area specifically and I will continue to monitor the effectiveness of those models, and in light of the Protection from Stalking Bill provision, with interest.

I remain open, however, to considering any evidence which may emerge in this area and have met and listened to the concerns and experiences of a number of organisations who represent the interests of the wider women’s sector and the LGBTQ community. This includes, but is not limited to, Stop Street Harassment NI, Reclaim the Night, the Rainbow Project, Transgender NI and Women’s Aid.

Where women are the target of street harassment, I believe there can be an underlying issue involving how women are viewed within our society. We need to adopt a wider approach to addressing societal and cultural attitudes, which cannot be achieved by my Department alone.

In this regard, the Executive has agreed to bring forward a violence against women and girls strategy on foot of my proposal, which recognising that this is a cross-cutting issue, is to be led by the Executive Office. This is intended to ensure that the cross-departmental co-operation and support required is delivered. My Department will continue to do all we can to support this work.