Dickson Supports Domestic Abuse Safe Leave Bill

East Antrim Alliance MLA, Stewart Dickson, spoke on Monday 29 Nov, on the Domestic Abuse Safe Leave Bill. Full speech below.

"I welcome and support the Domestic Abuse Safe Leave Bill, which proposes allowing ten days annual leave for victims and survivors. The Sexual, Mental and Physical Abuse felt by victims cannot be overstated and is entirely shocking. I thank the Member for bringing forward this very vital legislation. I must also add that it is set to build on the tireless work from my colleague, Justice Minister, Naomi Long, after she delivered the Domestic Abuse and Family Proceedings Act earlier this year.

When we think of Domestic Violence, we don't typically think of the workplace. But we should. Domestic Violence may happen behind closed doors, but it has far-reaching consequences that impact the working lives of those living with an abusive partner. The scale of the problem is huge. In a TUC survey, it was reported that, in the UK, in any one year, more than one in five victims of Domestic Violence have to take time off work because of Abuse, while two per cent lose their jobs as a direct result.

We can now say Domestic Abuse has reached pandemic proportions. In Northern Ireland, we have some of the most concerning rates of Domestic Abuse in the United Kingdom. From April 2019 to March 2021, there were 31,817 incidents of Domestic Abuse, and in 2020 this equated to an incident every 17 minutes.

The proposed legislation allows Northern Ireland to catch up with countries where it has already been introduced, like Australia, New Zealand, and the South of Ireland, where similar

legislation is currently passing through. It is so important that we offer the same protections to our victims, and survivors, in Northern Ireland. Support in the form of paid leave, could be crucial in ensuring that they retain employment and have the economic flexibility to escape an abusive relationship.

From my perspective of working 30 something years in the Labour Relations Agency, I think this Bill is heading in the right direction. However, my area of concern is around confidentiality. This came up when I was working on the Bereavement Bill regarding the embarrassment of miscarriage news circulating, and this is completely understandable. But, in this case, when someone is in an abusive relationship, it isn't just embarrassment they are at risk of; it could be life-threatening. I believe this will be an area of consideration in the Economy Committee to ensure there is a higher level of confidentiality to protect victims against ‘water-cooler’ conversations.

I also believe that we should look to extend Safe Leave time off to victims and survivors of sexual assault, which is also traumatic and life changing. Ultimately, we want to support victims of Abuse, whether it is Domestic or Sexual. This appears to me to be the right thing to do.

I will conclude now by thanking Rachel Woods for bringing forward this Private Member's Bill. I look forward to working alongside her, within my role in the Economy Committee, to ensure that the legislation is victim-centred, robust and will preserve confidentiality. We must not turn a blind eye to the issues of Domestic and Sexual Violence, and this Bill is an essential step in increasing necessary support".