Green Party MLA Reveals She Was The Victim Of A Stalker

The deputy leader of the Green Party has revealed that a stalker stuck razor blades in her tyres, which caused them to blow up, when she was doing the school run.

Clare Bailey reported the incident to the PSNI, however they were unable to do anything about it.

The south Belfast MLA is now calling for the need for legislation to protect victims of stalking in NI.

She said: "I am not aware of anyone being convicted of stalking in Northern Ireland simply because we have no law to cover it. It is an invisible crime. The average victim is stalked 100 times before they even report it to police, and even then the response from the police may not be what is required.

"It is disappointing that in 2016, we are continuing to fail to take the crime of stalking seriously, leaving victims and their families to struggle alone until something more serious occurs. It is to our shame that we currently have no protection for safeguarding children caught up in the horror of stalking.

"Stalking has been shown to be closely linked to domestic violence and coercive control, and happen within relationships and after the relationship has ended. I have heard of women being stalked by ex-partners for up to 13 years.

"There is no onus on housing providers to move victims who are being terrorised in their own homes. Although we do have provision for harassment and intimidation under current housing provision, our current cultural understanding of what that is comes down to an orange and green issue.

"It is good that the current Justice Minister is minded to look at the issue."

(CD/JP)