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Almost 240 arrests have been made in six months in a crackdown on violence against females. Police in Northern Ireland launched their first tackling violence against women and girls action plan in September 2022.

To mark International Women’s Day on Wednesday, police revealed officers have arrested 239 suspected perpetrators under new legislation.

This includes coercive control domestic abuse and stalking, which both became criminal offences under new legislation for Northern Ireland in 2022.

Detective Superintendent Lindsay Fisher said police are using every power available to them to tackle violence against women and girls.

“We are proactively tracking reports of violence, abuse and intimidation against women and girls and targeting neighbourhood policing resources to locations where they have reported feeling unsafe. We want to have a deterring presence in these areas,” she said.

“A total of 6,500 officers and staff have also undergone revised training on domestic abuse, encompassing coercive control and 4,000 are now trained to recognise and respond to stalking.

“We are using every power available to us and sending a strong message to perpetrators, that we are actively pursuing you and we won’t stop.

“This activity is firmly embedded into our business as usual and we want to see reporting figures and outcome rates continue to increase as a result.”

International Women’s Day: PSNI reveals 239 arrested in six months in Northern Ireland crackdown on violence against women and girls