SDLP Policing and Justice Spokesperson Dolores Kelly has expressed outrage that six women have been murdered in their homes in Ireland so far this year.

The upper Bann MLA said the deaths, including three women from Northern Ireland, are a "travesty".

"We all have a duty to ensure that we do not become desensitised to these horrific murders, where women are being killed in what should always be a safe space- their own home. As a society we must speak up and speak out against all types of violence, but in particular domestic violence which can too easily be hidden and swept under a rug," Mrs Kelly commented.

"It is almost impossible to put into words the grave injustice facing victims of domestic violence, that in the continued political stalemate we have no vehicle to drive forward new legislation that better protects victims. 

"It is all well and good talking about rights, but when women and their children are being killed in their own homes at the rate they are, it is an absolute travesty to pit certain rights against others. We need an Assembly back to ensure that as elected representatives we are doing all we can to bring an end to this madness."



(JG/CM)