SDLP MLA Cara Hunter has submitted a motion to the Northern Ireland Assembly demanding immediate intervention to combat online violence and AI-generated abuse targeting women and girls.

The move follows confirmation from the UK Government regarding plans to criminalise the creation of non-consensual intimate images using Artificial Intelligence, alongside the applications that facilitate such content. The East Derry representative is now urging the Justice Minister to ensure that Northern Ireland's legal framework is updated in tandem with the rest of the UK to prevent the region from falling behind.

Ms Hunter highlighted that while online abuse affects many, women and children are being disproportionately harmed by the emergence of AI tools used to create non-consensual imagery. She also criticised social media platforms for failing to take sufficient action against the perpetrators of such material. East Derry MLA Cara Hunter said: "The UK Government's announcement that it will finally take action against companies like X and other platforms that allow harm against women to go unchecked has brought renewed hope that this issue is at last being treated with the seriousness it deserves.

"For far too long social media companies have been content to turn a blind eye to appalling abuse. While people of all backgrounds are targeted online, women and girls are disproportionately affected and that harm has intensified with the rise of AI tools that allow intimate images of women and children to be created without consent.

"The impact on victims cannot be minimised. This kind of abuse can permeate every aspect of a person's life, causing deep distress, humiliation and long-term harm to their work, relationships and wellbeing. While responsibility lies with those who create this material, the companies that host and profit from it have consistently failed to act or hold perpetrators to account.

"Too often, when progress is made elsewhere, the dysfunction of Stormont means the North is left lagging behind. I am determined that this will not happen again. The Justice Minister and the Executive must ensure that protections promised by the UK Government are implemented here at the same time, not months or years later. I will continue to fight to ensure victims are heard and that they are not failed yet again."