Ulster Unionist Justice Spokesperson Doug Beattie MC MLA is set to bring a motion before the Assembly today, Tuesday 17 February, calling for sexual violence and child abuse to be formally recognised as bespoke criteria for Troubles-related investigations.

The UUP believes that sexual crimes committed during the conflict represent a particularly insidious form of harm that continues to affect victims decades later. While the Government's Legacy Commission Bill seeks to address those seriously harmed during the Troubles, Mr Beattie argues that sexual violence has often been a "hidden crime" that remains largely unacknowledged.

Speaking ahead of the debate, Mr Beattie pointed to high-profile cases, such as those involving Máiría Cahill and Paudie McGahon, as evidence of how terrorist organisations used sexual abuse to manipulate and control victims. He also highlighted the "barbaric" practice of tarring and feathering as a form of gender-based violence used to enforce community compliance.

The party is now calling on the First and Deputy First Minister to support their motion, urging the Government to ensure these crimes are given dedicated focus within the legacy investigative framework.

"Sexual crimes, including abuse and rape, have been used as a weapon of war for as long as war has existed," said Mr Beattie. "The counter insurgency conflict in Northern Ireland is no different, and sexual crime and gender-based abuse was often the hidden crime within society as the troubles raged for 30 years. In many ways, the truth about these hidden crimes is only starting to emerge. "The rape and subsequent kangaroo court suffered by Máiría Cahill, when still a child, is possibly the most widely known example of sexual violence during our troubles. This appalling crime, where those who attempted to justify it with the argument of 'some abusers can be so manipulative that their victims might actually enjoy the abuse' attempted to shed doubt in the abused mind and justify the abuser in continuing their sexual abuse.

"The rape of Paudie McGahon, when just 17 years of age, in an IRA safe house in the Republic of Ireland highlights how terrorist organisations thought during the troubles. They believed they could do as they wished, when they wished, and to whom they wished to manipulate, isolate, and control their victims while gratifying their sexual urges. This did not sit solely with sexual violence but is early viewed through the lens of gender-based violence.

"Throughout communities in Northern Ireland, paramilitary groups used sexual violence, the threat of sexual violence, or domestic abuse to keep their communities under control. Fearful about speaking up due to the very real threat from these groups, many women suffered in silence.

"The practice of tarring and feathering was barbaric; it was designed to show public humiliation, symbolic violence, create community compliance, and was a case of gendered targeting as it was directed at women and girls. These victims, like so many others, have been ignored as we pursue a lasting strategy on legacy.

"The Government's Legacy Commission Bill aims to address those who were seriously harmed during the Troubles. The Ulster Unionist Party believes that crimes of a sexual nature, perpetrated during the Troubles, are a particularly insidious crime that has echoed throughout the years. To that end, we call on the Government to include crimes of a sexual nature as a bespoke criterion for a Troubles investigation, and we call on the First and Deputy First Minister to support that call in a motion we will bring before the Assembly on Tuesday 17 February."