Sinn Féin MLA Linda Dillon has welcomed the Minister of Justice’s intention to bring forward stalking legislation. 

The party’s justice spokesperson said: 

“I welcome the Minister’s intention to bring forward stalking legislation this year.  

“Sinn Féin has previously called on the Department to make this an urgent priority. 

“Stalking is a deeply insidious, invasive psychological form of criminal abuse with shocking side effects and consequences for victims. 

“Through the Committee stage of the Domestic Abuse and Family Proceedings Bill, many stakeholders identified the absence of a specific criminal offence of stalking as a dangerous gap in the law, despite it being a breach of human rights. 

“Sinn Féin made a submission to the Department of Justice’s consultation on legislative proposals to address stalking in November 2018, where we recommended following Scotland’s lead by making stalking a specific criminal offence. 

“I look forward to working with the minister to ensure we have gold-standard robust and effective legislation to tackle and prevent stalking.”