Beautiful Aishling Murphy murdered last week while out jogging
The 23-year-old was murdered last week while out jogging in Tullamore in Co Offaly.
MLAs today held a vigil on the steps of Stormont Buildings to remember Aishling.
Said Ms McLaughlin: “Women across the island of Ireland are angry and upset at the murder of Aishling Murphy. But more than that, we are traumatised by it.
“A criminal investigation is taking place, so we must be careful what we say. But what I can say is that Aishling did everything right – she was getting exercise in a public place and in broad daylight.
“But even talking about doing ‘everything right’ is itself wrong. Women have the right to walk safely home at night, they have the right to live with their partner without being hit, kicked, murdered. Yet too often that is what happens to women.
“We in this jurisdiction have a particular crisis. And it is a crisis. More women are murdered in NI as a result of domestic violence than anywhere else in Europe – jointly with Romania as it happens.
“And this is something that has been continuing over a period of years.
“This is why the work by The Executive Office for a strategy addressing violence against women and girls is so very, very important. We need to understand what is going wrong, why and how to put it right.
“But let us make it absolutely clear. The problem is not with women. We are the victims, we deal with the symptoms of a society that has at its heart something deeply wrong.
MLAs gather at Stormont to hold vigil to remember Aishling Murphy
“There is even a new word for it. And I don’t mean misogyny. I mean incel. An ‘incel’ is a man who blames women for his problems. And for some of them, that is justification for murdering women.
“But we have particular problems here, which relate to the Troubles and the continuing role and reality of paramilitaries, the glorification and justification of violence.
“And the whole world has a problem. It is not just about violent pornography, about violent online sexist games, about sexist language, about the demeaning of women.
“It is all these things and more. It is not a new problem. But there are some men who create problems for all women – not only women who are murdered, or beaten, but all women who have to be wary of where we go and when and how we do it.
“And we look to men, in particular, to solve the problem of those men who abuse, who threaten, who murder. Women have had far, far more than enough – far more than we are willing to put up with.
“Aishling Murphy – may you rest in peace,” added the Foyle MLA.
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