‘No one should be carrying pepper spray’ in wake of sexual attacks on women, says Justice Minister Naomi Long

Justice Minister Naomi Long has said that women shouldn’t be carrying pepper spray or other weapons to defend themselves in the wake of recent violent attacks, as they can be turned and used against them.

Speaking in the assembly, Ms Long responded to a question from by SDLP’s MLA for East Derry Cara Hunter, on what immediate assurances she could give to women in the north west to help them feel safe.

This comes following four attacks on women last week in Derry, with two incidents at the weekend involving women being held at knifepoint.

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In response to the attacks, Ms Hunter asked the minister if options including self-defence classes or provision of pepper spray could be used to assure women in the short-term.

Pepper spray is illegal in the UK and Ireland as a designated firearm but is legal in the US for personal protection.

“When it comes to how people should protect themselves in the public space, the best people to give that kind of community safety advice would be the PSNI because I don’t claim, nor should I, to be an expert,” Ms Long said.

“But I would say this: pepper spray is illegal and no one should be carrying pepper spray.

“The risk of carrying pepper spray is that it can be turned and used on you, like any weapon,” she added.

“People should not resort to carrying weapons because those weapons could end up being used against the individual who carries them and I need to put that on record.”

In Derry, local business Lifestyle Combat said it had “a significant amount of responses” after offering free self-defence classes for women in the city in response to recent attacks.

While the justice minister acknowledged that “there is a role” for self-defence, she added that it was “a very difficult issue” for her to address.

“We also need to bear in mind that unless you are routinely engaged in a space where you’re likely to use those self-defence techniques, the challenge will be whether or not when attacked it will become natural to you to use the mechanisms that you have trained in,” she said.

“It can also create a false sense of security and lead people to go into environments or places that may be higher risk in the belief that they can defend themselves.”

Ms Long added that women having to stay in during the evenings and not walking alone is not a long-term solution.

Ms Hunter later expressed her disappointment at the minister’s response.

“In my 6 years in politics I have never been so disappointed in the lack of reassurance for women from the justice minister today,” she said.

“I welcome the PSNI have been very proactive in the North West to make women feel safe, but there are no meaningful solutions coming from this Executive.

“This Executive is once again failing to prioritise the safety of women and girls.”

Police have increased their presence in parks and other areas in Derry in an attempt to reassure local women.

A rally is to be held at the city’s Guildhall on Friday November 8, in addition to a public meeting organised by Alliance for Choice on November 14, where women are invited to talk freely about what can be done to make them feel safe.