25.At sexual and reproductive health clinics, all men and women are seen and individually assessed by a sexual and reproductive healthcare trained member of staff and will be offered appropriate counselling, treatment or tests. Once an initial assessment has taken place, a patient may be referred directly to a hospital or other clinic if required (e.g. to a genitourinary medicine clinic for STI testing, if not available at the clinic).
26.In all Trusts, sexual and reproductive health clinics provide a full range of contraception services, including emergency contraception (morning after pill). In some cases patients wishing to have an intrauterine device (IUD) fitted may have to be referred to another location, depending on time constraints and availability of trained staff. Signposting to other services, including the Family Planning Association (FPA) in the event of unplanned pregnancy, is also offered. All contraception services are free. A number of the Trusts provide interpreters to all patients who require this service including, for example: Lithuanian, Polish, Tetum (East Timorese), Portuguese and Romanian.
27.In addition, the UK Government has introduced a scheme where women in financial hardship situations will receive free abortions in England and will also have all travel arranged and paid for by the service provider. The procedure will therefore be received at no cost.
“(e)10 and 12 for failing to protect women from harassment by anti‑abortion protestors when seeking sexual and reproductive health services and information.”
28.The Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, a statutorily independent body, exists to receive and consider complaints of police misconduct including alleged police inaction.
29. The Committee finds that the failure to combat stereotypes depicting women primarily as mothers exacerbates discrimination against women and violates article 5, read with articles 1 and 2 of the Convention (see CEDAW/C/OP.8/GBR/1 , para 74).
30.It is not possible to respond to this statement in the absence of any alleged factual evidence supporting the assertion made in the report.
31. The Committee finds that the State party has failed to prioritise the prevention of unplanned pregnancy through the provision of quality sexuality education. Its lack of oversight on schools’ discretion to deliver the RSE curriculum to ensure that it is evidence-based and includes contraceptive use, safe abortion and post-abortion care, violates article 10(h) of the Convention (see CEDAW/C/OP.8/GBR/1 , para 76).
32.The Education (Curriculum Minimum Content) Order (NI) 2007 specifies the minimum content for each area of learning of the curriculum at each key stage. Teachers have considerable flexibility to select from within those areas the aspects they consider appropriate to the ability and interests of their pupils. While the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) provides guidance to schools, it does not stray into the actual content of teaching and learning as this is a matter for each school. The advisory, discretionary nature of curriculum advice in Northern Ireland is a fundamental feature of the system here, particularly in non‑publicly examined subjects such as Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE).
33. The Committee finds that the State party is responsible for (see CEDAW/C/OP.8/GBR/1 , para 83).
“(a)Grave violations of rights under the Convention considering that the State party’s criminal law compels women in cases of severe foetal impairment, including fatal foetal abnormality (FFA), and victims of rape or incest to carry pregnancies to full term, thereby subjecting them to severe physical and mental anguish, constituting gender-based violence against women; and
(b)Systematic violations of rights under the Convention considering that the State party deliberately criminalises abortion and pursues a highly restrictive policy on accessing abortion, thereby compelling women to:
(i)Carry pregnancies to full term;
(ii)Travel outside NI to undergo legal abortion; or
(iii)Self-administer abortifacients.”
34.For the reasons outlined above, the UK Government does not accept that women from Northern Ireland have been subject to grave and systematic violations of their rights under the Convention.
Conclusion
35.The Committee’s findings and recommendations which focus on changes to the criminal law on abortion cannot be addressed in the absence of a legislature with authority to legislate on such matters in Northern Ireland. A substantive response to the findings and recommendations contained in the CEDAW report will be provided once political structures are in place to authorise and approve the response.
Factual amendments
36.We would also draw attention to three further points regarding factual accuracy within the CEDAW report:
(a)Para 14. The second sentence is incorrect. Guidance was not provided in 2013, a consultation on draft guidance was conducted. Guidance was provided in 2016;
(b)Para 17. The Attorney General did not issue a circular to all hospitals to verify the lawfulness of all abortions. The Coroner’s Office has advised that the Coroner did not issue a Directive in 2015 on the matter. The Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland ruled in 2013 that stillborn children were within the jurisdiction of the Coroner as ‘deceased persons’;
(c)Para 18. The draft 2013 guidance was never issued. It was consulted upon. The current guidance accurately states the legal position.