Chants of “not one more” filled Belfast city centre on Saturday 25th April as crowds marched from the Royal Courts of Justice to Belfast City Hall. Carrying banners and placards, protesters demanded an end to femicide and gender-based violence in Northern Ireland.
The rally, organised by ROSA and sponsored by Unite the Union, was sparked by recent figures showing that 30 women in Northern Ireland have been murdered since 2020.
Their ages ranged from 20 years old to 82 years old.
Most of the women were murdered in their own homes. In at least two-thirds of the deaths, the killer, or suspect, were known to the women.
However, this figure could be higher, as in many cases, the relationship between the victim and the accused is not known.
Campaigners state that these statistics make Northern Ireland the most dangerous place to be a woman in the UK, with women in NI being twice as likely to be killed by a partner or someone they know than if they lived in Scotland, Wales or England.
In the republic of Ireland, 37 women were killed between 2020 and early 2025.
Photo by Luke Butterly, The Detail
Among those taking part in the march were the family of Natalie McNally, a 32-year-old woman who was murdered in her home in 2022. She was 15 weeks pregnant at the time.
Walking with a banner reading “Stop Killing Women”, her family joined calls for immediate action. Natalie’s brother, Brendan McNally addressed crowds at City Hall and described the issue of femicide as a “scourge” upon society.
ROSA, a socialist feminist group who campaign against “gender violence, objectification, sexism, oppression, exploitation and capitalism” has released a ‘Five Point Immediate Action Programme to Tackle the Gender Violence Epidemic’.
The plan calls for increased funding for survivor services, comprehensive consent-based education in schools, and reforms to housing, employment and the justice system to better support victims.
Róise McCann, an activist with ROSA, said misogyny “permeates all levels of society” and therefore “requires a societal fightback”, adding that “everyone has a role to play” in challenging it.
Ms McCann praised the work of the Executives’ Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, which released its second delivery plan just days before the rally, adding that if Stormont “really believe gender violence and femicide is an issue then they can take practical steps right now to redress that”, with the Five Point Immediate Action Plan being a clear starting point.
A key element of ROSA’s Action Plan calls for action on housing and employment precarity, to increase options and stability for those who are affected by intimate partner control and gender violence.
Photo by Luke Butterly, The Detail
Susan Fitzgerald, Regional Secretary of Unite the Union spoke of the importance of supporting victims in the workplace and said that the organisation was “delighted to have been able to sponsor the rally”.
Speaking with The Detail, she said that Unite the Union members would be marching for all victims of femicide including one of their members, Natalie Egan, a “vibrant, beautiful young woman”.
The 37-year-old NHS worker was murdered in her home in November 2025 in Dundee.
Ms Fitzgerald described the scale of femicides in Northern Ireland as “frankly chilling” and added that Unite the Union considers gender-based violence as a “work-place issue”, with 1 in 3 women experiencing violence in their working life.
According to research by Ulster University, 98% of women in Northern Ireland have experienced at least one form of violence or abuse in their lifetime, with half experiencing this before they were 11 years old.
“Any time misogyny goes unchecked, it creates an environment for femicide to flourish”, warned Ms Fitzgerald, adding that Unite the Union wish to back their workers to call out such behaviour.
Unite members are committed to supporting their workers who may be suffering from domestic abuse situations, making sure that domestic violence leave is “properly enacted, paid and fulsome”, she added.
Photo by Luke Butterly, The Detail
The scale of misogyny and gender-based violence is widely felt in Northern Ireland and continues to be a significant concern.
Amy Doherty, a 28-year-old mother from Derry, was murdered in March 2026.
Protesters at the ‘Not One More’ rally carried pictures of the 30 women who have been killed in NI since 2020. Their names were remembered and honored as speakers made emotional pleas for immediate Stormont action to protect women and girls, and put an end to femicide.
Róise McCann hoped to encourage people from “any walk of life” to feel empowered by the rally to take action against misogyny and “join the movement to combat gender-based violence”.
Jane Nic Uilliam is a Irish language multimedia journalist with Meon Eile