Online abuse turns women away from public life, says Arlene Foster 

  • Abuse on social media is the biggest obstacle facing women in public life, First Minister for Northern Ireland Arlene Foster has said 
  • The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader called on social media companies to take “more responsibility” in dealing with anonymous abusers 
  • Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster’s Evening Extra programme, she said there was “literally hourly trolling” about appearance, clothes and haircuts 
  • Mrs Foster said the abuse could be “really, really painful” 
  • The first minister addressed the issue at the Women in Media conference in Belfast on Monday, which was International Women’s Day 
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Money launderers ‘prey on generation Covid’ 

  • Criminals are seizing on young people’s Covid-related financial troubles to hire them to unwittingly launder money, experts say 
  • More than four in 10 cases of money mules involved victims aged 21 to 30, with the numbers rising last year, fraud prevention service Cifas said 
  • Banks said criminals posted fake job adverts on social media, targeting “generation Covid” struggling for work 
  • It is part of a wider trend of fraudsters exploiting the crisis 
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Review into abuse allegations in British gymnastics gets nearly 400 submissions 

  • Almost 400 submissions are being considered by the Whyte Review into allegations of abuse and bullying in British gymnastics 
  • Anne Whyte QC said the review continues to consider “positive and negative” submissions covering a range of issues, including “emotional abuse, physical abuse and a ‘culture of fear’”, 
  • British Gymnastics said it remains “fully committed” to assisting the review, while the NSPCC described the interim report’s findings as painting “a worrying picture”. 
  • Over 90 clubs and 100 coaches have been identified among the submissions, 126 of which were provided by current and former gymnasts 
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Large numbers of young women in the UK have been sexually harassed, survey finds 

    • Virtually all young women in the UK have been subjected to sexual harassment, according to a survey from UN Women UK 
    • The survey which included 1000 women, also warns that most women have lost faith that the abuse will be dealt with 
    • Among women aged 18-24, 97% said they had been sexually harassed, while 80% of women of all ages said they had experienced sexual harassment in public spaces 
    • “This is a human rights crisis. It’s just not enough for us to keep saying ‘this is too difficult a problem for us to solve’ – it needs addressing now,” said Claire Barnett, Executive Director of UN Women UK 
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