Yes, absolutely. It is a source of shame for us as a society that women were so horribly failed. The historical treatment of and discrimination against women and girls is alive for us all to see, but this is our opportunity, as an Assembly and an Executive, to bring some healing to all the women, victims and survivors who were impacted by that experience. That is why it is important that we get this work right, are sensitive about how we work our way through it, are as inclusive as we can be, reach out as far as possible and listen wholeheartedly to the views of the victims and survivors, because this is about them. We have a chance not to fix but to bring some light to what happened to them and to their journey.

To all victims and survivors we can say only this: we are so thankful for your tireless campaigning and for the fact that you did not give up and that, despite all your setbacks through many decades, you continued on that path. As we move into the consultation and public inquiry, we are now walking the journey with you so that we can get to the bottom of how those things were allowed to happen, make sure that lessons are learned and provide the full facts and information for victims and survivors.

This is one of the most important areas of work that the Executive and Assembly will be engaged in during the mandate. We must get this right for victims and survivors, because they have been failed at every turn, and I know that we are all determined to do that.