Safe Access Zones - Public Consultation 2025

On 22 October 2025, we met with the Northern Ireland Department of Health to present, among other issues, findings of our survey that asked the general public their opinions on how they feel Safe Access Zones are being implemented across the north.

Safe Access Zones were introduced in Northern Ireland with the Abortion Services Act (Northern Ireland) in 2023. The goal of the zones is to protect women, girls, and accompanying persons seeking abortion services, as well as healthcare staff, from harassment or intimidation by anti-choice protestors.

We collected 76 unique responses from the Belfast, Northern, South Eastern and Western Trusts.

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Key findings:

• Overall, the survey responses demonstrate widespread public support for SAZ as an essential safeguard for privacy, dignity, and safety.

• Participants generally agreed that the introduction of these zones has reduced direct confrontation and visible protest activity near healthcare sites.

• However, significant concerns remain regarding limited enforcement by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the insufficient distance of current zones, which many people feel do not fully prevent visibility or audibility of protestors.

• Respondents overwhelmingly recommend expanding all SAZ to the maximum legal distance of 250 metres, ensuring consistent PSNI enforcement, and maintaining ongoing engagement with service users and healthcare workers to evaluate real-world effectiveness.