Dawn Purvis changed the face of the abortion debate in Northern Ireland. So why is she calling it a day?

After enduring vitriolic protests, criminal harassment and fears of violence, the director of the Marie Stopes clinic in Belfast is leaving one of the most divisive positions in the country. She says that despite it all, she is hopeful for the future

For Dawn Purvis, the low point was the start of last year. The 48-year-old former politician and programme director for Marie Stopes in Northern Ireland was leaving her office opposite Belfast’s opera house after staying late to work on a tricky case.

Anti-abortion protesters have been stationed outside every day since the clinic opened in October 2012, so their presence was nothing new. But Purvis had noticed what she calls an escalation, with women arriving for appointments in tears and being followed down the road and shouted at afterwards, behaviour she calls “public shaming”.

Related: 'It feels like Texas': running the gauntlet of Belfast's anti-abortion protesters

Related: Anti-abortion protests prompt Belfast Marie Stopes clinic to boost security

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