A major new research study carried out across the island of Ireland has found that a majority of people view hate crime as a ‘serious and growing problem’.
The study, ‘Public Understandings of Hate Crime: Ireland, North and South project’, was undertaken by researchers at University of Limerick and Queen’s University Belfast.
It was funded by the Irish Research Council New Foundations programme and the Department of An Taoiseach Shared Island initiative and will be launched today at Queen’s University Belfast.
The research was carried out by Professors Amanda Haynes and Jennifer Schweppe of UL’s European Centre for the Study of Hate, Professor Ross MacMillan of UL’s Department of Sociology and Dr Kevin J. Brown of Queen’s School of Law.
The findings are based on a survey of 2,000 respondents distributed simultaneously in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in February of this year.
The researchers found that the majority of the public in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland believe hate crime to be a serious problem, with a perception that hate crime is increasing on the island.
The general public also understand the direct and indirect harms of hate crime. The majority of the public in both parts of the island appreciate the fact that hate crimes are more likely to have a psychological effect on their victims, and that hate crimes spread fear and isolation among minority communities.
A clear majority of the general public perceive current responses to tackling hate crime to be ineffective. Only 18% of the public surveyed in Northern Ireland thought that the PSNI respond effectively to hate crime, whilst only 20% believe that the courts respond effectively.
In the Republic of Ireland 30% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that An Garda Síochána respond to hate crime effectively, while 22% agreed that the courts respond effectively.
There is a high level of public support in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland for the protection of a broad range of characteristics under hate crime legislation.
The study also found that there are gaps in public understanding surrounding current hate crime legislation, with the majority of the public in Northern Ireland incorrectly believing that a hate crime will be recorded as such on an individual’s criminal record.
Speaking about the findings, Professor Jennifer Schweppe, Professor of Law at UL and co-director of the European Centre for the Study of Hate, commented: “This research is timely in showing public support for the inclusion of marginalised groups in the scope of the protection of hate crime legislation generally, and it is particularly heartening to see such public support for the inclusion of transgender people in hate crime legislation.
“For the first time internationally, the stigma of a conviction for a crime with an associated hate element was measured: people are less likely to employ someone with a conviction for a hate crime, and less likely to welcome them into their neighbourhood. This is something that legislators must consider when introducing or amending legislation as we are proposing to do on the island.”
Professor Amanda Haynes, Professor of Sociology at UL and co-director of the European Centre for the Study of Hate, said: “While public opinion should not determine legislation, public awareness and understanding are important to the effectiveness of the criminal law. Our research shows that there is currently a lot of misinformation around the topic of hate crime across the island of Ireland. Such shortfalls in the public’s awareness of current policy responses is concerning.”
Dr Kevin J. Brown from the School of Law at Queen’s said: “This survey, the first of its kind on an all-island basis, has much to tell us about public views on hate crime. The findings show that a clear majority of the population, North and South, appreciate the harms to victims and wider society that hate motivated criminality can cause.
“The public perceive current responses to hate to be inadequate and are supportive of changes to allow authorities to more effectively tackle hate. This report provides convincing evidence in support of implementing balanced reforms to challenge hate on both sides of the border.”
The report is the first output of the project and establishes the public’s perception of the prevalence of hate crime on the island of Ireland, the physical and emotional harms of hate crime, the impact on minority communities, reporting mechanisms, and the role of legislation in addressing hate crime.
The research also measures levels of prejudice against individuals due to their racialised identity, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, gender identity, disability, community background (in Northern Ireland) as well as other commonly targeted identities.
With a view to further informing the work of the Shared Island Unit, the research also explores attitudes of people in the Republic of Ireland to those from Northern Ireland, and to those from Nationalist/Republican and Unionist/Loyalist backgrounds specifically.
The report also makes a number of recommendations to support the development of a Shared Island from the perspective of valuing diversity in society, promoting the safety of minoritised communities, and raising awareness of both the harms of hate and the means by which the criminal justice process can address hate.
Some of the recommendations include establishing a community of practice for cross-border knowledge transfer and collaborative learning in respect to addressing hate on the island of Ireland, and to conduct a public information campaign to address gaps in public understandings of hate crime and criminal justice responses should be prioritised across both jurisdictions.
Key findings include:
— In both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, the public understand and appreciate both the direct and indirect harms of hate;
— Across both jurisdictions there is a clear appreciation among the general public of the direct and indirect harms of hate crime. The majority of the public in both parts of the island appreciate the fact that hate crimes are more likely to have a psychological effect on their victims, and that hate crimes spread fear and isolation among minority communities;
— Only a minority on both sides of the border – less than a fifth – are of the view that punishing hate crime more severely than non-hate crimes is a violation of freedom of expression;
— In both jurisdictions a majority view hate crime as a serious and growing problem in their own jurisdiction;
— The majority of the public in both jurisdictions appear to appreciate the symbolic value of hate crime legislation;
— In both jurisdictions only a minority of the public regard the police or courts’ current response to hate crime as effective;
— There are concerning shortfalls in public knowledge regarding the current legal position with respect to hate crime in both jurisdictions
- The majority of the public are misinformed about the availability of hate crime charges to police and prosecutors
- Half of those in Northern Ireland and a majority of those in the Republic are misinformed regarding the availability of sentence enhancement to the courts
- A majority of respondents in Northern Ireland are not aware that a hate crime conviction will not appear on the convicted person’s criminal record
— The label of hate crime offender is associated with additional stigma beyond that attached to the already marginalising label of convicted offender in both jurisdictions
— There is a high level of public support for the protection of a broad range of characteristics in both jurisdictions
— Of the commonly used legal tests, the highest levels of support are for the motivation and discriminatory selection models in both jurisdictions
— The majority of the public in both jurisdictions support sentence enhancements
— There is a continuing need to develop mutual understanding across the border and to share bridge building successes.