Reports of racism in Ireland - Data from iReport.ie 2019 Authored by Dr Lucy Michael - Irish Network Against Racism
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Data from iReport.ie 2019
Reports of racism in Ireland
Authored by Dr Lucy Michael
INAR network members
About iReport
The iReport is a human rights monitoring tool way iReport.ie is a tool intended to
which takes the form of half-yearly and thematic help “Break the Silence on Racism”.
observatories on racist incidents in Ireland. The
iReport observatory compiles its data from infor- iReport.ie and the iReport are managed
mation submitted by people who have been sub- by the Irish Network Against Racism (INAR), a
jected to racism, by frontline anti-racist organisa- member of the European Network Against Racism
tions, trade unions and other organisations that (ENAR). INAR and ENAR work to coordinate com-
are committed to combating racism, and by the mon civil society-led responses to racism and ra-
general public. It uses iReport.ie, an online racist cial discrimination at local, national and European
incident reporting system which can be found at level. iReport.ie was launched on 11 July 2013.
www.iReport.ie
iReport.ie is a fully confidential and independent,
iReport.ie is a system that makes it as easy as pos- civil-society based Racist Incident Reporting Sys-
sible for people to self-report racist incidents by tem. It is used for human rights monitoring, in line
using the online form. It is a way for people whose with best practice as set out by the OSCE’s Office
voices are often unheard, to have those voices for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
heard and to participate in the national conver- (ODIHR), and the recommendations from the
sation on racism. To facilitate this, the reporting Council of Europe’s European Commission on Rac-
mechanism is designed to be as inclusive of all ism and Intolerance (ECRI) 2013 report on Ireland.
communities as possible, and one which strives to The report generates data that is compatible with
overcome many of the barriers to reporting. the monitoring requirements of UN CERD, the EU
Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), the ODIHR, and
Barriers to recording include: A reluctance by other international Human Rights bodies. As such,
people who experience or witness racism to re- the system should be seen as neither an alternative
port to police or other state bodies (our own re- to, nor an extension of, the criminal justice sys-
search suggests that, for a variety of reasons, 5 out tem’s own recording mechanisms.
of 6 people would not report to Gardaí or official
bodies); a reluctance to risk exposing oneself to This system is embedded in a network of over 80
further victimisation by sharing identifying de- locally-based organisations working in anti-rac-
tails; a reluctance to engage in a lengthy legal or ism and allows for locally gathered information to
other process(es); a reluctance to use forms that be fed into national data and analysed separately.
use complicated technical language and other While locally based and sectoral organisations re-
off-putting vocabulary and; a reluctance to use tain locally gathered data, which they use to inform
a reporting system that is lengthy and unwieldy. localised and sectoral responses to racism, the na-
These barriers mean that people from minority tional data is analysed and compiled into half-year-
ethnic communities experience racism which ly and thematic reports, and used to inform the
goes unrecorded and unacknowledged by the public, support lobbying submissions, and contrib-
state and wider society. ute to a broader national conversation on racism.
To overcome these barriers the iReport.ie report- To ensure the analysis of the iReport system is in
ing form guarantees confidentiality, is short and line with robust international standards of data
easy to use, is written in plain English, and can be collection and analysis, and for comparators
filled in anonymously, if the person so wishes. The with relevant international research, INAR has
system also allows for people to be supported in partnered with Dr Lucy Michael, a Research and
iReport | 2019
recording racist incidents by organisations work- Training Consultant in the areas of integration
ing with those communities most at risk of rac- and equality. Dr Michael is an authority on hate
ism. In addition to this, witnesses and by-stand- crime recording systems and on the impact of hate
ers can also report, as can third parties who have crimes on communities, and has led the analysis of
heard of incidents in their communities. In this iReport.ie data since 2013. (lucymichael.ie)
3
Our definitions OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and
Human Rights (ODIHR), and which are used in the
iReport.ie online questionnaire:
INAR uses the definition of Racism as established
by the UN International Convention on the Elim- Why would you or the person it happened to say
ination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination the incident was racist?
(CERD) (1969): ‘Any distinction, exclusion, restric- • Racist language was used
tion or preference, based on race, colour, descent, • Language about the person’s religion was used
national or ethnic origin, which has the purpose • There did not appear to be any other possible
of modifying or impairing the recognition, the en- motive
joyment or exercise on an equal footing of human • It was about something else, but racism came
rights and fundamental freedom in the political, into it
economic, social, cultural, or any other field of
public life constitutes racial discrimination.’ Racist incidents (as distinct from racist crimes)
For an expanded discussion on INAR’s defini- include a range of acts which are racist but which
tions of racism, see: may or may not meet the criteria for being con-
https://inar.ie/racism-in-ireland/learn-about- sidered criminal offences, or which may be
racism/ deemed by law enforcement to be too difficult
to secure convictions with. While some incidents
What is a racist incident? are deemed too hard to prosecute, they are nev-
Following the above definition, a racist incident is ertheless important to capture, since research
any incident which has the effect of undermining shows them to have an effect on individuals, com-
anyone’s enjoyment of their human rights, based munities and community relations that is much
on their background. INAR follows international more harmful than their ‘mildness’ might sug-
best practice in adopting the definition set out gest. Patterns of these ‘minor’ incidents can also
by UK Lord McPherson in his Report of the Inqui- act as warnings of more serious incidents. For the
ry into the Murder of Stephen Lawrence (1999), same reasons, the UK Association of Chief Police
namely that a racist incident is: ‘any incident Officers (ACPO), in its guidelines on monitoring
which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any incidents, recommends that police forces record
other person’. all racist incidents, criminal and non-criminal. To
date, An Garda Síochána does not do so.
A racist incident is any How we count crimes
incident which has the Under Garda counting rules, one offence is
counted per victim for any crime incident (i.e.
effect of undermining criminal event). So, irrespective of the number
of offenders it is the number of victims of an in-
anyone’s enjoyment of cident that dictate how many offences will be re-
corded. iReport.ie reflects this system by count-
their human rights, based ing the number of reports made, rather than
each individual criminal offence or other type of
on their background incident. Under crime counting rules, a continu-
ous series of offences against the same victim in-
volving the same offender counts as one offence.
This definition has been adopted by police forces Thus reports to iReport.ie against a single victim
iReport | 2019
across the UK (where the Association of Chief Po- or family are counted as a single offence if the
lice Officers welcomed it for the ‘clarity’ it gives offender is known or likely to be the same per-
police forces) and was also adopted by An Garda son(s), to reflect the counting rules of An Garda
Síochána, the Irish police force. The definition Síochána. The same rules apply to our reports to
is also consistent with the standards set by the ODIHR and other bodies.
4
Why report?
Reporting racist crimes and discrimination goes a Organisations (CSOs) with a powerful tool with
long way to support work across Ireland by ENAR which to present their concerns to government,
members to achieve better services for victims law enforcement, media and others. Through
of crime and discrimination, better protection iReport.ie, INAR collects civil society data on rac-
for those likely to be targeted, and hold statutory ist hate crimes and racist discrimination which
agencies and government accountable for failures can be shared with the public and reported to in-
in this area. ternational organisations. To date, INAR has used
iReport.ie data in reports to the United Nations,
Reporting takes time and can bring up distress- European Commission, EU Fundamental Rights
ing feelings and memories. It can also bring some Agency (FRA), and OSCE/ODIHR.
relief to report what has happened. But the most
important thing about reporting is that it brings Credible data provides the facts needed to advo-
benefits to other people potentially targeted by cate for improved public policies which, in turn,
racism and to making Irish society more equal both act to prevent and to combat hate crime and
and inclusive. If you make a report, your report provide services which respond to the needs of vic-
will help ensure that what happened is less likely tims of hate crime and hate-motivated incidents.
to happen again. Hate crime and hate speech motivated by racism
are a daily reality in Europe. However, most coun-
Civil society organisations across the world host tries do not effectively monitor hate crimes or
independent reporting systems to capture the take the necessary steps to counteract it. Nor are
patterns and extent of racism in their societies. victims provided with essential support.
These are used to balance state data, which often
underestimates the problem, and usually reflects INAR and Dr Lucy Michael have both also drawn on
under-reporting to police and under-recording by the iReport.ie data to contribute to the training of
police. iReport.ie is Ireland’s independent racism civil society organisations across Europe through
reporting system. It enables us to build a more ac- the CEJI Facing Facts! programme (facingfacts.eu).
iReport | 2019
curate picture of the extent and forms of racism The data has additionally been used to contribute
in our society. to reports on Islamophobia in Europe (islamopho-
biaeurope.com) and ENAR Shadow Reports on
Collecting data, analysing it and reporting on hate Racism in Europe (enar-eu.org/Shadow-Reports-
crime can provide communities and Civil Society on-racism-in-Europe-203)
5
Director’s foreword
2019 was a year which saw a number of signifi- in Ireland. This is evidenced in the significant in-
cant developments in the fight against racism in creases in recorded incidents, in particular serious
Ireland. The full repercussions from unsavoury incidents, and in their impacts, as reported in these
comments about Travellers, made in late 2018 by a pages. The lessons from our European neighbours,
feckless Peter Casey, unsuccessful candidate in the and across the world, where instances of far-right
2018 presidential election, were only just manifest- terrorism have quadrupled since 2015, is that we
ing at the beginning of 2019. In February, a second can’t afford to treat these phenomena as ephem-
attack on a hotel designated for accommodating eral. We must also guard against being tempted by
asylum seekers in Rooskey, Co Leitrim, in circum- the folly that a far-right agenda can somehow be
stances remarkably similar to the previous attacks undermined by ‘mainstream’ politicians adopting
on a hotel in Moville, Co Donegal, threw into sharp elements of its agenda. We need state leadership.
focus the dreadful consequences for minorities of
deploying racism as a political tool. Indeed, as this At a grassroots level, real leadership has been gal-
report shows, arson attacks on Traveller homes and vanised in response to the attempted far-right
a number of very seriously violent racist crimes on surge. Anti-racism initiatives emerged to directly
all minorities would also be recorded in 2019. confront the threat posed to communities. At the
time of writing, the awakening of Ireland’s an-
But the “Peter Casey moment” had other con- ti-racist and democratic conscience is also emerg-
sequences too: it caused his ratings to soar, as ing in civil society, faith group and trade union vo-
intended, encouraging the expectation by oth- ciferousness in opposing the far right and political
ers that there could be electoral gain to be made racism. There has also been a detectable improve-
from making utterances that were suggestively ment in journalistic standards.
xenophobic and racist, if not outrightly so. When
candidates Noel Grealish TD, Verona Murphy and In December, Irish Civil Society also showed lead-
others would later make their own utterances, ership too when diverse groups sent multiple del-
it was apparently with little consideration to the egations to Geneva to make representations to the
risk of violence against minorities. Such utteranc- United Nations Committee For the Elimination
es are often only very loosely based in fact, if not of Racial Discrimination (UN CERD) as it conduct-
blatantly mendacious, and always pander to fears ed its periodic examination of the Irish State. This
and myths, often the kind that can be traced to engagement ensured that the main findings from
far-right sources. Indeed, within the same time- INAR’s 2019 consultation and reporting process to
frame that this “moment” peaked the interest of CERD were not just taken up by the Committee in
these ostensibly “presentable” but unscrupulous interrogating the State, but were also heavily re-
individuals from the political mainstream, it had flected in its Concluding Observations for Ireland.
already awakened and emboldened a number of These included the call to:
far-right vloggers and groupuscules who saw an
opportunity to shift discourse around minorities Address racism within the wider criminal justice
to the right. As recorded by INAR, the activities of system by; outlawing racial profiling by members
the far right, brought about a marked increase in of An Garda Siocháná, and mainstreaming mitiga-
volume, intensity and vehemence of online hatred, tion against it, while fully implementing the Garda
hate activity and incitement. Using internation- Diversity and Integration Strategy 2019–2021;
ally tested resources and methodologies, actors in
the far-right ecosphere made concerted attempts Curb the increase in racist hate speech by; updat-
to coalesce and achieve political, street-level and ing and strengthening its legislation on racist hate
electoral breakthroughs, either through fielding speech; prosecute and punish acts of hate speech,
candidates or by drawing more mainstream can- including those committed by politicians during
didates to the right. Noel Grealish’s racist remarks elections; ensure that the mandate of the Electoral
at a public meeting in Oughterard are best under- Commission, once established, includes provisions
stood in the light of the successful efforts by far- on the prohibition of racist hate speech in the con-
right organisers arriving in the Co Galway town text of elections;
to exploit local frustrations, and state opacity, to
build an anti-asylum seeker campaign based on Bring in measures to combat hate crime, by; Legis-
racist myths. lating against hate crime,, recording and collecting
iReport | 2019
disaggregated data on the crime; Taking effective
If political racism would later suffer set-backs elec- measures to encourage the reporting of racist hate
torally, thanks to community leadership, its mere crime; training and other measures to boost the
existence in society nevertheless continues to have capacity of An Garda Siocháná to prosecute hate
drastic real-life consequences for all minorities crime cases.
6
2019 RACIST INCIDENTSRacism in Ireland: iReport.ie Reports of Racism
ILLEGAL
DISCRIMINATION
HIGHEST EVER
50 Racist
assaults 111
92 Ongoing
harassment
CRIMES
45 Threats to
kill or harm 530 74 Access
goods and 37
to
services
Workplace
Reports
112 HATE SPEECH
31 Damages
to property
20 Graffiti OTHER 113 Social
media
174 31 Websites
12 Theft
130 13 Politicians
130 Sub-crime
13 Radio & TV
hate incidents
12 Newsapers
REPORT RACISM AT WWW.IREPORT.IE READ OUR LATEST REPORTS OF RACISM IN IRELAND AT WWW.INAR.IE
Overview 2019
There were 530 reports received in 2019. Crim- Síochána and low rates of reporting for all
inal offences excluding incitement to hatred crimes, including assaults
constituted 112 reports. Discrimination ac- • Reports of racial profiling and assault of eth-
counted for 111 reports, and other recordable nic minority persons by An Garda Síochána
racist incidents accounted for 130 reports. • Continuing patterns of illegal racial discrim-
There were 174 reports concerning hate speech. ination in public sector services
• An increase in the number of victims of crime
There were a number of key trends observed in who were under 18 (20% of targeted persons)
this period: • Increasing publication of hate speech by po-
• The highest ever number of racist assaults (50 litical candidates in news media
reports) • Low removal rates of social media posts, in-
• A high rate of physical injury and mental cluding those advocating racist violence
iReport | 2019
health consequences across both crime and • Growth in the number of far-right websites
discrimination cases and social media identities, particularly tar-
• The highest rate of repeat harassment cases geting asylum seekers and refugees, but also
to date (92 reports) young people of African background and/or
• Continuing low rates of trust in An Garda Muslim faith.
7
Racist crime
Criminal offences not be taken seriously. Their mother reported:
Of the 530 reports received in 2019, 174 of these “Since then boys have been isolated, no friends.
referred to hate speech (some of which are pros- They have been to counselling and are not the
ecutable under the Incitement to Hatred Act same boys they once were. They are very sad.”
1989) and are dealt with separately later in this
report. Excluding these, there were 112 cases Racist assaults are also an increasingly present
involving criminal offences in 2019. These in- feature of encounters with strangers in Ireland.
cluded offences against the person and criminal The violence of such events however often de-
damage, as well as other offences. ters witnesses from attempting to intervene.
• A man of mixed background was assaulted
A further 132 incidents did not constitute crimi- when he asked a driver to move their car which
nal offences on their own, but should be recorded was obstructing the pavement. The perpetra-
where they are part of a pattern of harassment. tor racially abused him, told him to “go back to
my own country if I don’t like it here”, hit him
Ninety-two (64%) of the 144 reports about crimi- and then drove away. The victim reported: “I
nal offences and other incidents were described was left with a bloody mouth from where he
as including ‘repeat harassment’. This is highest had punched me and a swollen lip. This hap-
rate of repeat harassment reported to iReport.ie pened on a busy street in broad daylight. There
to date. were plenty of other people around but nobody
intervened or checked to see if I was okay.”
Serious criminal harms • A Latino man was assaulted while sitting on a
Racist assaults were the subject of 50 cases in bench in a Dublin street by two strangers who
2019. This is the highest ever rate of assaults re- hit him multiple times, then chased him and
ported to iReport.ie. Weapons were used in 8 cas- assaulted him repeatedly. The incident lasted
es of assault. Most assaults resulted in physical 20 minutes and resulted in visible facial inju-
injuries as well as having significant impacts on ries. He reported the incident to the Gardaí.
mental health. • A bus driver was racially abused by a female
passenger, and hit in the face. He lost a tooth
Cases involving assault frequently involve peo- as a result of the assault.
ple known to the targeted persons. In these cases,
patterns of harassment can escalate over time if Some of the assaults reported in 2019 have al-
they are not addressed, and result in multiple ready been widely viewed on social media as
crimes against a person or group, including seri- those targeted, and witnesses, have tried to use
ous injury, threats, arson, and criminal damage. video to hold perpetrators to account.
• A young man of mixed background was
assaulted by a stranger in his street, who
punched him in the face and threatened to
“burn the f**** n**** out”. Later that night
2019 saw the highest
the perpetrators family came to the victim’s
house shouting racial abuse. The victim does
rate of violent racist
not want to report to Gardaí for fear of repri-
sal. His 10 year old sister cannot sleep fearing assaults recorded to
the house will be burnt down, has self-harmed
and has been referred to a psychologist for date on iReport.ie.
stress. His father sleeps downstairs in case of
future attacks. The victim is suffering extreme
stress and is worried about the impact on his
Most resulted in
Leaving Cert exams.
physical injuries as
iReport | 2019
• Two Muslim boys were assaulted by a group
who had been harassing their family over pre-
vious months, suffering extensive damage well as damaged
to their teeth and sustained fear. They are too
scared to report to the Gardaí and feel it would mental health
8
• A Black taxi driver was racially abused by a
drunken passenger who told him he was a The violence of
Garda, hit him multiple times, forced him to
stop the car and then tried to pull the driver
from the car. The driver managed to lock the
racist assaults by
door and drive away. The incident was shared
widely on social media at the time.
strangers often
• Two Muslim girls (one of them wearing hijab)
were punched and kicked from behind by a
group who rounded on them at a LUAS stop.
deters witnesses
Both were pushed to the ground and kicked, and
experienced extensive bruising. They ripped off
from attempting to
the hijab and pelted them with eggs. A video of
the incident was widely viewed on Twitter. intervene
Other serious injuries which included racist
language or discriminatory treatment also con- the incident on schoolchildren on the bus who
stitute racist assaults. were also ethnic minorities.
• A bus driver closed the door on a passenger, • A young Chinese man trying to cross the street
causing injury to her back and leg as she dis- to go to a Luas stop had eggs and paint thrown
embarked with a buggy. The door opened at him by a group of young men. He had to re-
again, but he did not attend to the injured pas- treat back to his apartment block for cover. A
senger and left the scene. passer-by reported: ‘They laughed and mocked
• A Brazilian man was knocked from his bike him and his was visibly shaken. It only stopped
and injured when a gang of youths threw a when I appeared on the scene as I shouted at
boulder out in front of him. The attack was re- them to give it over.’
ported to Gardaí. • A couple were racially abused in a carpark by
a group of 6 men who attempted to grab her
Incidents of serious and general threat arm and tried to hit him. The woman is Black-
There were 45 threats to kill or cause serious Irish and her husband is white. Her husband
harm, which included 13 of the above assaults. reported: “They asked me how much I paid for
Arson was involved in 3 cases. my wife.” They did not report to Gardaí as they
• A bus driver of African background was ra- did not believe Gardaí would do anything.
cially abused by two men who threatened him • A South Asian Muslim professional received
with serious physical injury. A passenger re- a racially abusive phone voicemail left at his
ported the incident. workplace referring to his ‘execution’. He
• A man of Arab background was followed and reported it to Gardaí. His employer and col-
racially abused by a stranger who threatened leagues were highly supportive.
violence and obstructed his path.
• A woman selling tissues on the DART was ra- There were a further 72 cases which involved
cially abused by a passenger who threatened other types of threats, often relating to threats to
to “put her head through the glass window if a person’s employment, access to services, repu-
she came up to him again” and ‘smash her face tation or threat to exclude in some way. Threats
in’. None of the other passengers intervened like these can also have serious consequences
due to fear of his aggression. when they affect someone’s livelihood or abili-
• A Black bus driver was racially abused by a ty to continue living in the area, and often have
man who attacked the bus, used racial slurs mental health impacts which are related to ex-
against him, and carried out a sustained vio- clusion and isolation.
lent attack on the bus, throwing missiles and
attempting to smash the bus window. The at- Repeat harassment
tack was reported by a passenger. Repeat harassment at home is a recurring
• A young Black man was abused by a passenger theme in racist crimes and incidents. There are,
exiting the bus who used racial slurs, and then at present, no clear policies in An Garda Síochá-
tried to assault him a number of times. A pas- na for dealing with repeat harassment and the
iReport | 2019
senger boarding addressed him, and the per- escalation of abuse that attends a high number
petrator left the bus, but began to bang on the of instances. Good policing practice requires
windows shouting ‘There is a **** on the bus’ risk assessments for repeat harassment, and in
until it drove away. The incident was reported the cases of repeat incidents, a harm reduction
by another passenger, who saw the impact of strategy to be drawn up for each case. While An
9
There are still no their home. The group who are harassing them
sometimes stand in front of their car and re-
fuse to move. They are reluctant to let their
clear policies in An children out to play in the complex for fear
that they will get the same treatment.
Garda Síochána for • A woman of Black-African background has
experienced multiple incidents of harassment
dealing with repeat from neighbours who leave dog excrement at
her gate, and more recently on her front door-
step. She called the Gardaí but asked them not
racist harassment to attend her house as neighbours would see
them. Other neighbours helped her clean up.
and the escalation She was left fearful and stopped going out to
take part in community activities (she was an
of abuse active local volunteer).
• A Traveller mother of a young baby has been
repeatedly racially harassed after making a
Garda Síochána have introduced such assess- noise complaint against neighbours on a local
ments for domestic violence cases, there is no authority housing estate. The woman was told
such policy for racist harassment. Cases of re- her house would be bombed, and she should
peat harassment in this period demonstrate the leave the area and to bring her baby, called a
vulnerability that targeted families and commu- “black k****” back to Africa. Her baby is mixed
nities feel as a result. ethnicity as the father is Nigerian. The harass-
ment is ongoing every week.
There is also a need for clear policies on dealing
with repeat harassment amongst local authori- Repeat harassment also includes harassment
ties where social housing is involved. It must be online or by telephone (both criminal offences)
remembered however that most migrants and combined with physical proximity. This makes
ethnic minorities are in the private housing sec- targeted people particularly fearful. Responses
tor and not in social housing. from Gardaí to this type of harassment are par-
• A concerted series of attacks have been car- ticularly poor.
ried out a on the house of a Black-African • A Black-African woman has been stalked,
Muslim family. Walls were egged, windows harassed and threatened by a group in her
sprayed with tomato ketchup, and the front neighbourhood who have increased their
door smeared in chocolate. One car was stolen abuse of minorities in the area over the last 2
and burned; another had its window broken. years. She describes living peacefully in the
Attempted robberies were also carried out. The neighbourhood for 6 years before that without
group are known to the family as neighbours. any problems. “They are cyberstalking, phys-
• A family who moved into a new neighbour- ically stalking, harassing and causing trouble
hood were subjected to harassment directed by making noise in the area with their cars,
at them because they are black. They were ra- driving up and down the street and being a
cially abused; the house was targeted and the nuisance. Recently they have increased their
front window was broken. noise and stalking and harassment even more.
• An Eastern European couple, in a shared I have reported the situation to the Gardaí and
house with another couple with a young baby, they just dismiss it when I tell them about it.
have been harassed by a group of young men They claim they are doing something about
who vandalised their car, and then threw mis- it but since I initially reported the incident in
siles at the house, breaking the front door and 2016, they have not taken any action against
threatened to set the house on fire. They were it and don’t even correspond.” The area has re-
particularly afraid for the safety of the baby. cently been targeted by the far-right to drive
Criminal damage has cost them in excess of up harassment of migrants.
€2000. The Gardaí attended the house, and • A South Asian woman receives racist comments
later spoke to a perpetrator. No prosecution by phone on a regular basis from two local men
has been brought. The abuse has continued who got her number through a local community
iReport | 2019
over months against this household, and also WhatsApp group. She reported it to WhatsApp
against Romanian, Polish and Lithuanian but there has been no resolution. She reports:
neighbours. “I am afraid. I live with my four kids. They may
• An African couple in Dublin are racially be chasing me or harm my family. I went to the
abused every day coming from and going to garda station but they were not helpful either.
10The Garda I met in station said they are just look- what outcome she would like. She felt that she
ing for fun. He didn’t log my official complaint was expected not to ask for a serious outcome.
about them or ring them to ask why they are The Vice-Principal suggested that the boy may
doing this or give them warning. I felt helpless be suspended, but when an apology was of-
after leaving the garda station.” fered, the victim felt under pressure that she
could not refuse the apology and no suspen-
Levels of trust in Gardaí to address racism are sion was given. She was new to the school, and
low, and the high number of reports which in- the incident seriously affected her confidence.
dicate that the incidents are part of an ongo- She made no friends in the school as a result.
ing pattern of racism, particularly those which • A Muslim schoolgirl was threatened by fellow
have escalated to violence over a period of time, students in a science lab that acid would be
demonstrate that Garda efforts to tackle racism thrown in her face.
before it escalates need to improve. Even where
cases are attended by Gardaí in accordance with Criminal damage, theft and graffiti
good practice, there is evidence that the respons- Thirty-one reports in this period concerned sin-
es are inadequate to protect victims from ongo- gle or multiple counts of criminal damage. These
ing abuse and violence. These cases demonstrate incidents included burned out cars, damaged car
the need for a good practice handbook on ad- and bus windows, damaged house windows and
dressing repeat harassment and regular review external walls, damage following forced entry
of these cases to identify risk of escalation to vio- into people’s homes, destruction of gardens, and
lence, and consistent responses where violence is destruction of personal property, including mo-
already being perpetrated. bile phones and clothing.
• Arson of homes included the burning of two
Traveller caravans in Cork on separate days.
Levels of trust in One caravan, which was burnt completely, was
the home of an elderly family. Another was
Gardaí to address
partially burnt.
There were 12 cases of theft in this period.
racism are low and • A bus driver was racially abused by a passen-
ger. When he videoed the passenger, his phone
Garda efforts to was grabbed and thrown from the bus. The
Gardaí were called and the passenger was ar-
tackle it need to
rested. The bus driver’s employer offered no
support. The bus driver reports being racially
abused several times a month by different pas-
improve significantly sengers.
There were 20 reports of racist graffiti in this pe-
riod. Five were on homes, 3 in public streets and
Schoolchildren are likely to experience repeat ha- parks (1 in multiple locations across the city), and
rassment in association with attendance at school 7 on public transport. Three were on public build-
or youth clubs as well as in the neighbourhood. ings, including a community centre and a school.
These locations offer opportunities for redress Nineteen of the incidents were reported by peo-
and future prevention, but there is a need partic- ple who were not the targets of the graffiti.
ularly in the Education sector to provide guidance
for dealing with this kind of harassment. Racist incidents
• Muslim students in a school are subjected to There were a further 132 incidents reported to
repeated racial abuse by a group of students. iReport.ie in 2019 which were not described as
The principal has refused parents’ requests to crimes by those who reported them. Many relate
address the situation. One student’s mother to verbal abuse, offensive ‘jokes’, and behaviour
reported “My son does not want to go to school which appears threatening to those targeted.
and he does not feel safe and becomes silent. However it is clear that many of them include ha-
He refuses to talk any more, he is depressed rassment and public order offences. Most are not
iReport | 2019
and stressed and always says it is better to die reported to Gardaí because victims and witness-
than go to school”. es are unsure about the legislation that applies
• A schoolgirl of Black-African background had to more serious incidents (like those below), and
part of her hair cut off by a boy in her class. because they feel they will not be taken seriously.
On complaining to senior staff, she was asked • A shop manager in a Dublin village threw a
11Most criminal
previous assaults.
• Three men followed and harassed a Muslim
woman in burqa with a young baby in a vil-
offences are not lage main street in Dublin. This is a public or-
der offence. A witness reported: “They were
reported to Gardaí calling her ISIS and asking if she was carrying
a bomb. She hurried off so quickly we had no
because victims and
time to speak to her to see if she was ok. They
were quite intimidating, so we didn’t approach
them and kept walking ourselves.”
witnesses are unsure • Three men entered an Arabic shop to racially
abuse the staff and customers. A customer re-
about the legislation ported: “I was really concerned because I didn’t
know what they will do further, but fortunate-
and feel they will not
ly they walked away afterward.” This is a pub-
lic order offence.
• Two coffee shop staff were racially abused by
be taken seriously a customer who had been previously banned.
He also told them to commit suicide. The inci-
dent was reported by another customer. This is
bucket of water over a Roma woman selling a public order offence.
“The Big Issue” outside the shop. She got wet
and cold, and was shocked and humiliated. Clarity in the legislation that applies, support for
This incident is a case of assault. victims in understanding how to report racist in-
• Two passengers on a bus verbally abused a cidents and ensure that they are recorded as rac-
Black-African bus driver. Another passenger ist incidents, and support in following up on in-
reported: “They started to scream at him. They vestigations are necessary to ensure that the full
called him a “black ***” and continued to ver- range of incidents is recorded and investigated,
bally abuse him until he stopped. Then as they and information given to victims. Policy change
got off the bus, they screamed multiple times and training in An Garda Síochána are neces-
using the n word. He told me that this happens sary to ensure that racist incidents which do not
regularly on that route and that drivers have constitute crimes, but which can evidence ha-
had beer thrown on them.” This incident is a rassment (under the Non-fatal Offences Against
public order offence, and the case refers also to the Person Act, 1997), are recorded.
Illegal racial discrimination
Reports about illegal discrimination con- in a less favourable way than another per-
cerned access to employment, housing and son based on any of the nine discriminatory
healthcare as well as access to goods and ser- grounds.
vices protected by law. The Equal Status Acts
2000-2018 prohibit discrimination in the pro- One hundred and eleven cases of illegal dis-
vision of goods and services, accommodation crimination were reported in 2019. Twen-
and education. These Acts apply to public and ty-seven of those cases also included crimes
private sector goods and services equally. The such as assault, threat to kill or harm, theft,
Employment Equality Acts 1998-20011 outlaw harassment, and false accusations of criminal
discrimination in a wide range of employment wrongdoing.
and employment-related areas.
Discrimination in employment
iReport | 2019
Both sets of Acts cover the nine grounds of Discrimination can occur in an employment
gender, marital status, family status, age, dis- context in several ways: in the way in which
ability, sexual orientation, race, religion, and a job is advertised; in the decision regarding
membership of the Traveller community. Dis- whether or not to hire an applicant; during the
crimination is defined as treating one person period of employment; in a decision to bring
12an employment contract to an end; and, after Discrimination in access to goods and
the employment has come to end, regarding services
the provision (or non-provision) and content Seventy-four cases involved restricted access
of references. Employment equality legislation to goods or services because of illegal racial
also places a responsibility on employers to discrimination.
prevent bullying and harassment in the work-
place. Fifty-eight cases involved people given poor
service because of discrimination against their
Thirty-two cases in this period concerned dis- ethnic or religious background. In forty-seven
criminatory treatment at work. Discrimina- cases, persons were refused service.
tion in work is, in reports submitted to iReport.
ie, usually accompanied by verbal abuse and Cases in pubs and restaurants included re-
sometimes physical abuse, as well as lesser fused entry and refused or poor service on the
treatment. Bullying, harassment, being giv- basis of racist discrimination. Eight cases con-
en worse jobs because of ethnicity and being cerned refused entry to pubs or hotels, includ-
forced to quit employment (constructive dis- ing where the ticketholder was refused entry
missal) are all contrary to equality law in em- because of their ethnic group.
ployment. • One case concerned a hotel which tried to
cancel a wedding by removing items belong-
A further seven reports concerned discrim- ing to the party, demanding extra payments,
ination in applying for work. This tends to be and refusing access to paid-for rooms.
reported less because it is difficult to confirm. • A regular customer was refused service in a
• A Black-African nurse has experienced ongo- pub because of the behaviour of others per-
ing racism from the residents in the nursing ceived to be from the same ethnic group on a
home where she works for more than 3 years. different occasion. He reported: “I asked the
The manager has refused to address it because bartender for a glass of water [but was told
the residents are ‘frail and fragile’ and has ac- that] my type was in their pub a few weeks
cepted complaints against her which were mo- before and caused trouble so she wouldn’t
tivated by racism. serve us water. Myself and my brother in
• A Black-African refugee has experienced ongo- law got very embarrassed as there were oth-
ing racist abuse in his workplace and reported er people in the pub looking and listening to
it several times. Management have refused to everything. This pub has been my local for
address it, and the situation has escalated. “I about 3 years now and I felt very ashamed
have headaches, lack of sleep, I feel sick, I am and let down by them.”
worried about my mental health, I feel isolated • A restaurant customer was told on arrival
and helpless.” that there were Travellers eating there, and
• A Muslim healthcare professional was told by an apology offered for their presence. The
a patient to remove her headscarf because she customer reported: “The waitress took my-
‘couldn’t trust her’. self and my husband aside and explained
• A hospital doctor reported that one senior to us with an apologetic tone that ‘we have
member of medical staff is repeatedly abusive a Traveller table in tonight, but they’re near-
of South Asian doctors in front of other staff. ly finished eating and they’ll be gone soon.’”
The targeted doctors are denied professional When the customer challenged this remark,
development as a result, and experience ongo- the waitress “explained that some customers
ing bullying behaviour from him. “would prefer to know before coming in”. I
• A Black-Irish employee beginning at a new pointed out that they had been model cus-
company was given a role lower in pay and
status than initially recruited for, then racial-
ly harassed by a team colleague, who was sup-
ported by their manager. After an intervention
A quarter of
by human resources, the employee was repeat-
edly harassed by the manager and colleagues. discrimination cases
also include assault,
Allegations against him were fabricated and
evaluation plans put in place to ensure that he
iReport | 2019
would not be able to reach the goals set. After
suffering severe health problems, he took a
case to the Workplace Relations Commission.
threat or other
Both physical and mental health consequences
have been severe on this employee. criminal offences
13tomers and she agreed with me.” Other pa-
trons were offered a complimentary drink, Racial profiling
is part of police
but the Traveller family were not.
Discrimination in other cases included refused
service and poor service for ethnic minority
customers.
practice in Ireland,
• A Post Office customer was racially abused
by another customer, and then told to leave and has been sharply
criticised by the
by staff who refused to serve him.
• A beauty salon repeatedly told a South Asian
woman to come back later, while serving
other customers without appointment at the
same time. She was eventually served hours
United Nations
later but treated with rudeness. She was very
disappointed. • A bus going from Belfast to Dublin was
stopped and boarded by Gardaí carrying out
Accommodation immigration checks. A Black passenger was
Nine cases involved discrimination in finding removed from the bus and arrested by Gar-
somewhere to live or in rental contracts. daí for not having satisfactory ID on their
• A tenant moving out of a shared house was person. White passengers were not required
told by the landlord that he preferred Irish to produce IDs.
tenants and would not accept anyone to re- • A witness reported racial profiling by Gar-
place her who was ‘coloured’. daí against 3 young black men who were
asked for IDs, and had their persons and car
Public sector searched. The witness believed it was racial
Public sector staff are bound by the Public Sec- profiling because Gardaí rarely patrolled or
tor Human Rights and Equality Duty as well as carried out those types of activities in the
by the Acts mentioned above. Despite that, 31 area, despite other types of crime and disor-
cases of illegal discrimination were in the pub- der being well established and visible. He re-
lic sector. Members of the public accessing any ported: “Given that open drug abuse occurs
public service are entitled to do so without dis- daily on this street - in fact I’m looking out
crimination, including healthcare, social hous- my window now and can see someone smok-
ing, education and welfare supports. ing heroin - and the cops are almost never on
• A woman attending her GP for severe mental it, it seems to me that this was a relatively
health problems was racially abused by the clear case of racist racial profiling of three
GP’s secretary on checking in. This had a det- young black men merely because they were
rimental impact on her access to healthcare. ‘hanging around’.” Nothing was found and
Her sister reported the incident. the young men were released.
• Two Irish-born Muslim schoolchildren of
South Asian background were verbally Reporting discrimination
abused and described as ‘dirty faced’ on two Reporting of discrimination is increasing, al-
successive days by a member of school staff. though most reporting parties do not know
The school refused to deal with the incident. where best to report their experiences. Of the
111 incidents of illegal discrimination report-
Members of An Garda Síochána are also bound ed to iReport.ie, 40 (36%) were not reported to
by the Public Sector Human Rights and Equal- anyone else. Eleven cases (13%) were report-
ity Duty to carry out their functions without ed to An Garda Síochána, and 54 (49%) were
discrimination. Racial profiling is however a reported to other organisations. The majori-
feature of current practice, and there is no leg- ty of complaints were made to organisations
islation to govern this practice. This is an issue responsible for the racist discrimination (or
which has been raised internationally by the failing to respond to it) and received no appro-
UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial priate response. This level and direction of re-
Discrimination since 2011. When non-Irish porting is consistent with previous periods.
iReport | 2019
people are subjected to police stops, and are re-
quired to produce identity cards, the practice Twenty-seven cases included both criminal of-
has the potential to perpetuate racist incidents fences and illegal discrimination, but only five
and the profiling of individuals on the basis of of these were reported to Gardaí. A quarter of
their race and colour. these cases were not reported to anyone.
142019 REPORTING RACISM
Racism in Ireland: iReport.ie Reports of Racism
RACIST CRIME UNDERREPORTING ILLEGAL
DISCRIMINATION
ONLY NOT
30%
Cases were reported
REPORTED
36%
to a wide range of
of racist crime 38% AT ALL
public and private
victims cases cases sector organisations.
REPORTED
to the police
HATE SPEECH
49% of social media hate
60%
28%
speech cases were
of other reported by the public to
incidents 49% social media platforms.
of crimes were
reported to Only 4 of these
organisations other posts were removed and
1 user suspended
than the police. REPORTED
temporarily
Most victims of racist crime would like anonymous reporting and self-report form to make reporting to
Gardaí easier.
REPORT RACISM AT WWW.IREPORT.IE READ OUR LATEST REPORTS OF RACISM IN IRELAND AT WWW.INAR.IE
Reporting crimes
and racist incidents
This section excludes illegal discrimination and the station after each incident and refuse to re-
hate speech cord the details. Another victim reported that
she had been waiting for more than 4 months for
Thirty percent of those reporting crimes to iRe- an update on the investigation of an attack on
port.ie also reported them to An Garda Síochána her family.
or to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commis-
sion (GSOC). Less than one-third (28%) of assaults A further thirty-nine percent indicated that they
were reported to police. Just eleven percent of were waiting for updates on their reports and
cases described as racist incidents were report- made no comment on the quality of service.
ed to Gardaí, even though they included some
criminal offences and patterns which evidenced Choosing not to report to An Garda
harassment. Síochána
The iReport.ie survey asks ‘If you didn’t report
Of those that reported to An Garda Síochána, 39 this to the police, why was this?’. The most com-
percent were very dissatisfied with the response mon reason for not reporting to Gardaí was “I did
they received. Poor responses included refusing not think the Gardaí (police) would do anything”
to record crimes, refusing to accept logs of ha- (27%), followed by “I didn’t know how to report
rassment (as advised by Citizens Advice Bureau), it” (13%), and “I was worried about the offender’s
iReport | 2019
failing to take statements from victims and in- response” (13%).
vestigate crimes, and failing to communicate
updates to victims. In one case of severe ongoing Although the survey also asked about bad expe-
neighbourhood harassment, the victim alleges riences with police in other countries, or unwill-
that the Gardaí laugh at her when she attends ingness to talk to or disclose personal details to
15police, these answers were selected rarely. Low it to the bus driver. The bus driver confirmed
expectations of police effectiveness and good with her that she was experiencing racism and
service are severely detrimental to the state’s removed the abusive man from the bus.
ability to reduce racist crimes and protect ethnic • A schoolboy was racially abused by a coach
minorities and the communities they live in. driver on a school tour. His mother reported:
“My son is the only black child in the class. The
Respondents indicated that they would be most driver said to him “Darky, get out of the way”.
encouraged to report crimes to the Gardaí by Most of the kids from the class heard him say
the availability of anonymous reporting (44%), a this. My son was really shocked and offended
self-report form 36%), and contact with a police - the fact that it happened in front of his class
officer from the same ethnic/religious group and teacher was even more shocking and hurt-
(22% of all cases, 29% of crimes). ful to him. The teacher challenged the driver
and when they got to the destination contacted
Reporting to other organisations the bus company and had him replaced for the
Twenty-eight percent of crimes were reported rest of the trip.”
to other organisations. Reports were made to or-
ganisations including ethnic minority, migrant Unsuccessful outcomes
or anti-racist organisations, public and private • A South Asian man was racially abused in a
sector employers of the perpetrators, and rights supermarket checkout queue by another cus-
organisations. Others reported to doctors, law- tomer. The supermarket’s staff refused to
yers, residents’ associations, citizens’ advice cen- deal with it as they ‘had not heard it’.
tres, housing organisations, councillors, public • A white European woman with a disability
transport bodies and educational institutions. and her children, including a young baby,
Most of these do not have any mechanism for have been repeatedly harassed over 6 years
recording and reviewing complaints of racism to by the extended family of an elderly neigh-
them. bour. She reported: “They had previously
threatened my family that they would break
Thirty-eight percent of crimes and racist inci- my house windows if we were to go out of our
dents were not reported to anyone except iRe- house. They have told us that …. we can’t leave
port.ie. our house at all, that we have no rights to go
outside of our house, as well as have threat-
ened rape towards me and my older daugh-
‘If I complain about ter.” When she was pregnant, there was an
attempted assault on her. She informed Gar-
the racist abuse I daí of the harassment and attempted assault
on several occasions, but no statement was
endure daily again taken. After several incidents, Gardaí spoke
to neighbours, but did not progress the com-
plaint. A Garda at the local station refused to
I’ll be fired. I’ve been accept a written statement. A complaint is be-
ing made to the Ombudsman.
warned already after • A young Black-Irish man was taken into po-
lice custody on discriminatory grounds and
complaining before’ 4 others arrested when they complained
about rough treatment towards him. One of
the other young people alleges that one of the
Gardaí in the station assaulted him several
iReport | 2019
Examples of successful outcomes times while in custody and threatened to kill
• A bus passenger photographed a female pas- and sexually assault him. A complaint to the
senger of mixed background, and shouted in- station by his mother about his injuries was
sults at her when she moved away. Another disregarded. He was hospitalised the next day
passenger offered her support and reported with his injuries.
162019 VICTIMS OF RACISM
Racism in Ireland: iReport.ie Reports of Racism
GENDER TARGETED GROUPS
Men are more likely than RACIST CRIME DISCRIMINATION
women to experience RACIST
ABUSE and RACIST ASSAULT. 37% African descent 34% African descent
20% South/ East
33% Asians 14% Muslims
13% Other white EU
33% 14% Muslims
10% Travellers
more likely to more likely to
experience experience
assault racist abuse IMPACT OF RACISM ON VICTIMS
IMMIGRATION STATUS
34%
The largest group of victims are
IRISH CITIZENS (34%) followed
by VISA HOLDERS from non-EU 81 38 15 33
countries (21%) Psychological Social Financial Physical
isolation
REPORT RACISM AT WWW.IREPORT.IE READ OUR LATEST REPORTS OF RACISM IN IRELAND AT WWW.INAR.IE
Targeted groups
Ethnic, religious and racialised cases. Hindus, Sikhs and Jews also experienced
identities both crime and discrimination. Christians expe-
The group most commonly experiencing both riencing discrimination almost exclusively did
reported crime and illegal discrimination is so because of their ethnic or racialised identity.
the group of Black-African, Black-Irish and
Black-Other. They experienced 37 percent of all Nationality and immigration status
crime cases and 34 percent of all discrimination Irish citizens (of a wide range of ethnic and re-
cases. The next largest group was that of South ligious groups) made up 34 percent of those
Asian and Other Asian, who experienced 20 targeted in all cases, followed by non-EU visa
percent of all crime cases and 25 percent of all holders (21%), and EU citizens (13%). Ethnic
discrimination cases. Black and Asian groups minority citizens are more familiar with crime
also experienced the highest rates of racist inci- reporting procedures and more likely to pursue
dents. complaints for discrimination. However young
ethnic minority citizens are also more likely to
Nearly a quarter (24%) of assaults and threats have experienced racial profiling and to have
to kill or harm were against people identified lower trust in An Garda Síochána to deal with
as Black-African, Black-Irish or Black-Other. racist incidents.
Eighteen percent of assaults and threats to kill
or harm were against people identified as South Gender
Asian or Other Asian, and there is a high overlap Men experienced a third (33%) more reported
with those identifying as Muslim (16%). crime, abuse and discrimination than women,
with 162 cases targeting males, and 122 cases
Reporting rates from Irish Travellers decreased targeting females. They were a third (33%) more
iReport | 2019
in 2019. They experienced 6 percent of crime likely to experience assault, and a quarter (25%)
cases and 10 percent of discrimination cases. more likely to experience discrimination.
Muslims experienced 14 percent of reported Two passengers on a bus verbally abused a
crime cases, and 14 percent of discrimination Black-African bus driver. Another passenger
172019 PERPETRATORS Racism in Ireland: iReport.ie Reports of Racism
75% 50% 47%
of racist crime were were
and abuse was STRANGERS, acting
by WHITE IRISH not known to ALONE.
PEOPLE their victims
28% 83% 2%
of cases were ADULTS were 83% Less than 2%
by PUBLIC more likely to be were under
SECTOR perpetrators of racist influence of
STAFF. crimes and abuse ALCOHOL OR
than young people. DRUGS.
REPORT RACISM AT WWW.IREPORT.IE READ OUR LATEST REPORTS OF RACISM IN IRELAND AT WWW.INAR.IE
reported: “They started to scream at him. They aged ’18-25’ (12%). People under 18 were report-
called him a “black ***” and continued to verbal- ed as the primary target in 11 percent of cases,
ly abuse him until he stopped. Then as they got but also appeared in other reports as secondary
off the bus, they screamed multiple times using targets.
the n word. He told me that this happens reg-
ularly on that route and that drivers have had The groups ’25-34’ and ’35-44’ remain most like-
beer thrown on them.” ly to be targeted in crime cases (at 22% each), but
there is a significant increase in the targeting of
Age of targeted person(s) under 18s, who are the primary targets in 20%
People in the age groups ’25-34’ and ’35-44’ were of all crime cases. This is the highest proportion
the most likely (at 29% and 28%) of any group of under 18s victims of crime recorded in iRe-
to be targeted in this period, followed by those port.ie to date.
Perpetrators
Perpetrators of crime
Perpetrators of racist crimes or racist incidents Just 12 incidents were believed to have been perpe-
were three times more likely to be adults than trated by a person under the influence of alcohol,
young people. Men were five times more likely to and 6 by a person under the influence of drugs.
be perpetrators of racist crimes and three times Racist language was the most common reason for
more likely to be perpetrators of abuse incidents crimes to be reported as racist. Racist language was
than women. Large groups of perpetrators were used in 65 percent of crimes, and in 57 percent of
responsible for 37 percent of racist crimes and 10 other incidents. In 8 percent of crimes, the targeted
percent of other racist incidents. Three quarters persons wore clothes that were of a particular reli-
iReport | 2019
of racist crime and abuse was by white Irish peo- gion or ethnic group.
ple. Half of all crimes were committed by strang-
ers. Staff in public sector bodies including the po- Perpetrators of discrimination
lice were responsible for 15 cases of racist crime Staff in the public sectors were perpetrators of il-
in 2019. legal racial discrimination in 28 percent of cases.
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