However, the Hate Crime Bill is just the first step in tackling hate crimes.
It must be the start of a process, not the end. To effectively address and reduce hate crimes, we need a continued and sustained effort. This work includes: • Training for everyone working in criminal justice. • More community Gardaí who work to build up trust with affected communities. • Improved reporting mechanisms. • Enhanced victim support including wrap- around services like the Hate Crime Advocacy Service in Northern Ireland. • Funded national • The
By Padraig Rice
development of new models of restorative justice.
In many ways, last year was a challenging one for LGBTQI+ people. According to ILGA Europe, 2022 was the most violent year for LGBTQ+ people in over a decade. In Ireland, we witnessed the murders in Sligo and attacks in Dublin, Cork and elsewhere. Each month of the year, there was coverage in GCN of a serious attack on members of the community. In total, 582 hate incidents were recorded by An Garda Síochána – a 30% increase on 2021. Many more attacks went unreported and undiscussed. This rise in hate crimes is worrying. It is important to understand that hate crimes are signal crimes. They send out a message to an entire community or group of people that they are not safe simply because of who they are. As a result, hate crimes hurt us all. Many people think that the marriage equality referendum solved all the issues faced by the LGBTQ+ community. But unfortunately, this isn’t the case. The reality is that while we have won the right to walk down the aisle, many of us still look over our shoulders as we walk down the street. Homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia are an everyday reality for many LGBTQ+ people in Ireland. It spans from the slurs that go unchallenged in the schoolyard and the workplace to LGBTQ+ people being attacked on the streets. It is deep-rooted in Irish society. Until 1993 it was a crime to be gay. For decades, LGBTQ+ people were condemned from the pulpit and ridiculed on television. This entrenched homophobia and transphobia will take years to eradicate – but it must be done. We need to proactively dismantle the architecture of homophobia that facilitates this hate against our community. To begin with, we need to see robust and effective hate crime legislation introduced urgently. As I write, that bill is before the Seanad for consideration and should be enacted this year. This is a welcome step forward, and I am proud to have played a role in seeing it advanced.
• Addressing the root causes of hate with better education and understanding. • Supporting allies to call out homophobia and transphobia in all its forms.
awareness campaigns.
• Ensuring that LGBTQ+ people are positively visible across all aspects of Irish society.
LGBT Ireland and other organisations are committed to ensuring that these things happen. One of the biggest challenges we face is tackling online hate. A recent report stated that 87% of LGBTQ+ young people have seen or experienced anti-LGBTQ+ hate/harassment on social media in the past year. Most of this hate is coming from anonymous accounts. This online free for all was intensified during the pandemic. I think we are now seeing this online hate spilling into real life. Social media platforms must be forced to take action against the growing online anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. Sadly in recent times, those who demonstrate online hate are taking more real-world actions. This anti-LGBT sentiment is not happening in isolation. It is tied to the anti- migration sentiment. It’s an anti-difference sentiment. It’s an attack on difference and diversity. In Ireland, we have made huge progress on LGBT issues over the last 30 years. We have to protect the progress we have made. Core to that is tackling hate crimes. Doing this well won’t just benefit the LGBTQI+ community. It will also benefit other communities that are targeted in a similar way, including travellers, migrants, people with disabilities and people of colour. But ultimately, safer streets, less crime, and a more decent public discourse both on and offline will benefit everyone in Ireland. Together, we can make that vision a reality.
Pádraig Rice is the Policy and Research Manager with LGBT Ireland.
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