Select Committee on Northern Ireland Affairs Minutes of Evidence


Memorandum submitted by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland

INTRODUCTION

  1.  The Equality Commission ("the Commission") is an independent body, established under the Northern Ireland Act 1998, with responsibility for the legislation on equal pay, sex discrimination, disability discrimination, fair employment and treatment, race relations and the public sector statutory duty. The aim of the Commission is to value and promote respect for diversity, eliminate unlawful discrimination, and achieve equality of opportunity for all.

  2.  The Commission welcomes the opportunity to provide evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee on hate crime, as we recognise the deep rooted divisions within our society and the impact that this has on the daily lives of many people. The Commission recently responded to the race and sectarian crime legislation in February 2003 and we have submitted our response to the Criminal Justice (NI) Order 2004. This submission is consistent with those recommendations.

  3.  The Commission is taking account of these wider legislative duties and how they may be harmonised and included in the Single Equality Act in the best interests of all the groups currently covered by the anti-discrimination legislation and section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act. The Commission has recommended in its response to the Shared Future strategy that the good relations duty should be extended to be inclusive of other equality groups under Section 75.

QUESTIONS POSED BY THE COMMITTEE

The reasons for the reported increase in crimes and incidents motivated by hatred within and between the communities in Northern Ireland

  4.  The Commission is in no doubt that hate crimes are on the increase, across a number of sections of our community, most notable being committed against black and ethnic minorities, gay, lesbian and bi-sexual people, people of different religious beliefs and also disabled people. Recent research on racist and homophobic crime in Northern Ireland suggests that the percentage of people who had experienced violence and harassment was higher than indicated by comparable surveys in Great Britain and Ireland.

  5.  We however have seen an increased confidence among members of the ethnic minority communities in reporting hate crimes to the police. Since 1997 the PSNI introduced the monitoring of race hate crime for the first time. Homophobic crime is also beginning to be monitored. The Commission is however concerned that the Police are not using their current powers to full effect and this may reflect an inability in the past of the Police to deal with this. The Commission in partnership with the Community Involvement Branch of the PSNI is progressing the implementation of an inter-agency reporting structure to ensue that more offences are reported to the Police.

  6.  Statistics on the incidence of hate crimes against disabled people in Northern Ireland are not available. However, we know that levels of harassment against people with learning disabilities are high. A Mencap report—"Living in Fear"—published in 2000, showed that nine out of 10 people had been harassed in the past year because of their disability, and for one third of people with a learning disability this occurred on a weekly basis.

  7.  DRC Scotland Disability Awareness Survey (2002) showed that a quarter of disabled people have experienced harassment related to their disability and one in 20 disabled people experience harassment on a regular basis.

  8.  Research by NACRO highlighted that disabled people are four times more likely to be violently assaulted than non-disabled people. They are also four times more likely to be victims of sexual abuse and almost twice as likely to have their homes burgled. The Report also revealed that while disabled people experience greater actual crime and far more fear of crime than the wider population, they are much less likely to report crimes as the criminal justice system largely overlooks the needs and concerns of disabled people. The report concluded that disabled people are often targeted solely because they are disabled and such crimes should be regarded in the same way as racially and homophobic motivated offences.

  9.  Given the above we are therefore disappointed to note that there are no proposals to extend this "offences aggravated by hostility" approach to "aggravation related to disability" as provided for in section 146 of the 2003 Act in GB. This is surprising in light of section 75 consideration, we have difficulty in understanding why this was not extended to disability.

  10.  In respect of hate crimes motivated by sectarianism, recent survey analyses suggest that whilst there has been a general improvement in attitudes in relation to community relations between Protestants and Catholics. Evidence also shows that Protestants and Catholics have differing attitudes on a range of issues relating to improving community relations; Catholics appear more amenable to efforts to promote cross-community contact, whereas a perceived sense of mistrust and unease exists within the Protestant community[1].

  11.  The issue of homophobic harassment has recently come to the fore in Northern Ireland with at least two murders in Belfast in the past year. Recent research[2] points out that homophobic harassment involves attacks on lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) men and women as well as people perceived to be LGB. It includes assault, verbal abuse and bullying in the workplace, on the street and social settings.

  12.  The research revealed that the percentage of people who had experienced violence and harassment in Northern Ireland was higher than indicated by comparable surveys in Great Britain and Ireland.

  13.  Any serious programme to tackle hate crime must include rigorous statistical information and other data to ensure that hate crime legislation is effective and targeted on groups who are experiencing this.

To examine the effectiveness of measures taken by government and relevant agencies to tackle prejudice, and to support victims of such prejudice

  12.  Traditional responses to hostility are assumed to be the sole responsibility of the police. The Prevention of Incitement to Hatred Act Northern Ireland 1970 made a criminal offence wilfully to stir up hatred against a section of the community including any section distinguished by race or religion. This legislation was subsequently consolidated into the Public Order (NI) Order. The findings of the Patten Report, the Criminal Justice Review and the Report of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry all point to the need to develop a broader approach and to increase the involvement of a wide range of statutory, voluntary and community organisations, including those responsible for education, housing, health and social services. These responsibilities to foster harmonious relations are now underpinned by Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which requires all statutory bodies to promote equality of opportunity and good relations between persons of differing religious beliefs, political opinion or racial group. Therefore, improvements to Criminal Legislation, which act as a further deterrent, and improvements in enforcement will contribute to the promotion of good relations between different groups in Northern Ireland.

  13.  The Commission has responsibility for the Fair Employment and Treatment Order, the development of a good relations strategy under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act and the Race Relations Order 1997 which can and should create interdependence and develop respect for and understanding of the needs and concerns of diverse communities.

  14.  A number of other developments have also sought to tackle the problem of hate crime; Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights provides that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Article 13 of the Treaty of Amsterdam includes as Employment Directive, which requires member states to make discrimination unlawful on grounds of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation in the areas of employment and training. It also includes a Race Directive, which requires member states to make discrimination on grounds of racial or ethnic origin unlawful in the following areas: employment, training, education, access to social security and health care, social disadvantage and access to goods and services, including housing and accommodation.

  15.  The Commission is taking account of these wider legislative duties and how they may be harmonised and included in the Single Equality Act in the best interests of all the groups currently covered by the anti-discrimination legislation and section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act. The Commission has recommended in its response to the Shared Future strategy that the good relations duty should be extended to be inclusive of other equality groups under Section 75.

  16.  Whilst we recognise the importance of legislation in combating hate crime, we stress that this emphasis should not overshadow the need for changes in practice, culture and attitudes, and behaviour to combat prejudice of any kind in wider society which reflects a broader community cohesion approach.

To assess the effectiveness of the existing law and proposed changes to that law

Draft Criminal Justice NI Order

  17.  This Draft Order amends Northern Irish law in two ways. First, it provides for increases in penalties for specified offences aggravated by hostility. This is in contrast to the approach in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 in Great Britain which introduced new offences of "aggravated offences".[3] The Act specifies those offences which can be committed as aggravated offences but also provides, in section 82 that the aggravated nature of an offence can be taken into account in sentencing for any offence other than those specific offences in sections 28-32 (and the 2001 Act equivalents).

  18.  The approach in the Draft Order is to take a "section 82" approach in Northern Ireland, in that Article 2 allows for an increase in sentence for offences aggravated by hostility on grounds of race, religion or sexual orientation. Article 4 then increases penalties for a range of specified offences, frequently from five to seven years. It should also be noted that, since the "Hate Crime" consultation exercise, the Criminal Justice Act 2003, section 146, has allowed for increases in sentences in Great Britain for aggravation related to both disability and sexual orientation.

  19.  The Commission has consistently held the view that the specific aggravated offences in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 should be extended to Northern Ireland. Nonetheless, it is also the Commission's more general view that lessons should be learnt from GB experience and that the legislative process in Northern Ireland should be informed by "best practice" from other jurisdictions. It is clear from the Consultative Paper that research in Great Britain[4] has indicated difficulties with the application of specific aggravated offences.

  20.  In these circumstances, the Commission is prepared to accept that the practical value of increases in penalties for "offences aggravated by hostility" may outweigh the symbolic effect of specific aggravated offences. It would, however, be essential that this practical effect of extended sentences is strongly advertised in order that an impression is not created that lesser significance is being given to aggravated offences in Northern Ireland than in Great Britain.

  21.  The Commission welcomes the extension of the "offences aggravated by hostility" approach to offences aggravated on grounds of sexual orientation. While noting a similar extension in section 146 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the Commission considers that consultation upon, and equality impact assessment of, the initial proposals contributed to this outcome in Northern Ireland. However, the Commission is disturbed to note that it is not, as yet, proposed to extend this "offences aggravated by hostility" approach to "aggravation related to disability" as also provided for in section 146 of the 2003 Act. Particularly in light of section 75 considerations, the Commission is in difficulty in understanding why this approach has not been extended to this section 75 ground.

  22.  The Commission accepts that an approach of increasing penalties for "offences aggravated by hostility" may have greater practical benefits than the creation of specified aggravated offences. The Commission would nonetheless wish to see the widest publicity given to the significance of this prospect of longer sentences for offences aggravated by hostility. The Commission welcomes the extension of this approach to offences aggravated by hostility on grounds of sexual orientation but is disturbed that the equivalent extension in Great Britain of this approach to grounds of disability has not yet been adopted in Northern Ireland.

Article 3: "Inciting hatred or arousing fear"

  23.  Northern Irish law on incitement to hatred[5] has gone beyond the equivalent law in Great Britain[6] in a number of respects. First, it has included the concept of "arousing fear" along with that of "inciting hatred". Secondly, it covers religious as well as racial grounds.[7] In light of the extension of the "offences aggravated by hostility" approach to offences related to sexual orientation, the Draft Order also extends the "incitement to hatred or arousal of fear" provisions of the 1987 Order to include sexual orientation.

  24.  The Commission is not aware of similar potential attacks motivated by hatred against or fear of disabled people. In these circumstances, after some consideration of this matter, the Commission is not convinced that it would be appropriate to extend the incitement law to include disability.

  25.  Furthermore the Commission notes that Article 8 of the 1987 Order, as amended, refers to "hatred against a group of persons" and "fear of persons". The Commission welcomes this proposed extension to cover homophobic incitement.

CONCLUSION

  26.  In conclusion therefore the Commission wishes to emphasise the importance of both the criminal justice system alongside the wider social policy agenda to combat hate crime in Northern Ireland. The Commission discussions to date on this wider social policy agenda has included the need to give consideration to hostile and violent crime against vulnerable people, including women, older people and young people. It is vital that the latter is properly resourced and developed consistently to ensure a "joined up approach."

  27.  As a single Equality Commission with responsibility for multiple equality grounds, we wish to see equal protection for all in our society, though we recognise that these may entail different legislative and policy measures.

April 2004




1   Hughes, J et al, 2003. Community Relations in Northern Ireland: The Long View. Belfast ARK. Back

2   Jarman, N & Tennant, A. 2003 An Acceptable Prejudice? Homophobic Violence and Harassment in Northern Ireland. Belfast, Institute for Conflict Research. Back

3   For example, sections 28-32 in England and Wales in relation to racially-aggravated offences and section 39 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 which extended these offences to include religiously aggravated offences. Back

4   Institute of Criminology, Cambridge University, "Racist Offences-How is The Law Working?" (July 2002), referred to in the Consultation Paper, 4.3 and ff. Back

5   The Public Order (Northern Ireland) Order 1987. Back

6   The Public Order Act 1986. Back

7   The 1986 Act is now amended by the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 to include religious grounds. Back


 
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