Memorandum submitted by the Methodist
Church in Ireland
1. The Methodist Church in Ireland (referred
to hereafter as "the church") welcomes the opportunity
to reflect and comment on Hate Crime in Northern Ireland.
2. As a faith community which is part of
civil society and which takes seriously its social responsibility,
the church is deeply disturbed by the current level of hate crimes.
That the incident rate doubled in 2003-04 from the previous year
is a disturbing factor. The church is aware that current statistics
for racial and homophobic attacks may well be seriously underestimated.
3. Given that there were 453 incidents in
the last fiscal year it is a matter of serious concern that PSNI
figures reveal that there were only eight prosecutions for racist
offences. The comment of the Inspector of the Community Safety
Branch highlights a serious difficulty. "It is very difficult
for police because when a sinister attack happens we are relying
on people in the community to come forward; at the moment they
are not coming forward and that means there is nothing we can
do unless there is forensic evidence". The church recognises
the difficulty in local communities where fear and intimidation
still rule and would want to support people by moral and practical
means to come forward with information which can lead to convictions.
4. In condemning all forms of hate crime
the church is concerned to identify underlying causes and to develop
a sociological profile of local communities where hate crime is
prevalent. We do not have anti-minority political parties as have
France, Belgium and Austria, but the community includes those
with deep rooted white supremacist and homophobic mind-sets which
appear to have, at least, informal connection to organised groups
elsewhere. Immigrants, Jews, non-whites and homosexuals are subjugated
to appalling abuse in many European countries. Northern Ireland
now shares in this racist or hate ethnicity. The church believes
it important to understand hate crimes and therefore to take seriously
a sociological analysis. Some of the underlying causes may include:
— personal and cultural disempowerment
— socio-economic disadvantage
— inability to deal with differences
— sense of threat or cultural displacement
by the other.
5. The church recognises from its experience
and recognition of sectarianism that attitudes of prejudice and
hate and the mechanism of scapegoating are not confined to socio-economically
disadvantaged and culturally threatened areas, but can also be
found in middle-class, educationally advantaged communities which
include those in church pews and membership.
6. In response to hate crimes the church
welcomes and is supportive of the proposed legislation, including
its sentence-based approach. There is wholehearted support for
the inclusion of disability along with sectarianism, racism and
homophobia. The church welcomes the statement of the Criminal
Justice Minister of June 2004 that "crimes motivated by any
of these categories will not be tolerated" and that "The
proposals also bring forth measures to increase maximum sentences
for certain offences, giving judges greater powers in sentencing
where aggravation is proven".
7. The church, while noting that the Government
did not apply for "legal technical reasons" the 1998
Act to Northern Ireland, now warmly welcomes the decision to bring
the current law into line with that in England and Wales, thereby
providing "Another signal that in Northern Ireland normal
rules apply".
8. The church welcomes the willingness of
the PSNI to collect statistics for incidents of hate crime, including
sectarian related crimes and crime against disabled people and
to do so immediately. This will provide more accurate information
about the level of such crimes and it will provide an important
basis for the sociological analysis suggested in 4 above and to
ascertain clearer reasons and causes for hate crime. This will
help inform a more holistic response to the problem.
9. The church also believes that the Local
District Policing Partnerships should monitor the PSNI in its
recording of statistics and apprehension of hate crime perpetrators.
10. The church would also welcome an added
emphasis to the sentence based approach. Clear signals do need
to be sent to the community as a whole that normal rules apply
and that there is zero-tolerance for hate crime. However, a purely
punitive approach to sentencing needs to be complimented by a
restorative justice based approach to perpetrator and victim.
Transformative encounter and educational programmes will be essential
for perpetrators and adequate social and emotional support systems
and provisions for the victims of hate crime. The church believes
that a holistic approach is essential to communal health care
and well-being, including criminal justice.
11. In support of the legislation, the church
also recognises that other action is required to tackle hate crime
in the community. To meet the difficulty of the PSNI in obtaining
essential information from the community, a multi-agency hate
incident reporting mechanism could be developed in Northern Ireland.
This model, for which there is precedent in Yorkshire, could encourage
members of the public to report incidents of hate crime by providing
them with a facility to report incidents at locations other than
the police. This approach would also encourage victims to report
incidents in settings that may be more comfortable to them.
12. An information mail-shot campaign could
be used to access every household in Northern Ireland with a "Citizens
Against Hate Crime" leaflet/literature. This could include
awareness raising, the nature of hate crime, incident reporting
mechanisms such as Hate Incident Reporting Centres.
13. The church believes that it has a particular
role to play in countering hate crime in the community. In this
conviction it recognises popular confusion around the word "church".
There are at least three levels of usage, not all clearly understood
in the public mind. "Church" may mean:
— church leaders or its hierarchy
— the people or church membership.
14. The church recognises and acknowledges
the commitment and involvement of members in civic and political
life. Methodist people, as with those of other denominations,
serve on Police Partnerships, District Councils, as MLAs, District
Councils, Education and Health Care Boards, Probation Boards and
the voluntary and statutory youth sectors. Their public service
is motivated and shaped by faith values. The church as a worshipping
and educational community is increasingly conscious of its responsibility
to support and empower such people in their civic and public service.
15. The church understands its identity,
in part as a community of theological reflection and moral formation
in the public place. It therefore recognises that attitudes and
behaviours need to be formed and constantly transformed and that
this dimension provides a broader approach than just legislation.
16. The church, therefore, would want to
consider practical steps in relation to hate crimes. During the
year the church observes particular Sundays. Racial Justice Sunday
is already observed. This could be broadened, or another Sunday
designated (Good Relations Sunday) to prepare material for Methodist
congregations and focus on the issue of hate crimes on the basis
of sectarianism, racism, homophobia and disability.
17. The church could prepare study material
for its congregational educational programmes with children, youth
and adults. Education for Citizenship, broadly based and inclusive
of a significant focus on hate crimes and the related issues would
be a positive approach for groups of local people, single denomination
or ecumenical, to become more aware of a local community profile,
attitudes and responses required to community engagement. Such
a programme would have local and global dimensions. The issues
also need to be an integral part of training and formation for
ministry.
18. The church acknowledges its heterogeneous,
transnational and transcultural nature and therefore the ever
present challenge to live with differences and celebrate diversity.
Given that fear of difference is a deep seated problem in Northern
Ireland the church has an obligation to model diversity and advocate
the practice of respect, mutuality and the acceptance and celebration
of rich diversity in the wider society. In relation to sectarianism
this will mean less intentional emphasis on theological and doctrinal
differences to the exclusion of commonalities and shared humanity.
The constant emphasis on differences sends negative signals which
motivate prejudice and even violent behaviour.
19. As a community of the Word the church
is conscious of the power of language to communicate ideas and
shape attitudes. There is a moral struggle with the issue of homosexuality
and a lack of moral consensus. The church is conscious of the
need for rigorous reflection in this area. There ought to be no
moral ambivalence in relation to homophobia which places on the
church a moral obligation to be aware of the violence of language
which can be involved in moral and doctrinal statements, especially
in public. There is a need for critical awareness in relation
to the church's statements and to challenge public statements
from whatever quarter which use the language of violence or are
homophobic in nature and consequences.
20. The church is conscious that Northern
Ireland society has been and is characterised by an all-pervasive
culture of violence and that this can be related to forms of religious
fundamentalism. Hate crime is one of the forms of violence. The
church, therefore, is acutely conscious of the need to develop
a culture and strategies of non violence in which it is clear
that the only way violence changes the world or society is to
develop a greater spiral of destructive violence. This also means
advocating and practicing the qualities of non violence and shaping
new models of positive power equilibrium. The church has an obligation
to develop and educate its members in a theological and moral
praxis of non violence for the public place.
21. The church is a community of practical
engagement and local congregations need to be empowered imaginatively
and concretely for action. Encouragement should be given to local
congregations to develop multi-cultural friendship evenings or
a multi-cultural festival.
22. The church can also encourage good relations
initiatives. In communities where there are multi-ethnic and religious
groups designated people could be responsible for initiating relationships
with someone from another group and building good, trustful relations
which can lead to wider encounter between sub-cultures and communities.
23. The church is aware of the need to be
open to collaborative initiatives and activities in countering
hate crimes. Community Networks are and can be formed providing
a collaborative approach to eliminating hate crime and enabling
the building of inclusive community.
24. The Methodist church in Ireland is grateful
for the opportunity to reflect on the serious issue of hate crimes
and give evidence to the Parliamentary Enquiry. The church is
committed at all levels of being church to a positive and responsible
role in public space. Through support for positive legislation,
education and practical engagement it is committed to greater
equality, the implementation and practice of human rights and
responsibilities, good relations and to the construction of a
community which is creating, guaranteeing, encouraging spaces
within which different communities can interact, enrich the existing
culture, create a new consensual culture and grow at their own
pace.
August 2004
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