The iReport is a human rights monitoring tool which takes the form of half-yearly and thematic observatories on racist incidents in Ireland. It is published by Irish Network Against Racism, INAR .The iReport observatory compiles its data from information submitted by people who have been subjected to racism, by frontline anti-racist organisations, trade unions and other organisations that are committed to combating racism, and by the general public. It uses iReport.ie, an online racist incident reporting system which can be found at www.iReport.ie
The Irish Network Against Racism, INAR (formerly ENAR Ireland) is a membership organisation which coordinates a national network of 100 Civic Society Organisations in Ireland. Member organisations include grassroots anti-racism groups, Traveller and Roma rights organisations, migrant and refugee rights organisations, intercultural associations, minority LGBTQ+ groups, community associations, local authority initiatives and student bodies. Membership also includes most of the principal trade unions in Ireland, covering most of the workforce nationally. Members of the INAR connect the struggle against racism to related struggles including struggles against oppression and marginalisation based on gender, LGBTQI+ identities, disability and socio-economic status
Highlights of the iReport-2020
There were 700 reports received in 2020. Criminal offences excluding incitement to hatred constituted 159 reports. Discrimination accounted for 99 reports, and other recordable racist incidents accounted for 143 reports. There were 334 reports concerning hate speech, almost double that of 2019.
The high rate of assaults observed in 2019 continued in 2020 despite the impact of lockdown on other types of incidents
• Reports overall increased, particularly criminal offences, hate speech and graffiti
• Rates of repeat harassment, serious threats, thefts and workplace racism were slightly down from 2019 rates. These may be attributable to the lockdowns that allowed some people to avoid threatening environments, but many minorities and migrants are subject to racism in essential sectors which continued to remain open, and in their use of local public spaces, and these have may been affected to a lower extent by lockdown than other sectors and groups.
• There is a slight increase of reporting crime to police in 2020 (13% on 2019)
• 11% of all incidents resulted in physical injury.
• Psychological impacts and social isolation resulting from racist abuse and violence have more than doubled, as have financial impacts for people forced to leave jobs and move homes.
• A new high level of hate speech by extremist groups is reported – much more significant than in 2019
Of the 700 reports received in 2020, 334 of these referred to hate speech (some of which are prosecutable under the Incitement to Hatred Act 1989) and are dealt with separately later in this report. Excluding these, there were 159 cases involving criminal offences in 2020. These included offences against the person and criminal damage, as well as other offences. A further 143 incidents did not constitute criminal offences on their own, but should be recorded where they are part of a pattern of harassment. Sixty-one cases reported in 2020 clearly met the standards of criminal harassment.
Racist assaults were the subject of 51 cases in 2020. This is the highest ever rate of assaults reported to iReport.ie, continuing the pattern of 2019. Most assaults resulted in physical injuries as well as having significant impacts on mental health
Reporting crime and racist incidents
Forty-three percent of those reporting crimes to iReport.ie also reported them to An Garda Síochána or to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC). This is a 13 percent increase on 2019. Just 12 percent of cases described as racist incidents were reported to Gardaí, even though they included some criminal offences and patterns which evidenced harassment. Of those that reported a crime or racist incident (excluding illegal discrimination) to An Garda Síochána, 27 percent appeared satisfied with the response they were receiving. Half of these were waiting on investigations to commence the incident having only taken place in previous days. Poor responses by Gardaí included refusing to record crimes, failing to attend the scene and collect evidence, failing to take statements from victims and investigate crimes, and failing to communicate updates to victims.
Perpetrators of racist crimes
Perpetrators of racist crimes or racist incidents were four times more likely to be adults than young people (80:20%). Men were more than 3 times more likely to be perpetrators of racist crimes (45%) than women (13%) and almost twice as likely to be perpetrators of abuse (32%) than women (14%). Mixed male-female groups were responsible for 11 percent of crime. Large groups of perpetrators (5+) were responsible for 27 percent of racist crimes and 11 percent of other racist incidents. Eighty-three percent of racist crime and abuse was by white Irish people. Half of all crimes were committed by strangers. Staff in public sector bodies including the police were responsible for 7 percent of crimes.
Impact
Racism has a demonstrable impact on the lives of those targeted. An analysis of the data on impact shows that there is psychological impact on those targeted, impact on their social connectedness, and financial impacts through for example increased costs or lost income. In 2020, psychological impacts and social isolation resulting from racist abuse and violence have more than doubled, as have financial impacts for people forced to leave jobs and move homes. There were 26 reported cases that include financial impacts were caused by losing employment, becoming homeless, having to move house, avoiding public transport, and being subjected to exploitative labour. One Traveller family had to move home 3 times due to continued harassment day and night.
Anastasia Crickley, former president of the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UN CERD) said “I would like to commend all involved in the production of this robust and comprehensive report . . . INAR’s work on iReport.ie is of value not only for documenting racism in Ireland but also for pointing the way to policy and legislative gaps and issues. It can be a useful tool for others globally struggling with similar issues”.
INAR
INAR uses the definition of Racism as established by the UN International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) (1969): ‘Any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference, based on race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin, which has the purpose of modifying or impairing the recognition, the enjoyment or exercise on an equal footing of human rights and fundamental freedom in the political, economic, social, cultural, or any other field of public life constitutes racial discrimination’
The INAR is in turn an active member of the European Network Against Racism (ENAR), a network of 160 organisations from 30 European States, with its secretariat in Brussels. INAR actively collaborates with the ENAR to coordinate research initiatives, campaigns and mobilisations, bringing a European dimension to Ireland and vice-versa.