Dramatic rise in racist attacks
Racist attacks in Northern Ireland have risen dramatically in the past few years, according to a report released today.
The report - the first detailed analysis of racial harassment and violence in the North - revealed a 400% increase in attacks between 1996 and 1999.
The annual total is continuing to soar, with an increase from 186 to 269 incidents between 1999 and 2000, a further jump of 45%.
Disturbingly, the proportion of racist assaults on children have almost doubled - from 8.5% of the total in 1996 to more than 16% in 1999.
The document, compiled using police statistics, revealed there were 357 incidents reported to and recorded between January 1996 and December 1999.
It concluded the rise in reported incidents was due a real rise in the number of racial incidents, a greater willingness of people to report such incidents to the police and a greater awareness by the police of the need to record racist incidents.
But it also warned that the problem of racist violence was much more rampant than the figures suggest.
The report was commissioned by the Inter-Departmental Branch of the Equality and Social Need Division of the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister at Stormont.
It said: ‘‘The fact that these figures include no reference to harassment experienced in schools or hospitals, no incidents recorded by any other statutory, community or voluntary body and few incidents reported by members of the travelling community suggests that the current total represents a considerable under documentation of the true scale of racist harassment experienced by minority ethnic communities.’’
The report found that racial harassment was experienced by all minority ethnic communities in Northern Ireland.
More than half of all the incidents reported took place in Belfast. The areas with the most recorded incidents were in south and north Belfast.
The attacks were more likely to take place in Protestant areas in Belfast.
The report added: ‘‘Very few incidents have been recorded in west Belfast. This may be a reflection of racist attitudes but more likely it reflects the fact that housing is more readily available in Protestant working class areas than in Catholic working class areas.’’
The largest number of assaults were reported by members of the Indian and Pakistani communities.
It concluded that racial harassment was much more than a policing issue and called on all relevant agencies to co-operate to create a sustained response to the problem.
