8 out of 10 people fail to report racism
The study, carried out by immigrant rights group Nasc, also shows that almost half (45%) of respondents had experienced discrimination in at least one area of everyday life, and that 38.5% of respondents had experienced discrimination while engaging with a service provider — housing and employment being key areas where migrants in Cork believed they were heavily discriminated against.
The findings, contained in Stop The Silence; A Snapshot of Racism in Cork, also show that while 55% of those interviewed — including Irish people — believe racism is an issue in Cork, almost two thirds of those of African origin believed racism was problematic in the area.
And while 82.5% of those surveyed who had experienced racism and discrimination said they had not reported the incident, almost 31% of those who did said they were extremely dissatisfied with the response. Almost half of those who did not make a report said it was because they believed nothing would happen if they did.
The report will be launched by hurling legend Seán Óg Ó hAilpín today.
The information was gathered from racism reports collated by Nasc since July of last year and the results of a survey of 171 people conducted last month, which included input from native Irish people.
Of the 52 racist reports received by Nasc since July 2011: 22 were verbal abuse or harassment; 6 were linked to alleged discrimination by gardaí; another 6 were linked to discrimination while accessing a service; there were 6 reports of online racism; 5 of physical assault; 4 of criminal damage; 2 of workplace discrimination; and one of discriminatory treatment by a judge.
Almost 56% of respondents of an ethnic minority said they had been the victim of a racist attack, and a similar percentage of ethnic minority respondents said they had witnessed a racist attack. For African respondents, that figure rose to 61.5%.
Breaking down the figures even further, 93% of ethnic respondents said they had witnessed verbal racism. The percentage who had witnessed a physical attack was 19.5%.
On the issue of discrimination, of those who said they had experienced it, 29.5% of respondents said it had occurred while seeking to buy or rent a property, and the same percentage said it had taken place in a cafe, restaurant, or bar.
However, 38.5% said it had occurred while entering a service provider or shop.
More than 75% of respondents said they were aware of laws on discrimination, and the report makes a series of recommendations, including that racism be included as a category in the Gardaí’s Pulse system and that a national body be formed to replace the scrapped National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism.
* www.nascireland.org
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