Warning of rise in racism among Irish children

A migrant advocacy group has warned that Irish children are becoming increasingly racist, as figures show almost one in every five cases of racial abuse is perpetrated by under 18s.

The graphic finding is contained in the Immigrant Council of Ireland’s annual Racist Incident Statistics for 2013.

According to the document, a total of 144 cases of racism were reported to the ICI over the past 12 months, up 85% on the 78 incidents highlighted in 2012.

However, despite the shocking rise, ICI chief executive Denise Charlton said the most worrying trend is the increase in racism among young people, with almost one in every five cases being instigated by children and teens.

The figures show that during 2013 a total of 17% of racist abuse perpetrators and 8% of victims were under the age of 18, the youngest of whom was just three years old.

School holidays were the “peak period” for racist abuse, with verbal and written attacks the most common form of incident (52%), followed by discrimination (24%) and physical violence (9%).

“The detailed breakdown of our 2013 figures highlights a number of areas of concern, in particular the involvement of young people both as victims and perpetrators, with periods around school holidays now representing the busiest period for our frontline services,” Ms Charlton said.

“It is worth noting that July was by far the busiest month, with 31 incidents, while other periods corresponded with mid-term around Halloween, with 18 reports in November, and St Patrick’s Day, when 15 reports were received in March.

“To ignore this trend amongst our young people is not only wrong but dangerous. Students, parents and teachers all have a role to ensure racism is kept out of our classrooms, playgrounds and sporting arenas,” she added.

The ICI said it is essential that existing anti-bullying school policies, which every facility is obliged to implement, also include specific measures to tackle racism.

The ICI previously drew up a draft policy on the issue to assist schools, teachers and parents. It can be read at www.immigrantcouncil.ie

Race cases

* A family of four from Asia who have lived in Ireland since 2005 have been repeatedly targeted by a teen gang who urinate in their garden.

* A mother from Africa said her three-year-old daughter was physically assaulted by an adult at pre-school. The mother, who said ethnicity was a factor, reported the incident to gardaí.

* A 13-year-old girl of African extraction is suicidal after being verbally assaulted at her school by a pupil, who told her to “go back where she comes from”.

The girl refuses to go back to school as she is afraid the issue could get worse and wrote a letter “where she expressed her wish to die or start her life over again”.