Consultation with LGBT community discovers hate crimes are going unpunished

Ireland is in need of hate legislation as bullying and violence are the biggest concerns facing the gay community, research recommends.

In the biggest-ever consultation of the lesbian, gay, and bisexual community, the National LGBT Federation has joined the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and Action against Racism in highlighting how hate crimes based on race, membership of a minority, gender, and sexual orientation are going unpunished in this country.

In the ‘Burning Issues 2’ research, gay people also request that health services, especially mental health services, become more inclusive. They believe public-sector workers in the areas of education, health, social care, and the elderly need to be given LGBT awareness and equality education.

It found that older and younger gay men and women, people identifying as transgender, and those living outside the main cities still feel adrift in this country.

More than 85% of gay people living in rural Ireland say they do not have enough support and want more opportunities to socialise.

The report asks that LGBT inclusion be incorporated into the ministerial brief of the Minister for Regional Development, Rural Affairs, Arts, and the Gaeltacht. Respondents to the survey also want a campaign for marriage equality in the North,.

National LGBT Federation chair Olivia McEvoy said there needs to be more LGBT events in Ireland, outside of the main cities. Existing community centres also need to be resourced to provide support to gay people.

“There are huge issues around loneliness and isolation amongst gay, lesbian, and bisexual people in rural Ireland. Many find it hard to develop friendships and relationships with like-minded people, especially younger and older people. We need a space for the LGBT community in rural Ireland,” she said.

“A great many gay people don’t have a space to socialise in locally at the weekend and are forced to make trips away at the weekend to meet people. We need to reach out to these people especially older people who grew up in a different world and are living in the margins.”

The research also found that gay and bisexual men want the lifelong ban on blood donations ended. Earlier this week, the blanket ban was ended but gay people will still have to wait a year after last sexual contact before they can give blood.

Those who took part in the research want the Gender Recognition Act amended so it covers transgender young people and provides for the legal recognition of non- binary and intersex people.

Ms McEvoy said that “recent legislative changes are only a platform for the culture we aspire to, where diversity is really championed and celebrated”.

“We still have a long journey to travel before we end sexual and gender oppression in Ireland. The required cultural shift will only be realised when the core principle of promoting sexuality and gender acceptance underpins all State policy and LGBT inclusion and equality become mainstream in all public-service provision across education, health, parental support, and social services.

Earlier this year, Action Against Racism warned that Ireland is in danger of breaking EU laws due to the lack of hate crime laws here.

“Ireland is out of step with the majority of countries in the OSCE and the EU, we’re almost unique in the fact that we have no provision for hate crime at all in this country,” said Shane O’Curry, director of European Network Against Racism Ireland.

‘Burning Issues 2’ was based on a national survey of more than 2,600 LGBT people and 10 nationwide focus groups in seven cities and towns in spring this year.