State must act to remove barriers for migrants fleeing gender-based violence

Interim Report of the Independent Anti-Racism Committee also urges State to implement equality monitoring for public service access

Roderic O'Gorman, Minister for Equality, published the Interim Report of the Independent Anti-Racism Committee today. File Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

The state must implement equality monitoring across all public services and remove barriers for migrants seeking support for gender-based violence, a new report has recommended.

The Interim Report of the Independent Anti-Racism Committee, part of the development of a new National Action Plan against Racism for Ireland, was published today by Minister for Equality Roderic O'Gorman with three interim recommendations.

The first would see data gathered from minority ethnic and migrant backgrounds in order to analyse how they access public services, like health services or law enforcement. Currently, institutions do not gather the data and its absence diminishes the state's ability to tackle structural and institutional racism.

The second recommendation notes that minority ethnic women face additional barriers in accessing supports for Gender-Based Violence (GBV).

Migrant women whose status is dependent on their spouse, worry about reporting abuse for fear of losing their legal status.

The Anti-Racism Committee’s Public Consultation is now open for 12 weeks, from April 21 to July 14, 2021

While current policy allows for women in abusive relationships to apply for legal resident status independent of their abuser, the guidelines are at ministerial discretion and are not on a statutory footing.

The report recommends that clear rules should be developed to ensure that no woman faces additional barriers, or risks jeopardising her status when seeking refuge.

Thirdly, Ireland should withdraw the reservation/interpretative declaration made to Article 4 of CERD, which outlaws incitement to racial discrimination.

Ireland has legislation outlawing incitement to hatred but has entered reservations, upon the Attorney General's advice in 2000, indicating that they will implement Article 4 only to the extent that it is compatible with the rights protected by Article 5 of the Convention, which refers to freedom of expression and assembly.

"We believe action on this now would be timely in light of planned legislation on hate crime," the report notes.

"It would represent an important indicator of a strengthened approach to tackling racism, and ensuring the protections the article offers to victims of hate crime are applicable here."

A department spokesman says part of this recommendation will be fulfilled by the new hate crime legislation and they will work with the Attorney General to examine removing the reservation with a change in the current law brought by the end of the year.

Established by Government in 2020, the Anti-Racism Committee has the mandate to review current evidence and practice and make recommendations to Government on how best to strengthen its approach to tackling racism.

The Anti-Racism Committee’s Public Consultation is now open for 12 weeks, from April 21 to July 14, 2021. Written submissions can be made by email to [e-mail].