Public Understandings of Hate Crime: Ireland, North and South

The Public Understandings of Hate Crime: Ireland, North and South project, is funded by the Irish Research Council New Foundations programme and the Department of An Taoiseach Shared Island initiative. Responding to increases in recorded hate crime as well as policy attention to this pressing social issue, this research provides a timely investigation into the beliefs of the general population with respect to hate crime legislation, and attitudes to some of those communities often included in such legislation as “protected groups”. The findings are based on a survey distributed simultaneously in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland from 16-22 February 2023. In the Republic of Ireland, a sample of 1,000 respondents was achieved, and weighted for age, sex and region to align with the population. In Northern Ireland, the sample – also of 1,000 respondents – was additionally weighted for social grade. This report “Public Understandings of Hate Crime: North and South (PUHC)” is the first output of the project. The report provides baseline data regarding the public’s understanding of the construct of hate crime, its dimensions, and its distinguishing features on both sides of the border. It further establishes the public’s perception of the prevalence of hate crime on the island of Ireland, the physical and emotional harms of hate crime, the impact on minority communities, extant reporting mechanisms, and the role of legislation in addressing hate crime. Finally, it measures levels of prejudice against individuals due to their racialised identity, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, gender identity, disability, community background (in Northern Ireland) as well as other commonly targeted identities. With a view to further informing the work of the Shared Island Unit, the research finally explores attitudes of people in the Republic of Ireland to those from Northern Ireland, and to those from Nationalist/Republican and Unionist/Loyalist backgrounds specifically.