Coalition on Sexual Orientation
2-6 Union Street, Belfast,
BT1 2JF
P: +44 7788 570 007
F: +44 2890 319 031
E: admin@coso.org.uk
W: www.coso.org.uk
Our ref: JK/NIO/HateCrimeLegislation150404
Criminal Law Branch
Northern Ireland Office
Massey House
Stoney Road
Belfast
BT4 3SX
Friday, 12 February 2016
Dear
,
RE: The Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2004
The Coalition on Sexual Orientation welcomes the opportunity to respond
to this most recent consultation from the Northern Ireland Office.
The Coalition on Sexual Orientation welcomes the Order in relation to
extending crimes motivated by ‘hate’ to include people of differing
sexual orientation. It comes at a very opportune moment for the
government and indeed for the people it will aim to protect, as both racist
crime has seriously increased and homophobic crime has doubled in
Northern Ireland over the last year.
We do have one major concern with the draft as it is at present. The
Guidance Notes to the CJ (NI) Order 2004 states that,
“the protections offered in relation to race, religion and sexual
orientation apply to all irrespective of age, gender, marital status,
political opinion, disability or dependency.”
CoSO would have to question the Northern Ireland Offices reasoning
behind making the legislation apply to such a narrow range of groups.
A United Lobbying and Campaigning Voice for Sexual Minorities in Northern Ireland
The Coalition on Sexual Orientation would advocate the inclusion of
other categories such as Carers and to people of differing Religion or
Belief for example.
We would advocate that the protections in the legislation apply to other
categories of section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and not just
age, gender, marital status, political opinion, disability or
dependency and should be made to include ‘religion or belief’, ‘other
status’ and ‘Carers.’
The Coalition on Sexual Orientation believes that it is necessary for the
government to send a strong, clear and unambiguous message to all
people in Northern Ireland irrespective of any category that crime
motivated by ‘hate’ will not and indeed can not be tolerated.
CoSO believes that the non-inclusion of ‘Carers,’ ‘Religion or Belief’ and
‘Other Status’ sends out the wrong message and we can perceive a
situation where this will be used as a loop-hole, legally provided for in
The Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2004, for people to ignore
the protections which is being proposed in the Order and ‘get away with
crime.’
We believe that improvements in criminal legislation will send out a
welcome signal that hate crime is intolerable and act as a deterrent, but
The Coalition on Sexual Orientation would argue that a programme to
tackle hate crime needs to be based on comprehensive data collection,
improvements in enforcement and the promotion of good relations.
Lessons from the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry point to the need for
improved police monitoring of ‘hate’ crime incidents, successful and
unsuccessful prosecutions and publication of the data, showing the
involvement of different groups in the various parts of the criminal justice
system. They also underscore the importance of quality training to bring
about changes to attitudes and practice within the police and the criminal
justice system.
The Coalition on Sexual Orientation has been led to believe that the
chances of taking a successful case are often slim. In light of the horror of
daily humiliations, attacks by neighbours, bullying at school, criminal
damage to property, how will vulnerable and frightened people be
empowered to report the attacks, without endangering themselves and
their families further? We would recommend that the legislation allow
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appropriate organisations in the voluntary and community sector to take
cases on behalf of victims.
Since many victims of hate crime suffer in silence for years because they
are worried about possible repercussions if they report their concerns to
the police, The Coalition on Sexual Orientation would recommend
support for the appointment of hate crime coordinators in victim support
groups. In England they are recognised as best placed to offer face-toface contact, empathy and act as a link to services that can help them,
including the police, health, housing, social services and voluntary
groups. This service needs to be well publicised to encourage victims to
come forward and seek the necessary support to begin prosecution
proceedings against hate crime.
These recommendations are based on the premise that the police receive
training in developing appropriate responses and evidence-gathering to
ensure the legislative changes result in successful court action.
The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report called for a broad approach to
fostering good relations, including the involvement of a wide range of
statutory bodies and the voluntary and community sector in the areas of
education, housing, health and social services.
But the potential difficulty in implementing this aspiration is illustrated
by the introduction of personal development and citizenship in schools. It
has been claimed that this rights-based curriculum development may be
undermined by the practice of contracting out personal development to
Christian organisations that promote the desirability of opposite-sex
marriage - not only does it not augur well for a reduction in homophobic
or racial bullying but it could also be argued that the emphasis on
Christianity in RE will not encourage a celebration of diversity and the
development of good relations. Initial teacher training devotes only one
day to examining prejudice. And this is without analysing the impact of
the segregated education system, housing and other services on hostility
based on religion.
The Coalition on Sexual Orientation therefore welcomes the Housing
Executive’s decision to support the development of mixed housing but
would urge more attention to the coherent planning of shared public
services and measures to counter aggression, beginning with the removal
of permanent flags, murals and emblems.
A United Lobbying and Campaigning Voice for Sexual Minorities in Northern Ireland
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The explanatory document outlines the consultation process in 2003,
including the response from NICEM which conveyed the views of 23
minority ethnic groups and CoSO which represents sixteen LGBT
organisations. It also points out that the consultation listened to the
concerns of the LGBT community, and was persuaded to extend
protection to sexual orientation. This is very welcome, but we would
point out that The Coalition on Sexual Orientation only knew about the
draft order when it saw the press release on the NIO web-site a few days
ago. We would therefore recommend that the NIO checks its mailing list
to ensure the people most affected by these proposals have had an
opportunity to discuss them or provide written comment.
Moreover, in light of the responsibility to promote equality of opportunity
and good relations under Section 75 and the increasing attacks on the
elderly and harassment of people with disabilities, as well as the increase
in domestic violence, we would recommend consulting further to see if
there is a case for extending the protections against hate crime to include
age, disability and gender.
The Government hopes these proposals to deal with hate crime will help
to bring about a society which will recognise the full and equal legitimacy
and worth of identities, senses of allegiances and ethos of all sections of
the community, but The Coalition on Sexual Orientation would argue that
the government’s proposal to continue the detention of asylum seekers,
who have committed no crime, will send out the opposite message and
increase hostility to the ‘outsider’. We could end up with a situation
where asylum seekers are in prison alongside racist criminals.
The Coalition on Sexual Orientation also would encourage the
government to support an inclusive Bill of Rights and efforts to make
rights real by encouraging people to understand that human rights
standards contribute notions of non-discrimination and equality,
participatory decision-making, universality, recognition of the
interdependence of civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights
and above all the importance of positive relationships and human dignity.
In conclusion we would like to thank the NIO for allowing us to comment
on the proposed legislation however we are very concerned that the
Northern Ireland Office has not effectively afforded the LGBT
community an opportunity to respond to the consultation by not fully
consulting on this draft legislation. The first time, as we have stated, we
had heard of the proposals was from the Press release on the NIO website
and we were able to download the consultation document from there. It
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would surely have been prudent for the NIO to have forwarded copies of
the consultation document to the affected groups as a minimum in order
for them to effectively respond to the consultation and allow for the
legislation to be informed by the people it will eventually protect.
CoSO represents the following organisations and is a United
Lobbying and Campaigning Voice for Sexual Minorities in
Northern Ireland.
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Belfast Lesbian line
The Belfast Butterfly Club
Belfast Gay Pride Committee
Belfast Out resource Centre
Cara-Friend
Foyle Friend
Foyle Friend Youth
Gay and Lesbian Youth Northern Ireland
Lesbian Advocacy Services Initiative
LGB Branch of the NUS/USI
LGBT Branch of Unison Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Gay Rights Association
Press for Change
QueerSpace
The Rainbow Project
Traveller And Gay
Yours Sincerely,
James Knox
Convenor
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