KY
singer & rapper

I haven’t personally experienced racism in the music industry, but the way this works is, you will elevate your career only based off who you know, meaning the connections you have. I’m not here to rant about that, but I think it affects the evolution of the Irish music scene. However, I do believe a lot of people experience racial abuse on and off social media, and that this has been taken too lightly. A racist incident is any incident, which has the effect of undermining anyone’s enjoyment of their human rights, based on their background. These incidents happen more often than you can imagine.

In 2019, there were 530 reports received. Criminal offences excluding incitement to hatred constituted 112 reports. Discrimination accounted for 111 reports, and other recordable racist incidents accounted for 130 reports. There were 174 reports concerning hate speech.

There were a number of key trends observed in this period. The highest ever number of racist assaults (50 reports). A high rate of physical injury and mental health consequences across both crime and discrimination cases. The highest rate of repeat harassment cases to date (92 reports). Continuing low rates of trust in An Garda Síochána and low rates of reporting of all crimes, including assaults. Reports of racial profiling and assault of ethnic minority persons by An Garda Síochána.

Continuing patterns of illegal racial discrimination in public sector services. An increase in the number of victims of crime who were under 18 (20% of targeted persons). Increasing publication of hate speech by political candidates in news media. Low removal rates of social media posts, including those advocating racist violence. Growth in the number of far-right websites and social media identities, particularly targeting asylum seekers and refugees, but also young people of African background and/or Muslim faith. Hopefully, with time and hard work, we will see some improvement in the scene, but also among the community. I think this campaign is a great way to emphasise the importance of it.

Read Part 1 of 100 Voices: #AllAgainstRacism, in the current issue of Hot Press. Available to pick up in shops now, or to order online below:

Special thanks to the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission for their support in this project.