Hate Crime

The Equality Coalition has responded to the Justice Committee’s call for evidence on the Criminal Justice (Sentencing etc.) Bill. This evidence advocates for the amendment of Part 6 of the Sentencing Bill to include a misogyny aggravator based on the Scottish model. The addition of a misogyny aggravator is needed to address the acute levels of misogynistic violence against women...

This report builds on the Mapping Far Right Activity Online in Northern Ireland Project Report (May 2025), which examined case studies of far-right activity, from racist housing intimidation in South Belfast (2023) to the racist and Islamophobic violence in Belfast on 3 August 2024. That report analysed social media narratives, political messaging, and responses to these incidents, and was launched...

This report explores the rise of far-right discourse in Northern Ireland on social media has become a key platform for spreading racist stereotypes, misinformation, and hate targeting migrants and minority ethnic communities. Drawing on detailed case studies, it outlines how such narratives—often rooted in discredited ideas like the “great replacement theory”—fuel fear, division, and in some cases, real-world violence and...

A one-day conference was held on 13 October 2017 to explore, from a human rights perspective, when public authorities can or must act against speech and cultural expression in order to protect the rights of others. The event was organised by the Equality Coalition, with support from the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice. It was...