Hate crime legislation and greater supports in schools for LGBT+ young people are “important” in light of recent attacks on the LGBT+ community both online and physically, Minister for Equality Roderic O’Gorman has said.
The LGBT+ community “continues to face challenges in terms of increased levels of hate speech online and attacks on members of the community across the country, with last week being a particularly vicious example of that,” Mr O’Gorman told The Irish Times on Monday.
The Minister was speaking after the launch of a new five-year strategy by Outhouse, a community centre supporting LGBT+ people.
“We know that people are attacked or their property is damaged for reasons linked to hate, and it’s important that the law and the punishment recognises that,” he said, referring to the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill which will introduce new ‘hate crime’ offences and expand the categories of person protected in Irish law from incitement to hatred.
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The Bill was “a statement that Ireland as a country will not tolerate hate crimes or hate speech” at a time when LGBT+ people are “at the receiving end of an unacceptably high level of abuse and violence”.
Increased resources to support LGBT+ youth in schools were also necessary, the Minister said, adding: “The Minister for Education Norma Foley is working on the curriculum now, to ensure it recognises the diversity of children in our schools and equips teachers and parents to engage with that in a positive way that ensures all students feel supported in school.”
On the eighth anniversary of the marriage equality referendum, Outhouse launched its strategic plan for the next five years, which aims to “improve the quality of life of LGBTQ+ people in Ireland”.
Among its commitments is to deliver “universal access” to the ground floor and basement of its space on Capel Street in Dublin, to launch a new community support service providing one-to-one support for LGBTQ+ people in need, and to campaign to protect LGBTQ+ people affected by homelessness and poverty. The centre also hopes to extend its opening hours to provide a “late-evening sober social space” in Dublin and to grow its arts and cultural programming.
Speaking to The Irish Times, chief executive of Outhouse, Oisín O’Reilly, said despite advances in rights for LGBT+ people in Ireland in recent years, there was a feeling that “we can walk down the aisle holding hands, but we still have to look over our shoulder”.
“We also have the worst waiting list in the European Union for trans healthcare,” he said, and LGBT people were “disproportionately” affected by homelessness.
Outhouse hoped to increase supports for the community, with its first priority to make the centre physically accessible within 18 months from today, “for those with access needs and for the ageing population we wouldn’t have had three decades ago”.
Dr Martine Cuypers, a trustee of Outhouse, told the audience at the launch that in planning for the coming years, Outhouse had wondered about its role as a “safe space” and whether that was necessary in Ireland in 2023.
“And I think the developments of recent times – because it’s really gotten worse recently – has shown that we really do still need that safe space, and badly need the hate crime legislation and a ban on conversion therapy,” she said.
