Show Racism the Red Card has urged for abuse to be reported to the police
Anti-Irish racism is rife in Scotland, a charity has claimed.
Show Racism the Red Card has said that more than half of Irish people have experienced anti-Irish sentiment.
In a study of 513 Irish people in Scotland, 56% said they had experienced the abuse and six in 10 said that they had witnessed anti-Irish racism.
Of those targeted, 20% of participants indicated that they found the incident extremely stressful; 45% found the incident stressful and 34% did not find the incident stressful.
Of those who had experienced abuse, 93% said they had reported the incident to police, and a spokesman for Show Racism the Red Card urged abuse to be treated as a crime.
Examples of anti-Irish abuse directed at those questioned
“I was threatened by a participant from an Orange Walk that I would get my throat cut.”
“Been referred to as filth. A member of the "manky mob" by a manager at work.”
“Casual anti-Irish racism on a weekly basis on building sites.”
“Had my windows smashed because of Happy St Patrick’s day banner.”
“Singing songs about “why don’t you go home?”. It wasn’t at a football match. It was on the street. I wasn’t going to football. I rarely do.”
“We urge everyone to report racism to Police Scotland when they witness or experience it,” a spokesman said.
“Moreover, incidents range from implicit casual racism to direct threats, verbal and physical abuse.
“Anti-Irish racism within a Scottish context needs to be addressed and Show Racism the Red Card will seek out funding in order to develop and deliver anti-Irish racism education in order to create a fairer Scotland for all.”
