Hate speech highlighted in new poster campaign in South County

A NEW poster campaign to combat hate speech in South Dublin County was launched at County Hall in Tallaght on Thursday, June 16.

The campaign was launched by the Social Inclusion Pillar of South Dublin County Public Participation Network (SDCPPN) to highlight the rising issue of hate speech in the community.

Hate speech is defined as a criminal offence which is perceived by the victim, or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on actual or perceived age, disability, race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or gender.

The campaign launch is a follow-on from a workshop the PPN held in 2019, which looked at what hate speech is, and how members of the public can report incidents of hate crime when they see them happening.

Kieran Walsh from SDCPPN told The Echo: “In 2019, the PPN held a workshop on hate speech and hate crime and we planned to highlight issues with hate speech in society.

“Some people feel uncomfortable when they see hate speech happening, so we’ve launched a poster highlighting where to go.

“I think people don’t know that hate speech is a crime, so we’ve launched this awareness campaign to make people more comfortable in calling it out and reporting it.

“Hate speech is definitely there, and government ministers have acknowledged that by bringing in hate speech legislation at Government level – this is our way of doing something at a local level.”

The campaign was launched by the Mayor of South Dublin County Council, Peter Kavanagh, who highlighted the importance of combating hate speech.

“In recent years we have seen the worrying trend of people’s rights to simply exist being questioned more often,” said Mayor Kavanagh.

“It’s vital that people understand what hate speech is and know how to deal with it.

“We have striven for equality, and that struggle doesn’t end with discrimination and hate crime laws being enacted.

“Every citizen has a responsibility to challenge hate and to stop it from growing wherever they see it.”

The poster, which is the central focus of the campaign, will be sent out to schools and community groups to direct them on where to seek assistance if they witness a hate crime.

Those who witness or are victims of hate crimes or hate speech can contact gardaí on 112, report racism to INAR at www.inar.ie, or contact the Crime Victims’ Helpline on 116 006.