The staff and Board of Trustees of the Women’s Resource and Development Agency stand in solidarity with migrant and racialised communities in Northern Ireland. We cannot tolerate Islamophobia in our society, and we all have a duty to work to remove the barriers that uphold systemic racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia. It is absolutely essential that we all take action to urgently address this issue.
We reject the racist co-opting of the struggle against violence against women and girls by individuals and groups seeking to push division and hate. VAWG is an endemic, structural issue which WRDA along with our colleagues in the Women’s Sector work daily to end. We recognise the horrific, misogynistic targeting of a group of girls attending a dance event in Southport last week, which has seen three girls murdered and several more in a serious condition in hospital. We reject the racist violence carried out under the guise of the “defence” of women and girls.
Steps you can take
- If you can please donate to this fundraiser to help those affected by the Islamophobic riots in Belfast.
- Check in on racialised friends, neighbours, and colleagues offering support and solidarity.
- If you are not directly impacted by racism, please consider taking practical actions to protect racialised communities, for example attending rallies and counter protests if you feel safe doing so.
- Contact your local councillor, MLA and MP asking them to make clear their unapologetic opposition to the targeting of migrant and racialised communities, including the messengers of racism, islamophobia and sectarianism.
Future actions
- Call on politicians to use existing legislation to hold social media companies to account for failing to stop the spread of hate speech and misinformation on their platforms.
- Call for the Full implementation (with the required funding) of the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, the Domestic and Sexual Abuse Strategy and the Gender Equality Strategy, LGBTQIA+ Strategy, the Anti-Poverty Strategy, and the Disability Strategy.
- Call for the finalisation and full implementation (with the required funding) of the outstanding strategies on Racial Equality and Refugee Integration.
- Ensure the Government’s response to the Islamophobic riots does not have an adverse impact on the Muslim community and migrant and racialised communities. Civic society organisations and third sector groups have significant expertise in bringing communities together, addressing tensions, and creating genuine cross community action, the government should consult with these groups on the way forward and ensure they are adequately funded.
- The Southport attack was a misogynistic terror attack. We call on the government to name misogynistic terror and take it as seriously as threats to the state.
We call on our members to offer their support and get involved with organisations tackling racism and supporting racialised communities in NI.
ACSONI (African and Caribbean Support Organisation Northern Ireland)
Assist NI
Rainbow Refugees
Nigerian Association NI
Migrants Solidarity Walks
Horn of Africa People’s Aid NI (HAPANI)
Anaka Women’s Collective
NI Somali Association (NISA)
Darfur Association
NI Centre for Refugees and Asylum Seekers (NICRAS)
MASI (Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland)
Migrant’s Rights Network
End Deportations Belfast
United Against Racism
This statement draws on statements from the Women’s Policy Group, GAPS and NIC-ICTU
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