Sectarianism 'Still Prevalent In Segregated Communities'

New research by Queen's University has highlighted the prevalence of segregation and sectarianism amongst young people in some of Northern Ireland’s most deprived communities.

The Facts, Fears and Feelings project explores the impact of sectarianism in everyday life for over 100 young people aged 16-35, in some of the most segregated communities in Belfast and Derry/Londonderry.

Through their involvement in the study, some of the young people went on to develop the Cut It Out! Stand Together Against Sectarianism campaign.

This unique initiative involved the distribution of over 3,000 badges and ads on over 50 cross-town buses in Belfast and Derry/Londonderry, asking people to take a stand against sectarianism.

Dr Rosellen Roche, a social anthropologist from Queen's School of History and Anthropology, conducted the research and headed the project. Dr Roche said: "This report discusses in detail the attitudes and experiences of young people living in deprived and segregated areas in Belfast and Derry/Londonderry.

The young people involved, who are mostly out-of-school, seeking work and attempting to gain qualifications, represent a contingent that can often be ignored in research.

"This study does not claim to represent feelings in Northern Ireland as a whole, nor does it present a 'cure' for sectarianism and segregation.

"It does, however, illustrate how personalised sectarianism can be, how it can seep down through generations and how young people, like those involved in this project, are grappling with it in contemporary, post-Agreement Northern Ireland."

The research involved young people in areas such as New Lodge and Glenbryn in Belfast, and the Fountain and Creggan in Derry/Londonderry.

The Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People, Patricia Lewsley, said: "Northern Ireland has been shaped and defined by a long history of conflict. Our children have suffered the effects and consequences in many ways.

"The impact of the conflict on Northern Ireland's children has not yet been fully acknowledged.

"It is, however, widely recognized that more than a generation of our young people have been directly and indirectly exposed to sectarianism, violence, conflict and hostility. I hope this study goes a long way to identifying how we, as a society, can address these issues."

(JM)