Sectarian Interface Violence: ‘Hate Crime’ or ‘Anti-Social
Behaviour’?
Brian (west Belfast community worker), when talking about his work
in engaging with young people from both sides of a particular interface
in west Belfast, claimed: “we thought at the start that one side is trying
to free Ireland and the other is trying to defend Ulster; but none of them
had a clue about that: it’s the thrill they’re looking for!” This account
also suggests that interface violence is devoid of any political or religious context. Brian claims that interface violence in the area he works
within is “more about anti-social behaviour…it’s more recreational rioting that’s going on.” Nevertheless he also acknowledges that “in north
Belfast it would be different because there’s always been an enshrined
sectarian hatred.” This reflects the socially constructed nature of the term
‘hate crime’ relative to a given social context. That is, in the post-conflict
era in Northern Ireland, the advent of the relatively new concept of hate
crime is a way of labelling and challenging old problems of sectarianism
within a particular framework. However, the anti-social conceptions of
interface violence downplay sectarian hatred between divided communities, hence the construction of interface violence as merely recreational.
Crawford (community worker) also provides a view of sectarian interface violence as thrill-seeking, which he suggests is analogous to anti-social behaviour such as football hooliganism. Converse to Barney’s
views, Crawford claims – from his experience engaging with young
people involved in rioting at the Short Strand interface – that the young
people in question knew each other, had each other’s mobile phone numbers, and would both mutually participate in the organising of a riot. Ted
(west Belfast youth worker) also claims experiences of a similar nature,
whereby youngsters who apparently were friends with each other from
across different interface areas, texted each other to ‘organise’ a riot. Ted
thus claims that in some cases interface violence is recreational and is not
always underpinned by intense enmity towards the ‘Other’. In this way,
Crawford questions whether hatred is the key motive underpinning interface violence: “So my thinking is – is this based around sectarianism, or
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