Hate crime in Northern Ireland has reached its highest level since records began in 2004, shaking confidence in our communities and raising urgent questions about how society responds.
Between April 2024 and March 2025, a new PSNI recorded 2,049 racist incidents and 1,329 race hate crimes. Amnesty International described the past year as “a year of hate and fear.” For many people from migrant and minority backgrounds, that description feels painfully accurate.
These aren’t abstract numbers. Each one represents a person who has been shouted at, threatened, or made to feel unwelcome in their own community.
What Hate Crime Means
According to the PSNI,
“A hate crime is any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards someone based on a personal characteristic.”
Hate crime happens when someone is targeted because of who they are, or who someone believes them to be. It might be about race or faith, disability or sexual orientation, or any other part of a person’s identity that should never make them a target.
Chief Superintendent Sue Steen, who leads on hate crime for the PSNI, said recently that while officers are committed to tackling hate, the law hasn’t kept up.
This has been a crisis developing for years, fuelled by complacency and inaction.
A Community Under Strain
For many people, the emotional toll is what hurts most. Some victims have moved house several times to escape intimidation. Others have stopped going out after dark or sending their children to certain schools. A few have chosen to keep quiet because they fear nothing will change.
During a community meeting in Belfast this summer, residents spoke openly about their exhaustion. One participant summed it up simply:
“People aren’t just afraid of the attacks, they’re afraid that no one will care when they happen.”
What the Research Tells Us
Recent academic work by David Lowe supports what communities have long been saying. His study, Hate Crime in Northern Ireland: The Need for Legislation and a Bespoke Version of the Prevent Strategy, found that Northern Ireland still lacks a dedicated hate crime law. Instead, ordinary offences are labelled with a hate motivation after the fact.
Lowe argues this weakens deterrence and discourages victims from reporting. He also points to the delay in acting on Judge Marrinan’s 2020 recommendations for a new Hate Crime Bill. Political deadlock, he writes, has left Northern Ireland behind the rest of the UK.
The research also highlights something people in our community know instinctively — that small, everyday acts of hostility can be just as damaging as major incidents because they erode the sense of safety that holds a community together.
Getting Help
Support does exist. The Hate Crime Advocacy Service (HCAS) offers confidential, independent help to anyone affected by hate crime in Northern Ireland. Advocates can guide victims through reporting, support them during police investigations, and connect them to housing or counselling services.
You can reach HCAS at www.hcasni.com or by calling 028 9024 4039.
In an emergency, call 999. For other incidents, contact 101 or report online through the PSNI Hate Crime Portal.
You can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
A Call for Action
Hate crime is not inevitable. It thrives only when people look away, when those with power delay change, and when victims are left to carry the burden alone.
The rise in hate incidents is not just a statistic, it’s a test of what kind of society we want to be. Every racist attack, every slur, every act of intimidation chips away at the fragile sense of belonging that so many have worked hard to build.
Now is the time for leadership and courage.
We need stronger hate crime laws, better education, and a clear message that prejudice will never be tolerated in Northern Ireland. But change will not come from government alone — it starts with all of us.
If you see hate, report it. If you hear misinformation, challenge it. If someone in your community is being targeted, stand beside them.
At the Chinese Welfare Association, we’ll continue to offer a safe and welcoming space for everyone. We’ll stand with those who’ve been targeted, and we’ll keep working with partners across Belfast to build a city that stands against hate and stands up for one another.
If you’ve been affected by hate crime or want to help make a difference, please get in touch.
Hate divides, but silence enables it.
Together, we can make Northern Ireland a place where everyone feels they belong.