Résumé
"Northern Ireland has seen many changes over recent years through introduction of new Equality legislation securing the rights of all people regardless of their gender, age, race, religion, political views, disability status or sexual orientation. We have also seen a significant change in the criminal justice system including substantial improvements in how our communities are policed. Despite Northern Ireland moving forward in their acceptance of LGB people, homophobia and heterosexism still play too large a part in the lives of gay people within our communities. The fear of being attacked or abused on the street or in their homes for many gay people remains an everyday reality. The criminal justice system, despite having made significant changes, still cannot provide a reliable picture of the levels or extent of hate incidents throughout Northern Ireland. It is for this reason that The Rainbow Project took the initiative to research and develop this piece of work, secure funding and for the betterment of our own core service users and the broader LGB community dedicate our Equality Officer John O’Doherty to conduct this critical research. This report, which catalogues the fears, experiences and perceptions of LGB people throughout Northern Ireland, has the largest response of any research ever done on LGB issues in Northern Ireland. It is a statistically significant report in providing a picture as to the extent and nature of hate incidents and LGB perceptions of policing. It is clear that homophobic hate crime is still too common within our society and that too many people feel unable to report for a variety of reasons. While the PSNI have made progress in addressing the issue of homophobic hate crime and in communicating with the LGBT community, it is clear that although perceptions of police and policing are improving, that there are still too many people either dissatisfied with the service received or unaware of what the PSNI can do to protect them. I believe this report creates an opportunity to build on the progress made and to ensure not only that LGB people are receiving the quality of service that they deserve, but that they are aware of the PSNI’s goal to provide a quality service to all."--Introduction.