A NEW STUDY by the Immigrant Council of Ireland has found that children are at both the receiving and giving ends of racism – including physical assault.

A breakdown of the incidents reported to the council during the year shows that 17 per cent of perpetrators and 8 per cent of victims are under 18 years old.

In one case, a three-year-old girl was allegedly physically assaulted. In another, a 13-year-old girl of African extraction was verbally assaulted by a student in her school.

According to the council, she was ordered to ‘go back where she comes from’ and told that ‘she does not belong here’.

The data also revealed that the number of racist incidents peaks during summer holidays and other school recesses.

July was the busiest month of the year with 31 racist attacks recorded. Other busy periods corresponded with midterm breaks at Halloween and St Patrick’s Day.

“To ignore this trend amongst our young people is not only wrong but dangerous,” said chief executive Denise Charlton. “Students, parents and teachers all have a role to ensure that racism is kept out of our classrooms, playgrounds and sporting arenas.”

Overall figures

A total of 144 incidents were reported in the past 12 months, an increase of 85 per cent on the 78 seen last year.

The new study also looked at the gender of the perpetrators and victims. Almost half of those involved in racist attacks were male. Meanwhile, more than half of victims were male.

The figures again confirm that verbal and written abuse accounts for most forms of racism (52 per cent) followed by discrimination (24 per cent) and physical violence (9 per cent).

‘Get out, go home!’: Report details racism on Irish streets

Racist incidents up by 85 per cent in 2013 — Immigrant Council