25% of people questioned for the Northern Ireland Life and Times survey report being either very prejudiced (1%) or a little prejudiced (24%) against 'people of minority ethnic communities'. This is a significant increase in the decade since 1994 when just over one in ten reported being either very prejudiced (1%) or a little prejudiced (10%) against 'people from other races.'

Between 1994 and 2005 the proportion of Catholics who report being prejudiced has doubled from 9% to 18% and over the same period the proportion of Protestants has almost trebled from 12% to 33%. The proportion of Protestants who say that they are prejudiced towards ethnic minorities is almost twice as high as Catholics and those with no religion who say that they hold such attitudes.

These are some of the findings of the 2005 Northern Ireland Life and Times (NILT) survey which incorporated a module on attitudes towards visible minorities, including questions on racial prejudice. The ARK Research Update uses data from the 2005 survey along with comparative data from previous years of the NILT survey (1998-2004) and the Northern Ireland Social Attitudes (NISA) survey (1994) to explore changes in attitudes towards visible minorities in Northern Ireland over the last decade.

The report is being launched by Dr Chris Gilligan, from the University of Ulster, at a seminar taking place in Belfast today (Wednesday 21 June).. The seminar will be held at the Institute of Governance, Queen’s University Belfast at 12.00 noon and is organised by ARK - the Northern Ireland Social and Political Archive.

• The key points to come out of the research are that: Most respondents (68%) thought there was more racial prejudice in Northern Ireland in 2005 compared to five years ago and very few (6%) thought there was less.
• Protestants (33%) were almost twice as likely as Catholics (18%), or those with no religion (19%) to say they were either very or a little prejudiced. In 1994, the figures were similar for Catholics (9%), Protestants (12%) and those with no religion (10%).
• Supporters of Unionist parties were significantly more likely to say they were prejudiced against minority ethnic communities than supporters of other parties.
• In the case of national identity, respondents who identified themselves as British (35%) or Ulster (35%) were more likely to say they were prejudiced than those who self-identified as Northern Irish (25%) or Irish (15%).
•  Respondents who had daily contact with someone from a minority ethnic background were much less likely to report prejudice (13%) than those who said they never had any contact (30%).
• In 2001, 39% of respondents thought that most white people in Northern Ireland would mind if a suitably qualified person of Chinese origin was appointed as their boss, and 19% said that they personally would mind. In 2004 the respective figures were 55% and 13%.

Dr Gilligan says: "There has been a significant shift in perceptions of the growth in racial prejudice in Northern Ireland compared to a decade ago. In addition, more people say they are racially prejudiced today than in 1994. The survey findings show that there is a need for further research to explore the issue of racial prejudice and the ways in which these attitudes relate to actual behaviour towards minority ethnic communities”.

Full results of all the questions from the 2005 Life and Times Survey are available on the website from 12 noon on Wednesday 21 June on www.ark.ac.uk/nilt as is the Racial Prejudice in Northern Ireland report, at www.ark.ac.uk/publications

Notes:

The Life and Times Survey is a constituent part of ARK – Northern Ireland Social and Political Archive (www.ark.ac.uk) – which makes social and political material based on Northern Ireland available to the widest possible audience.

The race questions on the 2005 Life and Times survey were funded by the Equality Commission and OFMDFM.

ARK is a joint research project between Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Ulster.

For further information, please contact:

David Young
Telephone: 028 90366074
Email: David Young