On Monday 9th June two teenage boys were charged with the sexual assault of a 13 year old girl in the Northern Irish town of Ballymena, and are now being held in custody until their court appearance on 2nd July. A peaceful vigil gathered outside the courtroom and marched through the local town, but descended into violence towards the evening as masked individuals broke off to attack homes and businesses around Clonavon Terrace.
Reports about the alleged offenders requiring a Romanian translator during their court case spurred several nights of violence targeting the wider migrant community of Ballymena. In a spate of anti-migrant attacks, rioters threw petrol bombs, fireworks and bricks at the houses of people they believed to be migrants, as well as at the police who attempted to stop them. On Monday evening alone, six properties were attacked, four of which were set alight, with three people being evacuated over fears for their safety.
Violence against women and girls is abhorrent in any and every context, and justice for victims should always be front and centre of any response. The people of Ballymena are justified in their concern about this case, and the peaceful vigil on Monday night is testament to how communities can come together to stand in solidarity with people who are victims of gender-based violence.
However, it is unacceptable to co-opt an ongoing investigation into sexual violence to incite and justify widespread targetting and violence of racialised and migrant communities. The hateful targeting of innocent people is not only wrong, but does absolutely nothing to help victims.
The effects of xenophobic violence of this sort are wide reaching; the BBC reported that some local households have placed signs in their windows indicating the nationality of the residents (for example, “British Household” or “Filipino Lives Here”) in hope of stopping their homes being attacked.
As well as physical danger, the violence is having notable implications on the social fabric of the community itself, with many migrants no longer feeling safe or welcome in Ballymena. One resident, originally from Romania , has lived in Ballymena for 15 years and spoke of his love for an area where he has many friends and support. According to the Press Association, he described himself as a “Ballymena man now”, having lived here half his life, but has moved to a friend’s house over fears for his safety.
While it is at the community level that violence flares up, it is also at the community level that we see commitments to hope, resilience and solidarity. Many in Ballymena, including the alleged victim’s family, have condemned the rioters and protected their friends and neighbours, often at direct risk to their own physical safety.
Time and time again we have seen how the far right exploit and co-opt cases of sexual violence to justify pre-existing hatred towards entire migrant communities, by demonising them as a threat to the safety of women and girls. This does nothing to actually address gender-based violence, only creating more violence and fear in the same communities they claim to want to protect.
Pictured above: The online far right reaction to the violence
Online, the far right continue to situate the riots within their wider agenda to frame multiculturalism as having “failed”. The violence in Ballymena is presented as an “inevitable” clash with what they view as inferior cultures that threaten white Europeans. Other accounts downplayed the violence of protestors, calling them “completely peaceful” and blaming police for stirring violence, despite overwhelming reports of bricks being thrown into houses and protestors attempting to set fire to resident’s curtains. Notably and unsurprisingly, few posts actually mention the victim, or speak up in solidarity with her and her family.
This rioting is not about protecting women, but only about furthering a hateful agenda. Targeting the houses of innocent people does absolutely nothing in the pursuit of justice, or to address violence against women and girls.
Prefer to listen? Click the play button to hear the audio version. Harry Shukman Reform UK is staffed by oddballs and enigmas, but none odder…
