Woman beaten and taunted over her hijab

Single Incident Alert DateOctober 1, 2012 Country: Ireland Address: Blanchardstown District Court, Dublin General Type: Racist violence, Discrimination, Hate crime Racism and discrimination phenomena: Islamophobia, Arabophobia, Nationalism, Xenophobia
Groups affected / Interested in: Migrants, Muslims, Ethnic minorities Key socio-economic/institutional areas: Anti-discrimination, Anti-racism Hate speech/Racist Discourse Medium: Internet, Newspaper
Victims Data
Victims Nationality/Ethnic Origin Libyan
Victims Gender Female
Victims Age 18-25
Victims Number 1
Fatalities - deaths N/A
Perpetrators Data
Perpetrators Nationality/Ethnic Origin Irish
Perpetrator Gender Male, Female
Perpetrator Age 18-25
Perpetrators Number 3
Extremist/Organised Group Violence No

A young Dublin woman (23) has been sentenced to three months in prison, suspended for one year for punching and racially abusing a young Lybian woman (20) on 2 November 2011. As the victim, who was wearing a hijab (traditional head scarf) walked down the street when two men and a woman approached her. One of the men grabbed her mobile and the Dublin woman punched her in the face. When the victim crossed the road to escape her attacker, the woman followed her and continued to shout racist insults at her. A motorist stopped and helped the victim. He later reported the incident to the Gardaí. Judge Halpin said that the victim was frightened by the attacker and made feel a lesser person.

Source:

  • Cotter, Eimear (2012). Woman Beaten and Taunted Over her Hijab. Published in: Herald.ie, 14.03.2012. Available at http://theredcard.ie/news/?p=1282 (accessed 01.10.2012).