misc. magazine
i s s u e 1 2 6
curiosity fosters discussion
m i s c. a g a z i n e
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c o n t e n t s
Editorial Solitary Souls: Snapshots of 2020 Let’s Talk about Sex ( Workers) Consensus Kills : How a lack of public debate in Sweden became a threat to older generations Fashion and the Trend of Cultural Approproation
The Future of Stem Covid Mythbusters: Demysthisfying some of the biggest conspiracies of the global pandemic Under the Radar: An overview of the news you might have missed this year
Ireland and the Coming War for Tech Regulation Time to Revist Hate Crime Legislation
Contributors Editor Mairéad McCarthy
Cultural Editor: Niamh Burns Anna Lugard Ciara O’Flatherty Zoe Timmons Scientific Editor: Honour O’Donnel Loftus Mairéad McCarthy Francesca Corsetti Jaroslaw Kozluk Political Editor: Sean Gordon Dalton Oz Russell Catherine Forristal Cover Artist Megan Luddy Illustrations Ella Sloane Maeve Walsh Jennifer Hill Photography Kate Lawlor Copy-Editors Jessica Allen Ciara O’Flatherty Layout Mairéad McCarthy
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Artwork: Jennifer Hill
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c s i
M sc i
M isc M sc i M s
Founded in 1895, Misc Magazine is Ireland’s oldest student publication. We strive to showcase perspectives on political, cultutal and scientific zeitgist of the world around us. As a publication, we encourage ingenuity of thought and encourage creativity in the fields of research and innovation, in both our writing and artwork.
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Editorial
As 2020 (finally) draws to a close, we too this opportunity to reflect on the year we’re leaving behind; a year rife with chaos, loneliness, grief and change. This year Misc. Magazine celebrated 125 years of publishing;. Writers, Editors and Artists alike have contributed to this publication whilst witnessing some of the most pivotal events of Irish and even world history, many of which threated to discontinue and fracture the work of students and creators alike. With that thought in mind, this publication, is a testament to the perseverance and survival of the arts, particularly now, in an era where we have seen so many stifled in the pursuit of their passion. Misc. would not be published today if not for the enduring creativity of those who contribute to our pages and who remain inspired to do so, by those that read them. As is tradition, we ask that you read the following pages with an open mind and a critical eye and we encourage you to share your thoughts with us. MairÊad McCarthy Editor in Chief
Artwork: The Abtract Phoenix by Jennifer Hill
Solitary
Souls
Compiled by Kate Lawlor, perhaps better known by her instagram alias as daisychainnss, Solitary Souls shines a light on the numerous and ever changing faces of 2020, which presented itself through joy, loneliness, longing, loss and sonder. Kate’s work provides an insightful and reflective snapshot of these defining emotions whilst simultaneaouly finding delicacy within a year defined by chaos.
For more of Kate’s work, check out her instagram @ Daisychainnss
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Let ’s talk about Sex ( workers) Words: Anna Lugard Sex work is one of the most universally enduring occupations, yet also one of the most stigmatised. The lack of social and financial protection available to sex workers, as well as the stigma surrounding sex work, has made the Covid-19 pandemic exceptionally challenging for those dependent on the industry. Even in ordinary times, sex workers face difficulties in their field and these issues have only been exacerbated over the course of this year. Sex work has been around since the dawn of transactional exchanges. The term encompasses a wide variety of services including street and indoor sex work, pornography, webcamming, erotic dance, sugar arrangements, as well as kink and fetish work. Individual countries take varying approaches to regulating the sex industry. In most places, sex work is fully criminalised, meaning both sex workers and clients can face prosecution. Other countries - including Ireland - have implemented the ‘Nordic Model’ of partial criminalisation where the client is subject to prosecution but the sex worker is not. Finally, some countries such as New Zealand have elected to decriminalise sex work altogether. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit early this year, over 90 countries introduced a national lockdown forcing millions of people to quarantine in their homes. Many businesses shut down entirely, causing a plethora of financial difficulties for their dependents. The sex industry was no exception and sex workers are bearing the brunt of the economic hardship. Although nearly all professions have been affected by the pandemic, sex workers have been exceptionally hard hit. This may sound unsurprising. After all, sex work is largely reliant on close physical contact, making it incompatible with government-imposed social distancing measures. However, the challenges sex workers are currently facing cannot be explained away so easily. It is not the nature of sex work so much as the lack of protection and support for sex workers that has made this such a trying time for those in the industry. To begin with, sex workers face a legal framework that does not allow them to access the same financial protection as other labourers who have lost their job due to the pandemic. In Ireland, sex work has been partially decriminalised since 2017. Despite this, there are numerous laws in place that force sex
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workers to operate within confined and often dangerous parameters. For example, a law forbidding sex workers from working in pairs means they cannot enjoy the comfort and safety of a coworker or shared work space. Sex workers who knowingly break these regulations are naturally hesitant to apply for financial aid for fear of being discovered and penalised. According to an Amnesty International report, it is common for sex workers in Ireland not to be registered as self employed, and often they do not even have a social security number. As a result, many are excluded from social protection and cannot access the COVID-19 emergency grant offered by the Irish government. According to the same report, when some sex workers eventually do qualify for support they are told to return it because they are not paying taxes. The strict regulations and stigma surrounding sex work also make it more difficult for workers to contact the authorities for help in a dangerous situation. This is particularly concerning when considered alongside the fact that sex workers are more susceptible to sexual assault, mental health issues, physical abuse, violence and murder. The COVID-19 pandemic has posed an additional threat in this regard since some sex workers who have lost their source of income and cannot afford rent have had to move in with abusive ex-partners. In the same vein, some sex workers have had no choice but to put themselves in unsafe situations in order to continue making a living. With the closure of brothels and similar institutions, sex workers have to meet clients in alternative and often less safe locations.These underground settings do not have the protections in place that a brothel might, such as hygiene rules enforced by health officials or safety systems such as emergency alarms. Furthermore, some sex workers have to interact with volatile clients threatening to stop providing business unless they can continue receiving services during the pandemic. Fear of being prosecuted or ending up in a dangerous situation forces many sex workers to operate in secret, even in countries with partial or full decriminalisation.
Artwork: Ella Sloane
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In an interview with The Guardian, Jenna Love, an Australian sex worker, describes this predicament: “It can be more difficult for the people in the sex industry who fall through the cracks to advocate for themselves, because of the stigma and discrimination that comes along with it.” Despite this, sex workers across the globe have spoken out to demand more rights and protection from their governments. In August, sex workers in Germany took to the streets appealing to politicians to ease lockdown restrictions that have prevented them from working during the pandemic. They took this action in response to the growing reports of sex workers facing violence, underpayment, and intimidating clients. In Berlin, these appeals were taken into account and a gradual return of sexual services was allowed. In the German capital, a return to business is a positive development for sex workers, since they have access to employment contracts, social security benefits and health insurance. Unfortunately, the lack of social and financial protection in other countries means that even if business returns to ‘normal’ sex workers will continue to face challenges. One way sex workers have maintained their source of income has been to transfer their work online. This explains the boom of online sex work platforms, such as OnlyFans, which have seen growth in the numbers of both content creators and subscribers. OnlyFans is a subscription-based website that allows users to create and sell their own adult content. For some sex workers, it is a preferable alternative to in-person work since it removes health and safety risks, as well as exploitative middlemen
“It is common for sex workers in Ireland not to be registered as self employed, and often they do not even have a social security number. As a result, many are excluded from social protection and cannot access the COVID-19 emergency grant offered by the Irish government. “ Numerous media personalities, models and others outside the sex industry have begun to infiltrate online sex platforms. Not all of them are struggling financially; a number of high-profile celebrities have made accounts as a profitable side gig. Since many of them already have an online following, these casual content creators can charge high fees for relatively censored content, while sex workers are forced to post more explicit content to adapt to an oversaturated market. The most prominent example of this is Bella Thorne, an actress and model who made over 1 million dollars on her first day on OnlyFans and charged exceptionally high prices for access to her content. In response, OnlyFans reduced the amount sex workers can charge, capping tips at $100 and switching from weekly to monthly payments. Thorne’s use of the adult content platform caused outrage among sex workers, many of whom depended on their weekly income from the website. This backlash is understandable considering the fact that Bella Thorne can make huge sums of money without having to share explicit material (she posts no nude content) or face the hardships and discrimination that everyday sex workers do. It goes without saying that her estimated net worth of 12 million dollars before she even joined the site is also a point of contention. Bella Thorne exemplifies how some newcomers to the industry have failed to consider the socio-political context of sex work, in a way that is harmful to people who rely on it to make a living. Though it has been a profitable option for some, the value of online sex work as an alternative source of income should not be overstated. As expressed by Kate McGrew, the head of SWAI (Sex Workers Alliance Ireland), not all sex workers have been able to transition to the digital sphere. Some may not have access to the technology required to command an online platform. Others may refrain from online work for privacy reasons, or the difficulties of creating content from home in the presence of partners or family members. In many countries, the COVID-19 pandemic has truly brought to light how the sex industry is neglected by governments, at the expense of the health and safety of sex workers. Although some sex workers have transferred their work online, for many this is not a viable solution. The Sex Workers Alliance Ireland has emphasised the importance of emergency payments for sex workers as well as the need to dismantle the stigma and stereotypes surrounding sex work. The continued demand for sexual services, even during a global pandemic illustrates the continued relevance of the sex industry. The fact that its dependents have been so severely neglected in the midst of a public health crisis shows how harmful the stigma surrounding it can be. Hopefully, recognition of this will translate to more awareness of the need for rights, protection and financial support for sex workers, even in ordinary times and post-pandemic.
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Consensus Kills
How a lack of public debate in Sweden became a threat to older generations Words: Ciara O’Flatherty
When thinking about the defining feature of 2020, a strong contender for that title is the intense quiet that abruptly shoved its way into all of our lives sometime in March. This silence across businesses, streets and lecture halls - that still refuses to leave - has become an almost universal experience for people across the globe. ‘Almost universal’ is the operative term here, because in Sweden, March did not denote Doomsday. From the beginning, the Swedish Public Health Agency, Folkhälsomyndigheten (FoHM), marked its strategy as different. Looking at the ‘FAQs about Covid-19’ on the Agency’s website is like stepping into an alternate reality. Virtually no restrictions were imposed on the public, businesses and primary schools never closed, and the country’s border remains open to the rest of Europe. “I still go to restaurants, they haven’t closed, I go out to bars, nightclubs and stuff like that” says Rebecca Byström, 19, in a sentence many of us daren’t dream of uttering. The economy and quality of life focused model Sweden implemented to combat the coronavirus has been both questioned and lauded, as well as politically weaponised, most notably State-side. The price of the ‘economy-saving’ approach has not been lost on Swedish people though; the two Swedish students I spoke to were quick to mention the senior death tolls that have characterised the model, something state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell has framed as a balance that is required as part of a long term strategy. Whether he has achieved this ‘balance’ remains to be seen, as it’s possibly far too early to make definitive claims about the effectiveness of diverse approaches, especially to a pandemic we are still struggling to understand. But as pandemic-fatigue sweeps Europe, and in the wake of the scientist-backed ‘white paper’ here calling for the abolition of NPHET and of the government’s progressive lockdown strategy, it may be time to examine different frameworks for living with this virus. Could Sweden light the way? The Swedish model stresses the importance of maintaining quality of life for the population, and one of the major reasons cited for this focus is mental health. As a nation with long winters where there are minimal hours of sunlight, seasonal depression is treated as a serious health condition due to the internal effect of the darkness on one’s psyche. This effect has been palpable long before the advent of the novel coronavirus; Susan Sontag in 1969 wrote “inner weather here is dark.” Rebecca says within the last 2 decades there has been a major increase in discussions around mental health, and believes this hyper-awareness informed Sweden’s wariness of lockdowns: “mental illness I would say, that is something also that is affecting the decisions in the coronavirus.” Winter depression gave Swedes insight into what month after month of limited movement could look like, and more substantially, what it could mean for mental health problems and suicide rates. The same consideration of mental health is echoed in Sweden’s economic policy. Rebecca is quick to mention the links between potential economic downturn and depression and suicide rates. In her view, the economic focus of the Swedish approach is a credit to the FoHM: “we have boosted our economy much more, and a lot of other countries will have a really hard time, keeping up with everything. The jury is still out on how true this is. However, it is true that Sweden’s economy shrank less than the Eurozone at the height of the pandemic (and in these circumstances, every little helps). GDP in Sweden contracted by a record-breaking 8.6% in Quarter 2. Ireland by comparison contracted 6.1% although the two economies are not comparable. Instead, experts argue we need to compare Sweden with its cultural and geographical neighbours in Scandinavia, so more applicable are comparisons with the Finnish and Norwegian contractions of 6.4% and 4.7%, respectively. But Sweden’s economy has made a dramatic recovery since, not only correcting itself but reporting growth of 4.3% in Q3, so the claim that the Swedish model has rescued the country’s economy may not be entirely baseless.
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Rebecca’s faith in the approach, while not unshaking, seems to reflect the dominant attitude among Swedes. Tegnell is praised widely on social media and enjoys consistently positive approval ratings, and the adherence to non-compulsory recommendations is seen as a reflection of the faith Swedish people ask from their government in return for entrusting them with public office: “We tend to trust the government, and we expect trust back” says Irma Kjellström, 18, who also believes that the reluctance of the government to exert excessive control over the population further promotes trust in elected officials. ‘Trusting politicians’ will seem like the start of a joke or cautionary tale for many Irish people, characterising a mistrust of power which perhaps cries back to and reflects pride in a semi-recent revolutionary past, which Sweden lacks. Widespread trust in the government seems to be a cultural norm specific to Sweden that, in tandem with other factors, advances support for the coronavirus strategy, but could probably not be depended on if implementing this model elsewhere. Both FoHM and the media in Sweden have placed major emphasis on at-risk groups such as those with underlying health conditions and the elderly, and as a result support for the at-risk people has surfaced in the usually individualistic society, with young people offering their services in delivering groceries and performing other tasks for the elderly in their area. Media focus on these groups could be a majorly positive aspect of the Swedish strategy, encouraging additional caution among those most vulnerable. An obvious detractor from the model, however, is Sweden’s death toll, which at 6,164 is staggeringly high in comparison to the country’s Nordic neighbours. The Swedish death rate per 100,000 people in the population is a dizzying 60.5, almost exactly ten times those of Finland, where 371 people have died, and Norway, which stands at 294 lives lost. Strangely, yet perhaps understandably, the Swedish students I spoke to seem to be disconnected from this disturbing fact. When talking about the benefits of the country’s approach, Rebecca claims: “The death rates are the same-ish, but we don’t have really high peaks, other countries in Europe have” echoing the Tegnell idea that lockdowns mainly serve to separate deaths across time, but don’t actually affect overall death rates. Epidemiologist Tegnell has also appeared to frame the virus response as a choice, asking whose lives are worth risking for the quality of life of others: “You have to choose which lives you want to favour,” says Rebecca.
“Trust in the government seems to be a cultural norm specific to Sweden that, in tandem with other factors, advances support for the coronavirus strategy, but could probably not be depended on if implementing this model elsewhere.” And unfortunately, that choice has been fatal for many of Sweden’s elderly population. As of the 12th of November 5,457 people over the age of 70 had died from Covid-19, making up 89% of the total deaths. This proportion is not dissimilar to that of their neighbours, suggesting perhaps climate and cultural factors have an impact on the susceptibility of older people to this virus. Sweden has admitted to failing the older generation. Prime Minister Stefan Löfven conceded “we have to admit that when it comes to elderly care [the plan] has not worked. Too many old people have died here.” . A directive for Stockholm area hospitals from March, in order to conserve limited hospital resources, told doctors to turn away patients with Covid-19 who were over 70 years old due to decreased chances of survival. Only 13% of elderly Swedes who died during the spring received hospital care, due to advice to treat them in situ in nursing homes, and additionally, doctors were instructed to prescribe palliative drugs like morphine instead of potentially life-saving oxygen. Jon Tallinger, a Swedish GP, who has publicly critiqued Tegnell and the government’s approach from early on in the crisis, believes the treatment of older people was equivalent to a “really big euthanasia programme”. While Tegnell may enjoy approval in his home country, his reputation worldwide has been marred by these situations, which would be considered public health scandals anywhere else in the world. On top of the effect of his strategy on the elderly, confusion seems to have characterised his handling of the crisis. “In the beginning I was not critical, more like questioning, because, one day he would come out and say something, and then another day he would say something else, one day they made recommendations, one day they took them away,” Rebecca says of her opinion of him, which has improved over time.
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Misinformation remains rife in the FoHM, however, along with disagreeing with the scientific consensus. The FoHM website disputes to this day the effectiveness of masks, which are not advised nor required in Sweden. The agency published a report in July claiming the closure of schools in Finland had “no measurable effect on the number of cases of Covid-19 among children,” despite the negligible amount of testing Sweden was performing on children at that time. The most shocking of Tegnell’s ‘proto’-scandals is his stance on herd immunity, which he maintains he has never advocated for, despite the publishing of his emails which show his decision to keep schools open was likely informed by the possibility of reaching herd immunity. In these emails, Tegnell responds to the evidence that closing schools reduces the effect of the disease on the elderly by ten percent with the quip “10 percent might be worth it?” In Ireland, a comment like that going public would arguably spell the end of a public service career. This was not the case for Tegnell, but why? In contrast, Dr. Tallinger, Tegnell’s outspoken critic, was called a “Nazi, a Communist, a Russian spy, an alarmist” and eventually decided to move to Denmark. The backlash Tallinger experienced for criticising the Swedish strategy is not isolated. A group of forthright scientists known as “The 22” received retaliations from officials and the public after publishing their opinions, with Tegnell himself insisting they “cherry picked” death tolls. One author was denounced by a colleague for defying the Swedish tradition of “ respecting public health workers.” Consensus culture is one of the prevailing social norms inSweden, along with an unfailing belief in public officials that encouraged the following of government recommendations early on. Rebecca says this faith is not beholden to political affiliation: “even though we might not agree with their politics we still have a lot of trust with our government.” In a distinctly Swedish twist, the media seems to also display this trust in the government. When Keith Begg, the Irish-raised creator of Media Watchdogs of Sweden, observed the general absence of debate in Swedish media and public spheres, he was deeply concerned. “They let what many of us see as incompetent experts rule the roost” he said of the coronvirus handling in an interview with Byline Times this month, “They will publish verbatim what they say and let it go unchallenged.” This, he believes, makes the media complicit in the tragedies that the Swedish strategy has engendered. Begg, too, has been the subject of death threats, and of doxing, when his address was published online alongside the message “Get Him.” It’s understandable, then, why criticism of Tegnell, the government and FoHM has not been as widespread as those of us who are not native Swedes might expect. Sweden serves as an example of when healthy public debate becomes essential to public health. As winter asserts itself in the Northern Hemisphere and Sweden’s coronavirus deaths surge dramatically, we’re slowly getting a sense of the human cost of an economic focus in the pandemic. Theories as to why the number of deaths in the country are not higher despite the lack of restrictions cite the climate, behavioural norms of personal distance and values of self-determination as reasons, however, one thing seems clear: the Swedish model was designed around the particularities of Sweden. But while Swedish people report a high satisfaction with the Tegnell method, it doesn’t seem likely many countries will, or should follow in their sacrificial footsteps any time soon.
Artwork: Ella Sloane
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Cultural Appropriation
Fashion & the Trend of
Words: Zoe Timmons
We have all cringed at a sea of Native American headdresses back in the pre-pandemic festival-going days, or rolled our eyes at a kimono-clad group at a fancy dress party. Cultural appropriation takes many forms, some of which have become embedded within popular culture, for better or for worse. The phrase ‘cultural appropriation’ refers to a dominant culture adopting things such as the style, fashion or art of another (which, generally speaking, tends to be a historically marginalised group). Crucially, the dominant culture ‘borrows’ without giving credit to those they have borrowed from and often fails to acknowledge the original significance of the appropriated thing. What is more, cultural appropriation serves to perpetuate negative and damaging stereotypes about marginalised groups within society. The fashion industry is one built on pushing the boundaries of creativity, influencing what is in and what is out each season. One unfortunate trend that seems to crop up each fashion week is a lack of inclusivity coupled with cultural appropriation or even, in some cases, outright racism. With the ever-increasing globalisation of the fashion industry, it is only natural that designers draw some level of inspiration from a diverse range of cultures worldwide. However, many designers have missed the mark when it comes to doing so respectfully. For example, Gucci was criticised for its Fall-Winter-18 collection in which they had white models walking the runway wearing turbans. The turban - or dastār - is a head-piece worn by those belonging to the Sikh religion. For them, the item has religious significance, representing their faith, honour, spirituality, self-respect, courage, and piety. Often, those belonging to the Sikh religion face judgement, criticism and worse still, racial abuse for wearing it. Yet, according to the fashion house, when it is worn by a white male, it is the height of fashion, to be put on display for the world to marvel at. It is worth noting that the piece earns the brand $790 a pop. By putting a price on the item, the brand failed to grasp the importance of the symbolic item of clothing. Those expressing their distaste at Gucci’s show were right to call them out on their monetization of the sacred head-piece. Marc Jacobs is another example of a fashion label engaging in cultural appropriation. Marc Jacobs has repeatedly been called out in the fashion world for staging culturally insensitive shows. His Spring-Summer-17 show sent a flock of models down a New York City runway donning dreadlocks. The show naturally sparked controversy considering dreadlocks are a hugely significant part of African culture and the majority of models in his designs were white (with only ten out of the fifty-two looks featuring models of colour). For some ethnic groups in Africa, the hairstyle holds religious or spiritual meaning. For years, dreadlocks have been the subject of racism, in particular in the global North where people of colour often face societal pressure to abandon their roots and conform to ‘white’ beauty standards. Worse still, those who do refuse to conform and instead wear their hair in dreadlocks face barriers in access to education and employment: students with dreadlocks have been denied entry into schools, and there was even a lawsuit denying a woman the right to wear dreadlocks in a place of work. Thus, Marc Jacobs, by co-opting the hairstyle and commodifying it for the sake of trendiness and aesthetic appeal, stripped it of its original meaning and failed to appreciate the discrimination people of colour face for wearing the very same thing he deems fashionable. This begs the questions, is this truly what fashion represents these days? Marc Jacobs’ initial response to these criticisms was blasé and failed to recognise his wrongdoings. In a now-deleted Instagram post, he commented “I DO NOT discriminate”. He later changed his tune on the matter, admitting that he had “maybe [been] insensitive”. As a general rule of thumb, when people belonging to a culture you have appropriated are calling you out for discriminating against them, you probably have. Granted, it can be convenient to remain ignorant of these issues, particularly when they don’t directly impact you. After all, what’s the issue, it’s just art, right? That is the problem with fashion houses’ commodification of minority cultures: they walk models down runways and put them on billboards, allowing this commodification to become mainstream - “If they can do it, why can’t I?” The answer: by participating in cultural appropriation, one automatically perpetuates certain biases held about marginalised groups. Had Marc Jacobs been more representative of black models in his show, it could have been a different story altogether. It could have been seen as a celebration of black culture, rather than an appropriation of it. Another reason the repeated mistakes of these major labels is so disheartening is that it completely undercuts the notion that fashion can be a force of good, working to highlight, celebrate and pay homage to little known cultural norms within minority subcultures. There is a fine line between appreciation and appropriation. When drawing inspiration from another culture, it is imperative that you acknowledge the history and people surrounding it. Simply cherry-picking whatever it is you deem fashionable or trendy from another culture, and blatantly ignoring its significance to said culture, as in the case of Marc Jacobs, is unacceptable. If you have a platform, you ought to use it to tell their stories alongside your product. That way, we can avoid exploiting historically marginalised groups and instead spread the significance of their culture and enjoy it together. So, regardless of whether it is a cheap costume in the supermarket, or a haute couture piece on the runway, the value of the item is diminished tenfold when it represents a poor imitation of another culture, without so much as a nod to its inspiration.
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The Future of Stem in the aftermath of Covid-19, what lies ahead for the studetns of ireland
Words: Mairead McCarthy
Following the swift disbandment of third level institutions in March in light of the Covid-19 virus that struck Europe, the decision to return to University is one felt in anticipation and indeed restlessness for many students. For some the ability to transfer physical learning to online classes provided a source of relief, as a means of protecting those most vulnerable from the virus. Rather, for many, the calculated move taken by many institutions symbolised the drastic changes needed in order to adjust to life in a post-Covid society. This quickly formulated a landscape which would place limitations on students in terms of their social life, work ethic and may decidedly alter the opportunities awaiting us after our degree, particularly for those needed on the front line of the fight against the pandemic. Once an area of education that struggled to entice students, CAO points have illustrated a rise in demand for STEM driven courses. This year’s CAO preferences are dominated by courses such as Engineering, Computer Science, General Science, Pharmacy and Nursing; the sudden shift in favour towards these degrees has been reflected in demand in the workforce. Recently established as the ‘Silicon Valley of Europe’, Dublin has become home to global technological companies. Why? Based on the country’s skilled workforce, levels of competitiveness and tax, over 18,000 technological based jobs were created in 2018 alone. Evidence drawn from the Center of Economic and Business Research further revealed that industries of a physics-nature employ more that 287,000 individuals, contributing 14% of the national turnover -- approximately €48.7 billion euro. This is a figure which is continuing to grow steadily, alongside the demand for STEM graduates. However the paradox to this results in a high-dropout rate in STEM led subjects; the Computer Science degree achieves a graduate class of 55% from the start of the course, reflecting the extreme dropout rates throughout the degree. It is difficult to reconcile the drop-out figure with the prospect of working from home in light of the sudden pandemic, without practical assistance, social settings or direct student teacher interaction. Speaking with Edwina Gilroy, a second year student and representative of Dublin University Nursing and Midwifery society; Gilroy explained how life as a student nurse has been altered this year, with classes moving online entirely for the term. “College work has completely shifted online. A lecturer recently added a poll to one of our combined studies modules which showed that students would consider studies at a 50:50 ratio post Covid as there were positives and negatives identified with online. I miss my friends and we have decided to video call at least once a week to discuss college work and to check in on each other. This is the only way we can see each other and have a laugh”.
Artwork: Maeve Walsh
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For many STEM degrees, work placement is a vital part of their journey to graduation, as students seek practical experience in their area of study in order to prepare for their future role. Yet, for the majority of students, the prospect of placement this year prompted a sense of unease rather than excitement. Gilroy further elaborated on this topic: “Placement has returned mixed emotions as some students were treated as qualified nurses and some treated as health care assistants, meaning the quality of on-site training was poor due to the demands on the health service provider. The anxiety while on placement was huge as the fear of getting sick was very close to many students, especially students that have vulnerable people at home.” Indeed illuminating the importance of student nurses as contributing members of the health sector in the fight against the pandemic has been largely unacknowledged, as students continue to work without pay. The controversial decision to allow student nurses to remain working whilst unpaid during the height of the pandemic was one of dismay to many in the health profession, with IMNO contesting the government decision publicly: “The purpose of a placement is to train the student, not provide extra resources to the health service.” As more than two thirds of graduating Irish nurses and midwives consider leaving the country to pursue their careers further, the question remains: as to whether than treatment of student nurses during the pandemic will only serve to increase this figure, or impact the decision of leaving cert students to opt into such areas of study.
“The anxiety while on placement was huge as the fear of getting sick was very close to many students, especially students that have vulnerable people at home.””
On this topic, Gilroy remarked “Covid has highlighted the lengths that nurses go to without being asked, the extra hours nurses work for very little extra, the danger they put themselves in and the absolute distress and turmoil they witness when a family is hit with illness. Nurses are expected to be the backbone and people will think longer before stepping into the position.” Despite the hardships that have been faced, Covid-19 has reintroduced the vital fields of research. Throughout the past year, the waves of the pandemic have swept across the globe eradicating normality and life as we knew it. The virus’s rapid increase has not only placed a halt on most jobs, but it has effectively increased a demand from STEM driven degrees in the quest for a cure, vaccine, equipment and the nurses and doctors required to administer such treatments on the front lines, while coping with the ever fluctuating resurgences of the virus
“Nurses are expected to be the backbone and people will think longer before stepping into the position.” “ As 2021 dawns on the horizon, bringing with it the opportunity for 6th year students to lay out their impending CAO options, and the prospect of graduation for many third level students in the new year, the future of STEM within Ireland remains one that is compounded by the unknown possibilities that are occurring in a post-pandemic landscape. While c ompounded by the limitations of Covid-19, what remains clear is that a demand for STEM graduates is clearer now more than ever- in innovation, healthcare and discovery. But with such fierce expectations looming, with minimal rewards and high costs, the question remains as to whether students are willing to brave what remains a consistently challenging area of work. On whether the emergence of Covid-19 had offered any positive aspects as a STEM student, Edwina Gilroy had this to say: “I think Covid-19 has brought some student nurses out of their comfort zone and has required some to shake off the nerves and to practice what we have learned and engage in nursing activities that we have been shown. With staff falling ill, it has shown first-hand how nurses have to struggle at times and how workloads can get excessive and potentially overwhelming. Here, students have to learn how to manage their time, balance their responsibilities and develop coping methods that best suits them. I feel that training as a nurse during the pandemic has been invaluable, but I do hope it never happens again!”
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Covid Myth-busters: Demysthifying some of the biggest conspiracies of the global pandemic
Some basics about wearing a mask
In the last couple of months we were all forced to dramatically change our everyday behaviours and habits. Leaving the house without a mask or faceguard at hand is not an option anymore. In most places, wearing such items is mandatory according to public health measures. But how effective are masks in general? Can they protect us and others from being infected? Or are the ‘anti coviders’ right in saying that ‘the masks are doing more bad than good’. Many studies agree that they decrease chances for us to be infected by the virus, but the crucial thing is that they effectively protect others from catching it. A study published in Health Affairs shows the difference in the number of new COVID-19 cases (from March 31 to May 22) in the 16 states of America before, and after the states’ officials mandated face-coverings in the public space. After the new restrictions, statistics showed a decline ‘in the daily COVID-19 growth rate by 0.9 to 2.0 percentage points from one to twenty-one or more days after state face mask orders were signed’. Another project study ‘Association of country-wide coronavirus mortality with demographics, testing, lockdowns, and public wearing of masks’ from June 15, has shown that ‘supporting the wearing of masks by the public, as well as international travel controls, are independently associated with lower per-capita mortality from COVID-19.’ which means that mandatory wearing masks in public places directly contributed to reduction of the new death cases caused by COVID-19. Furthermore, there were examples where: 1.) A man on a plane from China to Toronto (15 hours flight) was wearing a mask during the flight with approximately 350 people on-board and no one - from 25 people in the closest range - tested positive for COVID-19 after the flight. 2.) Two hairstylists in Missouri were infected with COVID-19 as they were still working with the customers. Before being diagnosed with COVID-19 they had close contact with more than 130 people but, because they were wearing a face-covering, no one from those 130 tested positive afterwards
Masks vs faceguards
In many shops, restaurants and other ‘working places’, people use faceguards more often than masks. This is probably connected to the fact that faceguards are more comfortable than normal masks. Although using a faceguard can help to reduce the spread of COVID-19, it’s not
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as sufficient in fighting against COVID-19 as the ordinary mask. Unfortunately, faceguards have many ‘holes’ that the virus droplets can easily get through. According to a study published in Physics of Fluids ‘while face shields did block the initial forward motion of a simulated cough or a sneeze, the expelled droplets were still able to move around the visor and spread out over a large area in an environment.‘ The World Health Organization recommends using the faceguards in addition to normal masks. Based on photos from hospitals with COVID-19 related cases, doctors are always wearing both masks and faceguards. Dr. Joy Henningsen from University of Alabama at Birmingham school of medicine said that faceguards can “protect the wearer from an infected person when used with a mask.”. So while face shields alone aren’t good enough to drastically stop the spread of COVID-19, using them with a mask can effectively reduce the possibility of infecting others
Is COVID-19 a man-made virus?
From the beginning there were many rumors about the pandemic and its origins. Li-Meng-Yan and her three colleagues have stated that the virus didn’t emerge from nature and therefore must be the result of human work. At the same time ‘The four authors list their affiliation as the Rule of Law Society, a group founded by Bannon [former advisor of president Donald Trump] that says its mission is to expose corruption, obstruction, illegality, brutality, false imprisonment, excessive sentencing, harassment, and inhumanity pervasive in the political, legal, business and financial systems of China.” It is not a scientific organization.’ Which means that the study was not ‘peer-reviewed’ by other scientists before it was published, and that presumptive evidence is showing this organization to be rather ‘political’ than ‘scientific’. The Li-Meng-Yan study was then criticized with a main argument, stating that if it was made in the laboratory, the new virus would show many similarities to those that we already know. ‘The Associated Press’ published articles that were fact-checking and debunking s ome information given into public space. In one of them Kristian Andersen, an assistant professor of immunology and microbiology wrote that: ‘the mutations in the RBD portion of the spike protein and its distinct backbone, rules out laboratory manipulation as a potential origin for SARS-CoV-2’.
Words: Jaroslaw Kozluk Artwork: Jennifer Hill
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Under the Radar
An overview of the news you might have missed this year Words: Francesca Corsetti Is there life on Venus?
A group of researchers from Cardiff University, led by Professor and astronomer Jane Greaves, have recently discovered the presence of a great quantity of phosphine around 30 miles (50 kilometres) i nside the planet’s atmosphere. The discovery, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, was made using the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) and the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA). On Earth, phosphene has been found in swamps and in animals’ guts; therefore it is a gas generally associated with life. Yet, its source on Venus is still unknown.Although leaving open the possibility that there could be life, the presence of this substance is still unexplained. Venus is approximately 41 million kilometres away from Earth and the two planets are similar in size and mass. Conditions on the planet, though, are extreme. Its atmosphere is terribly dense and contains 96.5% carbon dioxide by volume, provoking a strong greenhouse effect. Therefore, Venus is undoubtedly the hottest planet in the Solar System, reaching a temperature of 464°C. “It’s completely startling to say life could survive surrounded by so much sulphuric acid”, says Professor Jane Greaves, “but all the geological and photochemical routes we can think of are far too underproductive to make the phosphine we see”. As the article reports, even if confirmed, phosphine is not a strong evidence of life, and it could then originate from unknown and anomalous photochemistry or geochemistry. While many researchers speculate on some possible life cycles of the microbes, others worldwide are sceptical about the presence of life on Venus, and wonder if phosphene is truly a biological marker. However, it is too early to tell. For now, further investigation must be done: this is a great opportunity for in-depth research that might lead to new discoveries concerning Venus’ atmosphere and other sources of phosphine.
A permanent cure for HIV?
Timothy Brown, also known as the ‘Berlin Patient’, who died recently on September 29th, became the first person to be cured of HIV thanks to a stem-cell transplant in 2011. Last March, a second person, known as the ‘London Patient’, received the same treatment, and decided to make public his identity to the New York Times, “to be an ambassador of hope”. Adam Castillejo was declared free from HIV after 18 months of antiretroviral therapy that followed a stem-cell transplant. In March, The Lancet, a prominent HIV journal, confirmed his recovery after 30 months. Stem-cells therapy aims to treat diseases by replacing damaged cells in the body, and takes place in the form of bone-marrow or umbilical cord blood transplant. Castillejo received a transplant from a donor who carried a mutation in the CCR5 gene, a receptor that is used by different strains of HIV to attack immunological cells. This particular mutation (CCR5-Δ32) protects the gene from the virus. In March, 99% of Castillejo’s immune cells were donor-derived. Professor Ravindra Kumar Gupta, of the University of Cambridge, observed that there are some traces of the virus in certain cells, like white blood cells, but that they are ‘fossils’ of the virus and “can’t go anywhere”, being unable to replicate. “This represents a HIV cure with almost certainty”, he told BBC News. Yet, this therapy was used in both cases chiefly to cure patients’ cancer, rather than the virus. It is also an aggressive treatment that cannot be used to cure all people affected by HIV, especially if antiretroviral treatment proves to be effective, but this might be the way forward. Only time and a close patient follow-up will tell.
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SOFIA Discovers Water on the Moon
NASA has confirmed the presence of water on the sunlit surface of the Moon in the hemisphere visible from the Earth. The discovery was made with the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) as part of the Artemis program, which plans to send the first woman and the next man to the Moon by 2024. SOFIA is a joint project between NASA and DLR (the German Aerospace Center) consisting of a Boeing 747SP aircraft carrying a 2.7-meter (106-inch) reflecting telescope, making it the biggest flying observatory in the world. Since the first Apollo mission in 1969, the Moon was believed to be completely dry. Further studies confirmed the presence of ice in the completely shadowed craters of the poles. Later, researchers found evidence of hydrogen, but it was impossible to distinguish whether it was in HO (hydroxyl) or in H2O form. As NASA’s official website reports, SOFIA “observes in infrared wavelengths and can detect phenomena impossible to see with visible light”. In this way, it has been able to detect water molecules’ specific wavelength. Specifically, SOFIA has detected a substantial concentration of these molecules in Clavius Crater, one of the largest craters visible to us, located in the southern hemisphere. This might indicate that water could be present in the whole surface of the Moon. Though the water seems to be present in small amounts (the Sahara desert has 100 times the amount of water), it seems incredible that it can endure on such a dry and airless surface. Scientists are considering two possible options: one is that water might deposit on the surface through tiny meteorites raining down, or it might originate from the reaction of hydrogen ejected from the Sun and minerals on the Moon’s surface. Therefore, further observations are now necessary to understand how water is created and stored on the satellite.
Female Hunters: A twist in Ancient Gender Roles?
In 2018, a team of archaeologists discovered a human burial dating from 9,000 years ago at the Wilamaya Patjxa site in the Andes Mountains, Peru. Together with the remains, 24 pieces of hunting tools have been discovered. According to the researchers, it is a “hunting toolkit of stone projectile points and animal processing tools”. This means that the individual was an important member of the society and a skilful hunter. Sex and age of the individual has been discovered through osteologial and dental enamel analysis, specifically though the examination of the amelogenin protein. The results showed that it was a woman between 17 and 19, and have been published in the Science Advances journal. At first, the discovery seemed to be an exception to the rule. But earlier studies of burial sites in America revealed that of 429 individuals from 107 different sites, 27 (from 18 different sites) had their big-hunting tools. Of these 27 individuals, 11 were identified as female, and the other 16 as male. Randall Haas, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of California, and the co-authors of the research believe that the discovery really challenges the matter of gender roles, as do experts outside of the project. However, there are some objectors, such as Robert Kelly of the University of Wyoming, who asserts that not all the objects in the burial necessarily belonged to the individual during their lifetime, but could have been a gift as part of a ritual. Indeed, two burials were actually of female children. Yet, the research evidently proved that women could hunt, also providing hints for further studies. Besides, “these women were living high up in the Andes, at 13,000 feet full time,” claims Bonnie Pitblado of the University of Oklahoma. “If you can do that, surely you can bring down a deer.”
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ireland and the coming war for tech regulation Words: Oz Russell
Artwork: Ella Sloane
The principles underpinning the world taxation system today are largely the same ones that emerged following WW2: the reduction and removal of tariffs, the promotion of free trade and the right of sovereign states to tax production within their borders. This consensus has started to fray in recent years, with one feature of this system receiving more criticism and scrutiny than all others: offshoring, or tax avoidance. Tax avoidance today has many causes, from elaborate legal loopholes, to ever-increasing flows of capital, and aggressive competition between states trying to attract multinationals. All of these reasons, however, stem from rules designed for the economy of the previous century: to stop double taxation, companies would be charged corporation taxes only where they produced their goods. The growth of tech companies that aren’t tied to a particular location however has meant that these rules are now more often used to achieve double non-taxation. With countries across the world trying to plug holes in their public finances due to the Coronavirus pandemic, concerted global efforts to tax tech companies seem to be moving from rhetoric to action. These moves, and their extent, have the potential to radically transform Ireland’s economy in the coming years. As the world’s economy has become more interconnected, tax avoidance has spread rapidly across the globe. Research by the IMF and the University of Copenhagen has found that more than one-third of all Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) today is ‘phantom investment’, or capital that’s being moved to minimise tax rather than to fund the production of goods or services. Economist Gabriel Zucman estimates that the major European economies and the USA collect between 14 and 28 percent less corporate tax than they would if these methods weren’t employed. Corporate tax has remained static, as a percentage of total revenue of OECD countries, at 8-10% over the past five decades, yet over that same period corporate tax rates have more than halved, tax avoidance has mushroomed and tax breaks have proliferated. In the USA, 91 Fortune 500 companies paid effectively zero federal income taxes in 2018, including Chevron, Amazon, Halliburton and IBM. This all translates to around $650 billion in lost government revenue every year. While governments are finding it harder to tax corporate income, tech giants have seen stunning success. Amazon earned $232 billion in revenue in 2018 and $280 billion in 2019, while paying a comparatively paltry $1.2 billion and $2.4 billion in global taxes in each of those years. In the last quarter (beginning of July to the end of September this year) the combined sales of Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook grew by 18 per cent year on year to $227 billion, while their after-tax profits jumped by 31 per cent to $39 billion. It’s not just tech companies benefitting - entire economies are built around exploiting tax loopholes. Although Caribbean tax havens like Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands by their nature collect little to no tax from these companies, actuarial and accountancy services have flourished. Tax tourism, alongside regular tourism, provide these countries with their main source of GDP. Within Europe too, countries are engaging in an aggressive race to the bottom. Over 50 percent of all phantom investment worldwide is funnelled through just two European economies: the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
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But few countries rely on American big tech to the same extent as Ireland. About 245,000 people work for international groups backed by the IDA, the state inward investment agency, and roughly 200,000 work for ancillary companies. Last year, 77 percent of Irish corporation tax receipts came from foreign multinationals, with 40 percent from just 10 companies. Apple alone has gone from having only 60 employees in Cork in 1980 to over 6,000 today. Irish business leaders and politicians have recognised the central role of tech in the Irish economy, and often tout a number of reasons for why Ireland is such an attractive business destination, from its highly educated and English speaking population, to the ease of doing business here. While these things are true, they aren’t enough to explain the sheer scale of international business in Ireland. 9 of the top 10 global software companies, 9 of the top 10 US technology companies, the top 5 top security software companies, the top 3 enterprise software companies, and all of the top 10 ‘Born on the Internet’ companies are located here. What sets Ireland apart are its taxation operations here above all because multinationals have taken adcreatively named manoeuvres sandwich’, where corporaIrish and Dutch subsidiarTwo-thirds of all of Ireis phantom-investment, developed nation, Irerate tax have gone up of the massive growth Hand in hand with is the purposefully Commission (DPC), enforcing Irish and EU independent, the comcontrolled by the Departreceived a government allothe next year, or just under 20 supposed to be regulating, earns Irish Independent revealed heavy loboperating officer, to decide Ireland’s next Data
and regulatory regimes. Companies move their of a 12.5 percent corporate tax rate. Some vantage of Ireland’s tax loopholes in such as the ‘double Irish with a Dutch tions move their revenue through ies and then on to the Caribbean. land’s foreign direct investment and unlike almost every other land’s revenues from corpoas a share of GDP because of its corporate tax base. this aggressive tax planning toothless Data Protection which is responsible for privacy laws. While nominally mission’s budget is directly ment of Justice. In 2020 the DPC cation of only 19.1 million euros for percent of what Google, a company it’s in a single day. E-mails acquired by the bying by Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief Commissioner on more than one occasion in 2014.
“Last year, 77 percent of Irish corporation tax receipts came from foreign multinationals, with 40 percent from just 10 companies. Apple alone has gone from having only 60 employees in Cork in 1980 to over 6,000 today.” The consequence of this is that the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the most extensive data regulation regime in the world, has been fatally undermined. A major plank of GDPR is that data protection enforcement is carried out by individual member states, but they should be working from a common playbook in order to stop multinationals shopping for the most relaxed regulatory environment. Ireland’s systemic underfunding of its data watchdog and its lax interpretation of GDPR have led to the opposite effect, with companies moving here to avoid more interventionist data protection commissioners. What’s more, corporations have engaged in behaviour in Ireland that they’ve already been sanctioned for in other EU states under the knowledge that Ireland’s regulator is unwilling and unable to punish them. After the implementation of GDPR Facebook reversed steps it had taken to curtail data collection by its facial recognition technology and began sharing data between it and WhatsApp, despite previous fines from German courts for these actions. Two years in, and despite multiple serious data breaches, no US tech company has been fined under GDPR. Out of thousands of complaints (4,113 in 2018 and 7,215 in 2019) the DPC has issued only two fines totalling 115,000 euros; both of these were against TUSLA, an Irish government agency.
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These moves have not gone unnoticed abroad, and the EU in particular has ratcheted up its attempts to regulate tech companies. It was aggressive tax planning seen as a form of state aid by the European Commission that led to the original decision that Apple should pay Ireland €13.1 billion euros in back taxes in 2014. The record ruling was one of many fines issued by Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager against big American corporations, including others against Starbucks and Google. The ruling in July of 2020 by the General Court in Luxembourg, however, that the commission did not succeed in ‘showing to the requisite legal standard’ that Ireland had illegally provided state aid to Apple has seriously hampered the Commission’s main mechanism for regulating competition, although the case is likely to be appealed again to the European Court of Justice. There has been a significant change in tone from other directions within the EU however. A report by the European Parliament stated that Ireland and six other member states ‘display traits of a tax haven and facilitate aggressive tax planning’. These states have already acted together before to collapse talks on a European-only digital tax in 2018. If the other fines issued by the Commission are overturned in court, then European leaders are considering using article 116, a mechanism that can be used to stamp out preferential tax deals and, crucially, requires only a qualified majority in the European Council rather than the usual unanimous vote. Paolo Gentiloni, Commissioner for the Economy, stated “I’m committed to exploring the possibilities offered by the Treaties allowing us to move from unanimity to qualified majority voting and the ordinary legislative procedure in taxation.” Paul Tang, head of the Parliament’s taxation subcommittee, went further: “If the commission plays it carefully and puts one country on the spot, it will be very difficult not to get a majority in the council. This is the perfect time to change tack on tax policy — if it won’t happen this year, it will be in the following years.”
“Out of thousands of complaints (4,113 in 2018 and 7,215 in 2019) the DPC has issued only two fines totalling 115,000 euros; both of these were against TUSLA, an Irish government agency.” Happening alongside these moves within the EU are talks aimed at fixing the gaping holes in the world tax system within the OECD, an organisation consisting mostly of Western developed countries. The OECD has proposed two new pillars of global taxation during these talks: pillar one strengthens countries’ rights to tax companies operating on their territory regardless of where their headquarters are, and pillar two would create a global minimum level of corporate tax. These two measures, if implemented, are estimated to raise corporate tax income by about 4 percent, or $100 billion annually. The talks were blown up recently by the Trump administration, amid claims that European countries were attempting to unfairly tax American companies, but they haven’t formally ended, and there is some indication that they may eventually be successful. The incoming president Joe Biden has committed to raising the American corporate tax rate and introducing a minimum tax on all foreign earnings of US companies located overseas, both steps that would accord with the pillars of the OECD talks. Even if multilateral action through the EU and the OECD fails, the increasing hostility of different governments and the general public towards tech companies and their leaders, and the need to find new sources of taxable income, has led to the use of more unilateral actions by different governments The USA has been flexing long dormant antitrust powers to target tech companies, with a lawsuit against Google by the Justice Department ongoing. France has led the way with the ‘GAFA’ (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon) tax, a 3 percent levy on the total annual revenues of the largest tech companies. Similar initiatives have been adopted in the UK, Austria, Canada, Australia and Italy, with Germany and Spain also reportedly considering implementing measures. Even if EU and OECD measures fail, the unilateral taxes being implemented in some of the West’s largest economies will mean that the location of the headquarters of companies will become increasingly irrelevant to the amount of tax that they pay. Ireland would lose its main source of attractiveness as a business destination, and more companies could move their headquarters to places closer to regulators or capital markets, or with better infrastructure, or lower costs of living, or larger workforces and lower labour costs. The decision to refuse to take the Apple tax and to challenge the European Commission’s ruling in court should be seen in this insecure context: the Irish government has very little leverage against tech companies, and any moves to antagonise them could see the loss of hundreds of thousands of well-paying jobs. Ireland may have been able to circumvent tax and privacy regulation up to this point, but what the Irish economy of tomorrow will look like is now largely in the hands of others. .
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The Downfall of Donald Trump - composed by Ella Sloane The departure of Trump from the American presidency may be considered the biggest poltical turn of 2020
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Time to Revist Hate Crime Time to Revist Hate Legislation
Words: Catherine Forristal Artwork: Maeve Walsh
Crime Legislation
On the 14th of August 2020, the video of a Chinese woman, Xuedan Xiong, being pushed by a group of teenage boys into the Royal Canal made headlines after it was shared on social media. After being intimidated by the group, cycling at full speed towards her, they proceeded to shout “coronavirus” and “fried noodles” at her. Ms. Xiong responded by saying, “that’s racial discrimination, stop it,” before they shoved her into the water. Although unharmed, Ms. Xiong was extremely shaken up by the incident, and reported what happened to the Gardaí, who told her it was unlikely that the teenagers would be found. Ms. Xiong’s attackers have not been brought to justice, nor has adequate hate crime legislation been introduced since. Sadly, this story is just one of many that go unreported and undocumented in Ireland, despite outrage and condemnation online. Unfortunately, there is nothing new about racially motivated attacks on minorities in Ireland - take the example of Toyosi Shittabey, a 15 year old boy, who in 2010 was murdered in a knife attack in West Dublin after his murderer shouted racial abuse at him. No one has been convicted of his murder.In March 2014, Adam Labazanov (19), whose family are refugees from Chechnya, Russia, was kidnapped, stabbed 57 times and left for dead after his attackers discovered he was Muslim. According to the Wall Street Journal, 51% of people from African descent experienced some form of racial harassment living in Ireland in the last five years. This is the third highest figure in the world. Why is it that we have such discrimination in this of hate crime turn to? What those who commit hate In Ireland, the only of “hate” is found in the Hatred Act 1989. “Hate” a group of persons in the of their race, colour, nationorigins, membership of the orientation.” However, there in this legislation - the Act people, intersex and transrefugees, or the Roma commuCommission has declared that online hate speech.
a deep-rooted problem with country? Who can the victims legislation is in place to hold crimes accountable? legislative acknowledgement Prohibition of Incitement to being defined as “hatred against State or elsewhere on account ality, religion, ethnic or national Travelling community, or sexual are a number of gaping holes does not protect disabled gender people, asylum seekers, nity. In fact, the Irish Law Reform the Act is ineffective at tackling
The defining feature of a hate crime is what is known as “the bias motive”; in other words, the prejudice against the victim. For example, in other European jurisdictions, the use of racial slurs or the specific targeting of a certain event, such as a Pride parade, can be an indicator of bias. Hate crimes are not generally categorised by one particular offence, rather, they can be any number of acts such as intimidation, property damage, assault, murder, etc. according to the Organisation for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE). The need for specific legislation on hate crime is of the utmost importance if we want to create an actively anti-racist, anti-ableist, LGBT+ positive, and all-round inclusive society. It offers a public denunciation of an offender’s racist, homophobic, ableist, or xenophobic actions, which in turn can shape society’s long-term attitudes towards minority characteristics. In other words, it creates a social climate that “rejects public displays of identity prejudice”(Walters, 2013). The Act also sets an extremely high standard of proof for the prosecution, as prosecutors must prove that the defendant(s) has publicly incited others to violence based on hatred. In this way, the Incitement to Hatred Act is not suited to the combat of the daily materialisation of discrimination.
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As a result, Ireland is listed as one of only two EU countries with no specific provisions for hate crimes according to Barbara Perry of the University of Ontario, who adds that, “without it, Ireland stands virtually alone in its silence with respect to protecting vulnerable communities from the harms of this particular form of violence.” Despite Ireland having international obligations to implement hate crime legislation, including the 2008 EU Council Framework Decision, Ireland has yet to introduce legislation consistent with EU law. Under Article 4, this requires Member States to “take the necessary measures to ensure that racist and xenophobic motivation is considered an aggravating circumstance or alternatively that such motivation may be taken into consideration by the courts in the determination of the penalties”. Instead, Ireland has allowed individual judges to decide on what constitutes a “hate crime” on a case-by-case basis. This does not protect disabled people, or members of the LGBT+ community. However, in terms of case law, there is really no clear conclusion thus far in the Irish courts. When examining cases, it becomes clear that the courts are simply incapable of fulfilling the role that the legislation should be performing. Where a racist motivation has been established, the court will treat that as an aggravating factor when evaluating a sentence. However, there is no clearly defined rule about the extent to which the motivation impacts sentencing, nor is there an established level of proof. These questions are also present when considering anti-disability, anti-LGBT+ and xenophobic crimes. One of the biggest issues is the underreporting of hate crimes, due to a lack of trust in the Gardaí. This is extremely notable amongst members of the Travelling Community, who often experience more difficulties in terms of access to justice. Third party reporting bodies in Ireland have noted a number of reasons for underreporting, the most common of which include the belief that the police could or would not do anything, that the police would not take the report seriously, and that the incident was not serious enough to report. Research undertaken by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties showed that many Gardaí had not received adequate training to collect and collate evidence of hate crimes, despite promises to have all members of the Gardaí trained before the publishing of the report. This report also sheds light on the investigative techniques employed by the Gardaí when a potential hate crime is reported - due to the absence of legislation on hate crime, the Gardaí will generally not prioritise the hate element in the early stages of an investigation, as this will not usually secure a conviction. In short, training for the Gardaí to employ proper and suitable investigative techniques regarding a potential hate crime has been severely neglected and underfunded. Arguably, the Gardaí uphold what is dictated by the legislation - therefore, if legislation on hate crime was to be introduced successfully, Garda training must be up to standard. Social media dramatically shapes public perception of hate crime, often invoking a unitary response of condemnation. In this way, in the case of Ms. Xiong, social media has the power to highlight the abuse that minorities suffer, often reflecting broader, deeper societal problems, and offering a platform for minorities to discuss their experiences. However, there is still a lack of consistent public denouncement once these news stories lose their novelty. In many ways, due to the fast-paced nature of our news cycles, it is easy to forget what has actually happened weeks or months ago. There seems to be a cognitive dissonance between the shock on social media and apathy in practice, which has been characterised on numerous occasions as virtue signalling, notably during the Black Lives Matter protests this year following the murder of George Floyd. Virtue signalling can be defined as “the sharing of one’s point of view on a social or political issue, often on social media, in order to garner praise or acknowledgement of one’s righteousness from others who share that point of view, or to passively rebuke those who do not.” In 2019, at the Obama Foundation Summit, Barack Obama drew attention to the issue of virtue signalling on social media, before going on to say, “If all you’re doing is casting stones, you’re probably not going to get that far.” The lack of public condemnation of Ireland’s lack of hate crime legislation is not by any means an excuse for its absence. However, a cohesive, meaningful, and widely publicised movement led by those who are affected would certainly move the process forward. In today’s world, it is far too easy to become complacent, even when we think we are taking meaningful action by sharing a post on our Instagram stories. We must begin to look at our actions rather than our sentiments if we want to create an actively anti-racist, anti-ableist, and anti-homophobic society So, what can actually be done? “An ally should always take it upon themself to stay educated on the issues they care about,” says artist and activist Uzo Ngwu. In order to understand how to actively combat hate crimes, we must begin to understand their pervasive nature, and how exactly they can be prevented. However, this does not change the fact that hate crime legislation is vital in a just and equitable society, and is something that we must all rally behind.
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