Sickening attack on youth in Navan exposes rise in hate-filled crime

Last week, I saw blurred out images of a 14-year-old (a child in my opinion) being beaten, dehumanised, objectified, mistreated, and othered by a vicious mob in a public area, in broad daylight in Navan, County Meath, in what appeared to be a sickening, sustained and unprovoked attack. This assault has not only shocked me, it has (quite rightly) shocked our entire country. And because some voyeuristic individual chose to video the entire attack and then share it online, as opposed to stepping in and stopping it, the horrific scene has made world headlines.

Five teenagers who were arrested by Gardaí as part of an investigation into this alleged ‘hate crime’ – which, according to reports left the victim with broken teeth, concussion, and extensive bruising – were released without charge.

Last October, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee published the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022. This piece of legislation criminalises any intentional or reckless communication or behaviour which is likely to incite violence or hatred against another person, the penalty being up to five years’ in prison. However, as those who were videoed perpetrat- ing these heinous acts on this child are, due to their age, also classified as children, they’ll be provided with protections under the Children’s Act 2001, which regulates the treatment of minors found in breach of the law.

In short, if charged and found guilty, it’s likely that, in a move which prevents them entering the justice system, they’ll be assigned to a Juvenile Liaison Officer (JLO) who’ll ‘liaise’ with their families. This means, while the poor kid who was humiliated and battered bears the brunt of his attackers’ sickening behaviour, possibly carrying the emotional and physical scars for life, by contrast, the people responsible waltz away without any fear of retribution or punishment.

I don’t know about you readers, but as we live in a country which prides itself on being progressive and inclusive, in a country which was the first in the world to legalise same-sex marriage (by popular vote I might add), I find it very unsettling that such incidents are taking place. In fact, not only are these crimes happening, they’ve significantly increased, with figures from Gardaí showing a total of 582 hate-related incidents were reported in 2022 compared to 448 in 2021.

These statistics tell me that bias- related violence against those who are viewed as being ‘different’ or who live their lives outside of the so-called ‘norm’ are worryingly widespread. As this is a family publication, I cannot share what I think of the people who carried out this assault, nor can I share what legal actions I’d like to see taken to make sure they never again raise their fists or their feet to another human being.

What I will do is applaud Taoiseach Leo Varadkar for saying the parents of those who assaulted this