Young People and Interfaces Report - Institute for Conflict Research

YOUNG PEOPLE AND INTERFACES
2. Young People, Public Space
and the Interface
2.1 Young People and Public Space
Children and young people experience greater difficulties in laying claim to public space compared
to adults (Leonard 2006a: 227; Childress 2004). This is in part related to the broader power
structures in society, 8 and in a context in which groups of young people or ‘hoodies’ using public
space are to be feared and demonised (Meek 2008: 1225; Kraack and Kenway 2002; Valentine
1996). 9
In the Northern Irish context due to perceived ‘threats’ from the ‘Other’ community, while it may
make sense for teenagers from Catholic and Protestant communities to move around in relatively
homogenous groups in terms of providing a sense of safety, this simultaneously feeds into and
(re)produces negative evaluations of the ‘Other’ (Leonard 2008: 484-485).
Despite the negative connotations which have tended to have been rather pejoratively applied to
young people’s use of public space, belonging to the ‘neighbourhood’ is an important part of the
development of a sense of individual and communal identity. Close ties within a locality can give
young people little reason to venture out of their area, and friends and family are an important
aspect of local culture (Laughlin and Johnson 2011: 450).
As such, belonging to the ‘neighbourhood’ or a variant of what Webster (2003) termed
‘neighbourhood nationalism’ can provide a sense of belonging which in and of itself is not
necessarily a negative development - where difficulties arise in the Northern Ireland context is
where locality, ethnicity and territory intersect to powerful effect (Healy 2006: 107).
2.2 Young People and Interfaces
As far back as 1998 BIP noted that children and young people in interface areas are particularly
vulnerable to sectarian violence, intimidation and harassment, and can be exposed to such
dangers on their way to school, going to the shops, or playing near the interface. Children’s lives
can therefore be severely restricted by their difficulty in travelling out of their area or bringing
friends into their own area (BIP 1998: 7).
A survey conducted by Byrne et al. (2005) revealed that the fears of some young people in terms
of going into areas dominated by members of the ‘Other’ community were not necessarily
unfounded. 10 More than one quarter (26%) of young people had felt intimidated travelling to and
from their schools in North Belfast, while 51% had experienced an incident of violence and/or
threatening behaviour while travelling to and from school. 11
8 See, Arefi and Triantafillou (2005); and Laughlin and Johnson (2011).
9 In Rosie Meek’s study in England, young men reported hanging out on the streets or public places more than did young girls (Meek 2008: 127).
10 The survey was of 2,486 young people aged between 14-17 in North Belfast.
11 In 2004, 6% of young people surveyed as part of the Young Life and Times study felt they had been injured as a result of a sectarian incident (8% of
males and 4% females) (ARK 2004).
10