Action for Children Scotland welcomes the opportunity to submit evidence to the Justice Committee for its Stage 1 consideration of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Bill. We believe it is important that young people‟s voices are heard in the current debate around the Scottish Government‟s proposals to tackle sectarianism and attach, as part of Action for Children Scotland‟s evidence, a copy of the recent survey we carried out seeking young people‟s views on sectarianism.

The Conforti Institute is working on a project to give the Catholic community the chance to give witness and voice to their own experiences and perceptions of sectarianism in Scotland today. We do this through holding listening exercises in focus groups within parishes and with Catholic groups. The Catholic Church is organised into 8 dioceses in Scotland. So far, our project is working in 6 of these: the Archdiocese of St. Andrews and Edinburgh; Dunkeld Diocese which includes Dundee and surrounding area; Galloway Diocese which includes Ayrshire and Dumfriesshire; Paisley Diocese; Motherwell Diocese and the Archdiocese of Glasgow. 

Women and Sectarianism in Scotland: Policing Ethno-Christian Relational Boundaries

Sara Diane Lindores, Independent Scholar

This briefing paper examines sectarianism and the gendered, social construction of ethno-Christian groups in Scotland. In this paper I explore the silence and invisibility of different women’s experiences of sectarianism and argue that the hegemonic masculinity of sectarianism tends to frame this social issue within public, male-dominated spheres such as football. As a result, I found that these masculine narratives seem to have impacted the female participants’ ability to articulate and accept the positionality of women in relation to sectarianism. The findings also point towards the gendered role of women as loyal protectors of identity in policing, maintaining and reproducing the sectarianized boundaries of ethno-Christian groups.

For the last few months staffs, volunteers and learners at GWL and beyond have been speaking about sectarianism – what it is, how it affects women, their lives, and their communities, and what can women do about it.  

SCDC is now inviting expressions of interest for the 2nd phase of our Supporting Communities to tackle Sectarianism (SCoTTS) Programme. We welcome expressions of interest from community-led projects that recognise sectarianism as an issue in their community and want to explore approaches to tackling it effectively. The programme will run from October 2012 until March 2013 and will include activities and learning around Action Research within the community; community engagement and project planning and evaluation.  

Research by a leading children's charity has revealed that over a third of young people (36%) have been treated badly or unfairly because of sectarianism or some other form of hatred, with nearly half (44%) of young people believing that sectarian views are a direct result of upbringing, rather than religious beliefs (25%).  

The Edinburgh and Lothians Regional Equality Council’s (ELREC) Young People Against Hate project (YPAH) engaged young people on the topic of sectarianism in order to understand their perception of the issues in Scotland and to develop their understanding of the topic through a piece of action research within their local community. The pilot project was funded by the Scottish Community Development Centre.  

Sectarianism can be defined as inter-denominational prejudice. Tackling sectarianism is a key element of the diversity and equality agenda in 21st century Scotland. Scottish Government has made clear its commitment to challenging those with sectarian attitudes and addressing the reasons these prejudices arise. Renewing Scotland: the Government’s programme for Scotland 2011-2012 outlined a vision of “a society built on dignity, respect and understanding which embraces and celebrates diversity”.

The latest figures from Beatbullying, the UK’s leading bullying prevention charity, show that one in four young people of all faiths have been bullied, often violently, because they have a religious position or their peers think they represent or practice a particular religion. 

A Report for the Church of Scotland General Assembly May 2012 - Sectarianism

Engender’s initial research findings into women’s experiences of sectarianism.

This report presents the findings of the Conforti Institute's anti-sectarian project, part of a wider programme to tackle sectarianism promoted and funded by the Scottish Government.

This glossary of terms has been created for use as a learning tool for practitioners involved in anti-sectarian work. As a resource, the glossary will be able to assist practitioners with understanding the sectarian language that they are most likely to encounter during service delivery.

The Bridges and Barriers Staff Pack was designed to equip anti-sectarianism practitioners with a sufficient background of knowledge on issues related to sectarianism. We have found that developing this background of knowledge can help to create a greater understanding of the complex issues related to intra-Christian sectarianism in Scotland and is therefore an extremely useful resource for anti-sectarian workers. The Staff Pack is further complimented by the Bridges and Barriers Resource Pack and the Bridges and Barriers Glossary of Terms.

This report summarises the findings of a literature review and mixed method empirical study undertaken between May - August 2014. Over 170 people living in the west of Scotland contributed their experience and thoughts on intra-Christian sectarianism in contemporary Scotland.This research was produced by, West Of Scotland Regional Equality Council who received funding from the Voluntary Action Fund on behalf of the Scottish Government.

The focus of the study is generational change, therefore contribution from a range of ages as well as religious experience was included. The core questions informing discussion focus on definitions of sectarianism, how and where it is manifest, how it affects individual life choices and how the experience has changed over time.

For the last two years, Engender has been involved in an ambitious project to speak to women across Scotland about intra-Christian sectarianism, and its effect on their lives. This report summarises what women have told us about their experiences, and discusses ways that taking a gendered approach may change the way that anti-sectarianism initiatives are delivered in Scotland.

Making sure your work works:

Including women, girls and gender in anti-sectarianism work.

This toolkit has been designed to help organisations think about ways they can include women and girls in their work, and to take account of gender in work with men and boys.

A list of resources and publications used by and available at the Glasgow Women's Library.