Respondents were asked to think specifically about Northern Ireland, and to say what single word or phrase comes to mind when they hear the term equality.  We then assigned those responses into appropriate categories.

 

• 35% of respondents chose “Equality for all and treat everyone the same” 
• 13% chose “being fair, level playing field, impartiality” 
• 9% selected ‘Religious equality’

Respondents were asked to agree or disagree with the statement ‘The term “equality” is meaningless to me in everyday life; it is not something I think about’
 

• 39% of respondents agreed with this statement, 31% disagreed.  

This is a shift from our 2021 survey results to this question, where 29% agreed with this statement and 45% disagreed.

Respondents were asked to state if they agreed or disagreed with four statements that could describe equality:

 

• 79% agreed with ‘equality and anti-discrimination laws in Northern Ireland are necessary’ 
• 76% agreed that “public and shared spaces in Northern Ireland (e.g. leisure centres, parks, libraries and shopping centres) are open to all persons regardless of their personal characteristics”, 5% disagreed 
• 62% agreed with the statement: ‘in general, workplaces in Northern Ireland are welcoming and inclusive’
• 59% agreed with the statement ‘workers are generally treated with dignity and respect’, 13% disagreed

11% of respondents said they had experience of bullying and stereotyping in an education setting Higher levels of bullying or stereotyping were reported by people who are:
 

• LGBTQI+ (40%)
• non-white British or Irish (24%)
• living with a disability (21%)

The most common grounds on which respondents believe they were subjected to bullying or stereotyping included: 
 

• community background/ religion (33%)
• political opinion (16%)
• gender (10%)

Among those who said they had experienced bullying or stereotyping in an education setting:

 

• 63% said they had experienced bullying or stereotyping in a post primary school, 
• 34% in a primary school and 
• 16% on the way to or from an education setting.

11% of respondents reported family members had experienced bulying or stereotyping in education. The most common grounds on which respondents believed that family members were subjected to bullying or stereotyping in education included:
 

• community background/ religion (21%)
• disability (17%)
• sexual orientation (10%)
• gender (10%) 

Of those family members who had experienced bullying:
 

• 59% said it happened in a post primary school
• 37% said it happened in a primary school
• 10% on a way to and from an education setting. 

In the findings of the question: ‘In general, everyone in Northern Ireland has access to the educational support they need to achieve their full potential’ 53% agreed with the statement, (18% neither agreed nor disagreed: 11% disagreed: 18% were undecided)

3% of respondents said that they personally needed additional education support.  76% of those needing support had accessed it. Among those needing additional support:

 

• 70% said they needed this in primary school
• 61% at post-primary school
• 15% at College

7% of respondents said that a close family member had needed additional educational support. 71% of those needing the support had accessed it. Among those needing support:
 

• 73% said they needed in primary school
• 53% in post-primary school
• 7% at college/university

Respondents were asked about experiences of unwanted behaviour with the question: ‘during the past 12 months, have you personally experienced a situation where you were not treated with dignity and respect based on your personal characteristics?’

 

• Yes, in my workplace (4%)
• Yes, in the area where I live (2%) 
• Yes, when receiving health and social care services (2%)

As this was a multiple-choice question, the percentage of those who declared not being treated with dignity and respect in one or more of the options provided was 7%.

12% responded yes to When asked via a multiple choice question ‘during the past 12 months, have you witnessed a situation where others were not treated with dignity and respect based on their personal characteristics?’ respondents said:

 

• Yes, in their workplace (6%)
• Yes, in the area they live (5%)
• Yes, when receiving health and social care services (2%)

Of the 12% of respondents who had experienced and or witnessed a situation where they / others were not treated with dignity and respect were further asked ‘where in the area you live did this happen?’  The top responses for both were:

 

• “in the street” (respondent experience 48%; witnessing other’s experience 55%) 
• “at a shop” (respondent experience 33%; witnessing other’s experience 28%) 
• “in a park” (respondent experience 19%; witnessing other’s experience 22%)

Access to broadband and online services
When asked ‘Do you, and your household, have reliable access to broadband (a wired connection to your house)?’, almost all respondents stated ‘yes’ to this question 89%.  However,  only 65% of those aged 65+ and 62% of people living with a disability had access to reliable broadband.

A follow-on question asked ‘Do you, and your household’ have reliable access to the appropriate technology (laptop or tablet) to access services for you and your family? 90% of respondents stated ‘yes’, however, those less likely to say ‘yes’ to this question were respondents with no dependent children (86%), those with a disability (71%), those aged 65+ (68%) and widowed (51%) respondents.

Respondents were also asked to say if they feel confident in accessing a range of services online.  Most respondents were confident:

 

• accessing online shopping (79%)
• banking services (75%)
• paying bills online (71%)

However, those aged 65+, those with a disability; those with no dependent children and those widowed were generally less confident in accessing online services.

 

Access to health and social care services
When asked questions around health and social care:

 

• 45% of respondents found it difficult to access a GP or nurse at their doctors practice during normal working hours. 
• 26 % found it difficult to access a GP or nurse at their doctors outside normal working hours
• 31% of respondents found it difficult to access A&E services during normal working hours.
• 21% of respondents found it difficult to access A&E services outside normal working hours.

Accessing a doctors surgery or A&E services was more difficult for those with disability or caring responsibilities than for those without.

Access to public transport
63% of all respondents agreed with the statement: ‘In general, I have access to public transport’, (22% neither agreed nor disagreed: 11% disagreed: 5% were undecided). Those more likely to disagree with this statement were those with a disability (15%) compared to those with no disability (10%).

Just under a third (31%) of all respondents agreed with the statement: ‘I am reliant on public transport’, (14% neither agreed nor disagreed; 53% disagreed; 1% were undecided).  Those more likely to agree with the statement are:

 

• women (35%) compared to men (27%)
• those aged 16-29 (48%) compared with the other age groups (30-49, 20%: 50-64, 21%: 65+, 45%)
• those with a disability (49%) compared to those with no disability (29%)
• those with no dependent children (38%) compared to those with dependent children (19%)

60% of respondents  are satisfied with the frequency of public transport to access retail services. Similar findings were obtained for financial services (56%); education settings (54%); community facilities (54%); and health and care services (52%).

To measure public perception of safety respondents were asked: ‘How safe or unsafe do you feel when outside in your local area?’
 

• 90% of all respondents stated that they feel safe in their local area during the day (1% feel unsafe: 8% neither safe nor unsafe).

Those less likely to feel safe in their local area during the day included:

 

• those with a disability (81%) compared to those with no disability (92%)
• LGBTQI+ respondents (84%) compared to straight respondents (92%)
• those who are Widowed (81%) compared to other marital status (married/cohab. 93%; single, 88%; separated / divorced, 93% respondents)
• those describing their ethnicity as non-white British or Irish (76%)

71% stated that they feel safe in their local area after dark (7% feel unsafe; 20% neither safe nor unsafe; 3% undecided). Those less likely to feel safe in their local area after dark included:

 

• women (66%) compared with men (76%)
• those aged 65+ (50%) compared to the other age groups (16-29, 80%; 30-49, 76%; 50-64, 73%)
• those with a disability (47%) compared to those with no disability (74%)
• those describing their religion as other / none (63%)
• those who are widowed (40%)

To assess the levels of understanding of respondents about the process of applying for public appointments and the level of intent to apply, three statements were included:

‘I am confident, I have the knowledge and understanding of how to apply for public appointments and other school and community boards’

 

• 19% agreed with this statement
• 22% neither agreed nor disagreed
• 48% disagreed
• 10% were undecided
• 1% already do this

‘I would consider applying to sit on a public board (such as a school’s board of governors or a board for a publicly funded body)’

 

• 21% of all respondents agreed with the statement.

‘I would consider participating in voluntary or community work’

 

• Only 13% of all respondents agreed with the statement
• 17% neither agreed nor disagreed
• 58% disagreed
• 10% were undecided
• 2% already do this