Forced from home: sectarian threats and families in east Belfast

In August 2021 The Irish News reported that a Catholic family had left their home in the Cregagh area of east Belfast after a threat attributed to loyalists. The family described being traumatised. We are not naming them; they are private people who did not choose to be in the news.

The response

The local Alliance Party representatives, including party leader Naomi Long, said they were disgusted by reports of a paramilitary threat in the area and called for anyone with information to contact the police. Politicians from other parties condemned the threat. The PSNI investigated.

Statements like these follow most such incidents. What changes less is the outcome: when a credible threat is made, families usually leave, because staying is not a risk they can take with children.

How common is this?

Intimidation out of homes peaked during the Troubles and has fallen a long way. But it has not stopped. Figures from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive have shown hundreds of households each year presenting as homeless because of intimidation, most of it attributed to paramilitary groups, and in 2017 several Catholic families left homes in another east Belfast estate after threats. Reporting in 2021 described the problem as persistent but less frequent than in earlier decades.

Threats are not only sectarian. Paramilitary groups on both sides also use exclusion orders against people they accuse of drug dealing or anti-social behaviour, a practice police and politicians describe as coercive control by unaccountable groups.

Why the housing system matters

Families forced out may qualify for intimidation points in the social housing system, which can speed up rehousing. That safety net is important, but researchers have argued it can also be exploited by the groups doing the threatening. Our explainer on paramilitaries and social housing sets out how.

Where to get help

Anyone under threat in Northern Ireland should contact the PSNI on 101, or 999 in an emergency. The Housing Executive's homelessness services and housing advice charities can explain rehousing options.