Awfully lawful

Grant: £50,000
June 25, 2015

The project is based on the premise that many in the community are children or grandchildren of a generation distrustful of the law and all its processes, which they saw as existing to protect “the other”. Northern Ireland’s new difficulty is that many in the Protestant/ Loyalist/ Unionist community believe that the law is not protecting their needs and interests.

The project aims to help young people to understand these processes, and to invest confidence in alternative methods of resolving disputes.

Participants will have a changed understanding of how the law impacts on their lives, which will have them:

• Know that the law exists to protect as well as to punish;
• Shift confidence from illegal to legal routes of redress;
• Develop their awareness of the impact of illegal behaviour on its victims;
• Understand the legacy of illegal activity, often linked to terrorism – and the state response;
• Demonstrate an impact on students which will allow models to transfer to other Integrated Colleges or Council Areas across Northern Ireland.