When the Department of Health published its much-anticipated guidance on “Responding to Racism and Promoting Inclusion” for social care employers in Northern Ireland, it was sold as a milestone. The 25-page document promises tools to recognise, prevent, and respond to racism in all its forms and sets out template policies, risk assessments, and support pathways for affected staff.
But there is something quietly troubling about this moment.
By the time official guidance arrives, racism has already been lived, internalised, and negotiated daily by racialised workers whose identities, confidence, and sense of belonging have long been shaped by stereotypes and exclusionary attitudes – inside workplaces and outside them.
‘There is no place for racism in our society’
One of the strongest civil-society reactions to the spate of racist attacks that affected social workers came months before the guidance landed. The Impact Northern Ireland Network, which focuses on anti-racist practice in adult social care, issued a statement condemning violent, racially motivated incidents and the broader hostility that preceded them:
Ethnic minority and migrant workers need support and protection. The anti-migrant rhetoric and the misuse of gender-based violence as an excuse for this spate of attacks needs to be confronted directly and unequivocally.
This declaration does not simply denounce isolated incidents. It names a social climate where racialised workers have already been harmed psychologically and socially – long before a HR form is filed.
‘Deeply shocked and saddened’ isn’t enough
Months earlier in 2025, Skills for Care and the Race Equity Reference Group released a joint statement in response to racist abuse directed at care workers:
No one chooses the colour of their skin. Every individual working in social care deserves to feel safe, respected and valued…The rise in abuse and discrimination directed towards health and care staff is deeply concerning.
The organisation called for a :
zero-tolerance approach to racism, abuse and discrimination against care staff.
This isn’t mere corporate language. It positions racism as a systemic problem, not just a series of behaviour lapses. The statement is powerful and necessary but it reflects a defensive posture – one to respond to harm and not prevent it.
‘We stand against racism in all its forms’
Similarly, the Northern Ireland Social Care Council, the regulator for social workers has repeatedly affirmed its stance against racism, stating that it:
stands against racism in all forms
and that:
diversity in social care is our strength.
Notice the language: the first half is condemnation, the second half is affirmation. And yet neither grapples with the condition that allowed harm to take root before policy did.
The guidance itself, developed with input from community representatives and workplace forums explicitly recognise that verbal abuse has come from the public, service users and colleagues alike. The problem it seeks to solve are already widely documented. But what about the everyday racialised narratives that lay groundwork for those incidents long before they are ever reported?
Policy as remedy after injury
The Department of Health’s guidance offers templates and steps for employers to respond to reports of racism – zero tolerance policies, investigation procedures, counselling pathways and sample de-escalation scripts for staff. These tools are welcome as responses but they are not inherently preventive.
This matters because many racialised workers already fear public hostility and the institutional costs of speaking up. Reporting requires emotional labour, trust in managerial accountability, and confidence that structures designed by a dominant demographic will protect you. All of this assumes you start from a place of safety. This luxury is not afforded to many who have navigated years of micro aggressions, stereotyping and exclusion.
Condemnation without transformation
Political leaders too have weighed in. The Northern Ireland Executive issued a blanket condemnation of racist and sectarian attacks insisting that:
all acts of violence and intimidation are abhorrent and have no place in our society.
They also affirmed a:
zero-tolerance approach for all forms of hate and intimidation.
This is essential political language. But condemnation alone does not shift the attitudinal norms that shape everyday interactions in workplaces and communities. It does not change who feels entitled to speak over racialised voices, nor does it disrupt the assumptions embedded in organisational culture.
A system built on reactive fixes
The guidance is clear that it expects everyone from senior leadership to frontline staff to participate in building anti-racist workshops. But the burden of cultural change is placed firmly on those affected by racism rather than on the structural power holders. Those who design policy, allocate resources, and shape public narratives around belonging and worth should be held to account more.
If we agree that racism is not just an event but a continuation of attitudes, meanings and social hierarchies, then anti-racism must start long before incidents become “reportable”. It must be woven into leadership development, performance evaluation, recruitment and retention and public discourse. Care workers do not need post-hoc scripts. They need environments where their presence is not merely tolerated but understood and valued in ways that pre-empt harm.
The Department of Health’s guidance is an important step but it arrives after the injury. It assumes that reporting and responding is the primary problem. The lived reality of many workers is that harm begins long before a form is filled, long before a manager hears a complaint and long before any official intervention.
Anti-racism that only activates after injury is not transformation. It is damage control.
Featured image via the Canary
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