24 October 2013 - Legacies of Conflict: the evidence
Channel: Northern Ireland Assembly
Date: 2013-11-08

Professor Mike Tomlinson (QUB)

For all the discussion around the needs of victims and survivors, there are few established facts on the impact of the years of violent conflict on the population of Northern Ireland. Population-wide surveys of people's experience of the conflict are rare. Drawing on the Poverty and Social Exclusion (PSE) survey (2012), this presentation will discuss the findings from a special 'Troubles' module which covered a range of experiences including: the death of close friends and relatives; injury to self and others; and, the witnessing of bombings, shootings and assaults. The survey also asked questions about when the worst 'Troubles' experience occurred and how people responded to events, for example by joining a support group or seeking help from a GP. The presentation will discuss the prevalence of conflict experience as well as its association with other major concerns of the PSE survey, such as deprivation, physical and mental health, and employment status.