Justice, Truth and Oral History: Legislating the Past 'From Below' in Northern Ireland

Drawing on the ‘from below’ perspective which has emerged in transitional justice scholarship and practice
over the past two decades, this article critically examines the dealing with the past debate in Northern
Ireland. The paper begins by offering an outline of the from below perspective in the context of post-conflict
or post-authoritarian societies which are struggling to come to terms with past violence and human rights
abuses. Having provided some of the legal and political background to the most recent efforts to deal with
the past in Northern Ireland, it then critically examines the relevant past-related provisions of the Stormont
House Agreement, namely the institutions which are designed to facilitate ‘justice’, truth recovery and the
establishment of an Oral History Archive. Drawing from the political science and social movement
literature on lobbying and the ways in which interests groups may seek to influence policy, the paper then
explores the efforts of the authors and others to contribute to the broader public debate, including through
drafting and circulating a ‘Model Bill’ on dealing with the past (reproduced elsewhere in this issue) as a
counterweight to the legislation which is required from the British government to implement the Stormont
House Agreement. The authors argue that the combination of technical capacity, grass-roots
credibility and ‘international-savvy’ local solutions offers a framework for praxis from below in other
contexts where activists are struggling to extend ownership of transitional justice beyond political elites.
Keywords: transitional justice; from below; dealing with the past; legislation; truth
recovery; prosecutions; oral history

Distribution of Childhood Health Indices: Associations with Moves along the "Property Ladder"

Background
Childhood deprivation is a major risk to public health. Poor health in the early years accumulates and is expressed in adult health inequalities. The importance of social mobility - moves into and out of poverty or, indeed, change in relative affluence - for child wellbeing is less well understood. Home ownership and house value may serve as a useful measure of relative affluence and deprivation.
Method
Analysis of the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study dataset focused on cohort members aged 18 and under at the 2001 census and their families. Using housing tenure and house value reported in 2001 and 2011, moves along the “housing ladder” over ten years were identified. Outcome measures were physical disability and mental health status as reported in 2011. Logistic regression models tested if health outcomes varied by upward and downward changes in house value.
Results
After controlling for variations in age, sex, general health and social class, mental health is worse among those who moved to a lower value house. Compared to ‘no change’, those moving from the upper quintile of house value into social renting accommodation were almost six times more likely to report poor mental health (OR 5.90 95% CI 4.52, 7.70). Conversely, those experiencing the greatest upward movement were half as likely to report poor mental health (OR 0.46 95% CI 0.31, 0.68). There were smaller associations between physical health and downward (OR 2.66 95% CI 2.16, 3.27), and upward (OR 0.75 95% CI 0.61, 0.92) moves.
Conclusion
Poor mental health is more strongly associated with declines in living standards than with improvements. The gradient appears at multiple points along this proxy affluence-deprivation spectrum, not only at the extremes. Further research should explore whether circumstances surrounding moves, or change in social position explains the differential association between the health correlates of upward versus downward mobility.