17/09/2024
FSG
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has adopted this recommendation with the aim of providing guidance to those who contribute to ensure the equality of Roma and Traveller women and girls and to protect them against discrimination, hatred and violence, with a particular focus on areas where they are most exposed to intersectional discrimination.
The recommendation highlights, among other issues, that Roma and Traveller women and girls are among the most vulnerable members of society, mentions the structural obstacles that prevent the full enjoyment of their human rights and how they suffer from serious inequalities in all areas. It also highlights antigypsyism (individual, institutional and societal) as one of the most important causes of these inequalities, to which Roma and Traveller women add other multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination, in particular on gender grounds, which aggravate inequalities and generate particular vulnerabilities.
For all these reasons, the text recommends that the governments of the Member States take the necessary measures to encourage the participation of Roma and Traveller women, and promote their adoption, translation, monitoring and dissemination among relevant actors (civil society, media, political parties, etc.).
The recommendation develops proposals for action to curb inequalities in various areas, such as civil registry, identity documents and statelessness; extreme poverty and access to social protection; the adoption and placement of Roma and Traveller children in alternative care; housing and accommodation; early childhood and school education; health care and sexual and reproductive rights; employment and economic situation; protection against violence; capacity building and empowerment of Roma and Traveller women and girls; participation in public and political life.
In addition, actions for data collection, research and monitoring are also proposed, and the development of legislative frameworks, strategies and action plans. This last point proposes, among other things, that the developed plans should be concrete and measurable; or that equality bodies should be enabled and encouraged to contribute to guaranteeing equality for Roma and Traveller women and girls.
Fundación Secretariado Gitano (FSG) welcomes this recommendation with interest and hopes that it will be effective in the fight against the multiple discrimination suffered by Roma women and girls, for being women and girls in a patriarchal society and for belonging to a minority that receives the worst social valuation. Roma women are not a homogenous group and cannot and should not be reduced to the condition of ‘Roma’, associated with the role of mothers, wives and carers. It is necessary to incorporate a comprehensive approach to the situation of Roma women in all those policies on housing, employment, education, health and care, social protection, etc. that have a direct impact on the exercise of equal, fair and real citizenship opportunities for Roma women and girls. At FSG, we prioritise education and housing as fundamental areas for progress towards equality. According to our recent study on the educational situation of Roma students in Spain, young Roma women drop out of school more often (18.2% compared to 16.2% of Roma young people). According to the data from our study on slum and substandard housing settlements in Spain, half of the people living in slums are minors, which means that many Roma girls are affected by this situation.
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