Fundación Secretariado Gitano

The Covid-19 Crisis and Anti-Roma Hate Speech [editar]

In the context of the social and healthcare crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the declaration of a State of Alarm in Spain, the Fundación Secretariado Gitano (FSG) notes and deplores a large number of cases of stigmatisation perpetrated by the communications media and on occasion by political figures. These cases involve rumours and fake news stories which blame minority groups for the pandemic and its spread, or for violating the rules of quarantine, in alarmist language which links such minorities with “infection” and “danger”. These messages have generated various kinds of hate speech against such groups. The Roma community has been one of the groups most badly affected, to the point where the FSG decided to bring some of these cases to public prosecution.