Slum development is a structural and persistent phenomenon in our country, and although quantitatively it is a residual phenomenon, its existence has a serious impact on the fundamental rights of people living in shantytowns and on the values and principles we uphold as a society.
It is estimated that in Spain 23,419 people live in substandard housing and shanty towns..
77% of them are Roma and half are under 16 years old.
The ethnic data on people living in shantytowns and substandard housing reveal an undeniable structural racism.
"When I was a student, if the Roma community is already quite rejected, when they saw you living in the neighborhood, it was even more so. For example, the school bus refused to enter the neighborhood. The rest of the parents complained several times about us bringing the bus or approaching the settlement because they thought it was dangerous. So what they did was not enter."
"I haven't been able to monitor my pregnancies because I didn't have a medical card, not from here, not from anywhere else. If you don't have a registered doctor's office, you don't have the right to be assigned a pediatrician."
"The worst day was a rainy day, when all the wires caught fire. We had a terrible time getting the kids out. There was a moment when we said we'd go outside, to take the kids out without knowing, with the kids outside, in the rain, and we had a terrible time. It's like a lasting scar."
About our work in housing
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In Europe
We support the adoption of a resolution urging the European Commission to launch a European Action Plan for the eradication of Roma setlements by 2030.
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Political Advocacy
Latest news
Fundación Secretariado Gitano publishes a Study of the characteristics and circumstances of people living in slum and substandard housing settlements in Spain [editar]
12 de Junio de 2023
The study shows that 92% of people living in these settlements belong to ethnic or racial minorities, most of them Roma, an indicator of structural racism.
“Zero Slums in 2030”: an audiovisual production with which the Fundación Secretariado Gitano calls for the eradication of settlements in Spain [editar]
30 de Diciembre de 2022
It presents three true stories: Sara, Santiago and Ana explain how the slum experience is lived in a first person perspective.
The Fundación Secretariado Gitano condemns the continued existence of settlements in Spain with its new campaign Chabolista.es [editar]
20 de Octubre de 2022
The campaign was launched on 20 October
Documentary and audiovisual resources
- Study of the characteristics and circumstances of people living in slum and substandard housing settlements in Spain
- Instrumentos políticos y financieros para la erradicación del chabolismo en España
- Estudio-Mapa sobre Vivienda y Población Gitana, 2015
- Mapa sobre vivienda y comunidad gitana en España, 2008