The barriers which Roma, Gypsy and Traveller people face in modern Britain have been laid bare in unprecedented survey data, which reveals extremely high levels of racial assault, poor health, precarious employment and socioeconomic deprivation.
The figures were recorded as part of the Evidence for Equality National Survey (Evens) of ethnic and religious minorities, which included the largest number of Roma, Gypsy and Traveller participants in any national survey to date.
The research found that 62% of Gypsy or Traveller people had experienced a racial assault. The percentage exceeded that for any other ethnic minority group. One in three experienced a physical racist attack.
Of Roma people, 47% had experienced a racist assault, while 35% had been physically attacked.
The survey also revealed shocking health disparities between Roma, Gypsy and Traveller people and the rest of the population. Gypsy or Traveller men were 12.4 times as likely to suffer from two or more physical health conditions than white British men, while Roma men were five times as likely – both were higher figures than for any other ethnicity.
Access to health and social care services was found to be a larger issue for Roma people than any other ethnic group, who were 2.5 times more at risk of not having access than the white British population.
The survey also found that people from Roma, Gypsy and Traveller ethnic groups experienced the highest levels of socioeconomic deprivation. About 51% of Gypsy Travellers and 55% of Roma had no educational qualifications. They were also less likely to be in the highest occupational positions, and also had high rates of financial difficulties and benefit receipts.
Roma, Gypsy and Traveller people were also among the least likely of ethnic groups to be in employment, and when they did have jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic they were the most likely to be in precarious employment. After adjusting for age, 85% of Gypsy or Traveller men and 65% of Roma men were in precarious employment, compared with 19% of white British men.
The study was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and undertaken by the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity, in collaboration with community groups and charities. To reach such high numbers of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people, academics trained and employed six Roma and Traveller researchers to go out and record responses from community members.
Sarah Mann, director at Friends, Families and Travellers, said: “We are hugely proud of and grateful to the Romany, Roma and Traveller people that came forward and took part in the Evidence for Equality National Survey, the largest ever participation of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community members in a survey.
“As the data shows, the devastating experiences of people from Romany, Roma and Traveller communities are no longer just anecdotal. The racism, hate, discrimination, and gross marginalisation across the board is actively damaging Romany, Traveller and Roma people’s life chances.
“The government needs to listen to Romany, Traveller and Roma people, and concrete steps must be taken so that everyone can live healthy lives with dignity, respect, and free from hate.”
Prof Nissa Finney, who led the project, said: “Evens allows us to compare the pandemic experiences of Roma and Traveller people to other ethnic groups, which hasn’t been possible before now. The disadvantage that we’ve found with the data is striking.
“Rigorous, robust, reliable data like that in Evens is essential for designing appropriate and effective policies and interventions. There’s still work to do to improve data and data collection – marginalised communities can be mistrustful of research and of its ability to bring change.
“A clear message from our study is the need for political commitment to better monitoring and measurement of the full range of ethnic groups. This is how we’ll make visible in evidence and policy those people who have been invisible.”
