The Violence We Don't Talk About: Why Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller Women Are Being Failed

Content Warning: This article discusses gender-based violence, forced sterilisation, hate crimes, and systemic abuse. Support resources are provided at the end.

Today marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Yet Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller (GRT) women in the UK remain almost entirely absent from these conversations. This absence reflects centuries of discrimination that continues to devastate these women's lives.

Violence and Safety

A 2017 Traveller Movement study found that 61% of GRT women had experienced domestic violence in their lifetime, compared to 27% of women in the general UK population. The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights' 2019 survey found that only 18% of Romani women who experienced abuse reported it to police, suggesting the true prevalence may be even higher.

Discrimination

The European Social Survey (2020) found that 44% of UK respondents would mind having a Gypsy or Traveller neighbour—higher than for any other ethnic or religious group. A 2020 Traveller Movement survey found 58% had been refused service in shops, pubs, or businesses, whilst 90% had experienced hate speech or discrimination.

Health and Education

Life expectancy for GRT people is 10-12 years lower than the national average, even after controlling for socioeconomic status. Only 13.3% of Gypsy and Roma pupils achieved grade 5 or above in English and Maths GCSEs—the lowest of any ethnic group, compared to 50.1% nationally.

Housing Crisis

There are only 495 permanent residential pitches for an estimated 25,000-30,000 Traveller families in England. 87% of local authorities have no site provision at all. Families are evicted on average every 2.6 months, with each eviction costing councils approximately £18,000—far more than providing permanent pitches.

Historical Context

During World War II, between 220,000 and 500,000 Roma were murdered in the Nazi genocide known as the Porajmos. This genocide is rarely taught in British schools.

Between 1973 and 2004, the European Roma Rights Centre documented at least 80 cases of forced or coerced sterilisation of Romani women in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Similar practices occurred in Sweden (until 1976) and Switzerland (until 1985). This happened to women who are now grandmothers.

In Britain, the Egyptians Act of 1530 made being Romani a capital offence. Whilst such extreme laws are historical, discrimination continued. In 1994, the government repealed the requirement for local authorities to provide stopping places for Travellers. Site provision has since collapsed.

The 2022 Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act criminalises "residing on land without consent in or with a vehicle," with penalties including vehicle seizure and fines up to £2,500—effectively criminalising a nomadic lifestyle when there are insufficient legal stopping places.

How Violence Operates

1. Domestic Violence: When Seeking Help Creates New Dangers

When GRT women report domestic violence, they often face:

• Dismissive police responses: A 2021 Traveller Movement report found 67% of GRT women encountered officers treating violence as "cultural" rather than criminal, with longer response times and inadequate investigations.

• Fear of child removal: GRT children are four times more likely to be subject to care proceedings. Women report that social workers sometimes treat a mobile lifestyle or living on a site as evidence of neglect.

• Inadequate refuge provision: Only 3% of domestic violence services have staff trained in working with GRT communities. 40% of GRT women who accessed mainstream refuges returned to violent situations within six months—compared to 15% of women generally.

2. Public Violence: Discrimination as Everyday Reality

GRT women routinely experience harassment in public spaces:

• 72% had experienced verbal abuse in public in the past year

• 31% had experienced threats or intimidation

• 12% had experienced physical attacks

The abuse is often specifically gendered, combining misogyny and ethnic slurs, creating a climate where violence against GRT women is normalised.

3. Institutional Violence: When Systems Designed to Protect Cause Harm

Healthcare: 30% of GRT women reported experiencing discrimination in healthcare settings, including being denied adequate pain relief during childbirth (14%), having health concerns dismissed, and condescending treatment. Women who experienced discrimination were significantly more likely to avoid seeking medical care subsequently.

Education: GRT pupils have the lowest educational attainment of any ethnic group. 78% experienced racist bullying, yet only 23% of schools had specific policies addressing anti-GRT racism. GRT pupils are 2.5 times more likely to be permanently excluded.

Social Services: In 34% of care proceedings involving GRT families, social workers cited living on a site or mobile lifestyle as evidence of risk—despite these being cultural practices, not inherent harms.

Why Don't We Hear These Voices?

• Historical trauma creates justified caution: Centuries of persecution—from genocide to forced sterilisation to child removal—create warranted wariness of authorities.

• Discrimination within institutions: When women do report violence, they often encounter dismissive responses that reinforce the sense that seeking help is pointless or dangerous.

• Lack of appropriate services: There are virtually no GRT-specific domestic violence services in the UK.

• The impossible choice: Women must choose between reporting violence (and risking racist treatment, child removal, and housing loss) or staying silent and enduring abuse.

What Can Change This

What Government Should Do:

Immediate Actions:

1. Fund GRT-led specialist domestic violence services in areas with significant GRT populations (estimated cost: £15-20 million annually)

2. Address the housing crisis: Declare a moratorium on evictions until adequate legal provision exists; require all local authorities to provide sufficient site provision within 5 years (£50 million would create approximately 500 new residential pitches)

3. Transform institutional responses: Implement mandatory training on GRT cultures for police, social workers, and healthcare providers; establish dedicated GRT liaison officers (estimated cost: £5-8 million annually)

4. Protect families whilst addressing genuine safeguarding concerns: Shift from child removal to family support models; require evidence of actual harm rather than assumptions based on lifestyle

Long-Term Structural Change:

• Conduct discrimination audits in NHS trusts

• Require all schools to have specific anti-bullying policies addressing anti-GRT racism

• Include GRT history and culture in the national curriculum

• Enforce existing employment discrimination law more rigorously

• Hold media accountable for stereotyping

What Institutions Can Do:

Police: Take reports from GRT women seriously; stop treating abuse as "cultural"; build trust through genuine community engagement

Healthcare providers: Conduct audits for discriminatory treatment; offer outreach services that reach mobile populations

Schools: Address racist bullying with the same seriousness as other forms of discrimination; maintain contact with families after moves

Social Services: Support families rather than defaulting to child removal; understand mobile lifestyle as cultural practice, not neglect

Local Authorities: Provide adequate site provision; stop using planning law to exclude Traveller families

What We Can All Do:

• Educate yourself about GRT history and culture

• Speak up: Challenge racist comments about "gypsies" or "pikeys" just as you would any other racist language

• Support GRT-led organisations financially and practically (The Traveller Movement, Friends, Families and Travellers, Roma Support Group)

• Amplify GRT voices rather than speaking for them

• In your professional life: Examine your biases; advocate for better practices; ensure your service is accessible to GRT communities

• In your community: Support Traveller site provision; challenge hostile rhetoric; recognise that "not in my back yard" opposition is discrimination

Stories of Progress

Despite facing Britain's highest levels of discrimination, GRT women are organising and creating change. Progress is happening:

• In 2022, the Welsh Government appointed the UK's first Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Rights Board

• Several police forces have established dedicated GRT liaison officers who build trust and improve reporting

• Educational attainment for GRT pupils improved from 9.3% achieving good GCSEs in 2019 to 13.3% in 2023

• Derby, Leeds, and Manchester have developed good practice models in education and site provision

These successes prove that change is possible when resources are committed, and GRT voices lead the way.

The Path Forward

Gender-based violence against GRT women isn't inevitable. It's the result of policy choices, funding decisions, and institutional cultures—all of which can change.

Three key principles:

1. Nothing About Us Without Us: GRT women must lead in designing and delivering services for their communities

2. Address Root Causes: Tackle the underlying discrimination, housing insecurity, educational exclusion, and institutional failures that create vulnerability to violence

3. Universal Systems That Work for Everyone: Services that work for the most marginalised work better for everyone

The evidence is clear. The solutions exist. What's needed now is political will and sustained commitment.

On this International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, ending violence against women requires including all women—especially those facing the highest rates of violence.

 

Support Resources

For GRT women experiencing violence:

The Traveller Movement

Phone: 020 7607 2002 | Website: travellermovement.org.uk

Friends, Families and Travellers

Phone: 01273 234 777 | Website: gypsy-traveller.org

Roma Support Group

Phone: 020 8806 5697 | Website: romasupportgroup.org.uk

National Domestic Abuse Helpline

Phone: 0808 2000 247 (24 hours, free) | Website: nationaldahelpline.org.uk

In an emergency, always call 999

If you can't speak safely, dial 999 then press 55