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GYPSY, ROMA AND TRAVELLER WOMEN
Gypsy, Roma and Traveller women in prison Words: Sophie The Traveller Movement (TM) is an organisation working with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) people to challenge discrimination and promote inclusion. Criminal Justice Policy & Campaigns Officer, Sophie, tells us more about GRT women’s experience in the criminal justice system.
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raditional travelling groups have lived in Great Britain and Ireland for centuries. They include diverse groups such as Romany Gypsies, Irish Travellers, and Scottish Gypsies and Travellers. Like other minority ethnic groups, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities have their own languages, traditions, and customs that guide their way of life, and which are passed on through generations. However, Gypsy/Traveller women have some of the poorest outcomes in health, employment and education of any ethnic group, according to the 2011 census. And although Roma ethnicity was not recorded
in this census, it seems outcomes are no different, if not worse in the case of migrant Roma women in particular. The discrimination and marginalisation GRT women face in wider society becomes more apparent when they enter the criminal justice system, where they are disproportionately overrepresented. While Gypsy and Traveller women make up 0.1% of the general population, they represent 6% of the entire prison population. The number of Roma women is also disproportionately high. The distinct needs of GRT women are often poorly understood and overlooked. Many experience the severe pain of family
