Response to Government Inquiry for Tackling Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Inequality

Embargo: Immediate

Date: ongoing

For CSAN Contact: T: 020 7633 4971

For CARJ Contact: Gloria Oham T: 0208 802 8080 Email: Info@carj.org.uk

“We do not believe that significant progress has been made over the past five years”: CARJ highlights the continued disadvantage faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities

The Catholic Association for Racial Justice (CARJ) has submitted a response to the Women and Equalities Committee inquiry Tackling inequalities faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.

Using evidence from CARJ’s Traveller Network and Caritas Social Action Network, the response stated:

“As the Committee recognises, GRT communities are perhaps the most marginalised communities in the UK.

While there have been a number of positive developments in some local areas, on the whole, we do not believe that significant progress has been made over the past five years in improving their situation.

In fact, a case could be made that it has worsened during that period.”

The submission makes several recommendations, including investing in extra-school support programmes, providing a reasonable number of well-maintained GRT Sites and introducing ethnic monitoring of GRT children in the youth criminal justice system.

The full response is available on the websites of CARJ and CSAN.

[ENDS]

Notes to editors:

1.            For example, studies show that Gypsy and Traveller women live 12 years less than women in the general population and men 10 years less, although recent research suggests the life expectancy gap could be much higher. In 2011 just 12% of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils achieved five or more good GCSEs, including English and mathematics, compared with 58.2% of all pupils. In 2014, 1 in 20 prisoners were of Gypsy, Romany or Traveller background despite representing 0.1% of the general population.

2.            The Catholic Association for Racial Justice (CARJ) is an independent charity working with others to bring about a ‘more just, more equal, more cooperative society’. More information can be found here: www.carj.org.uk

3.            CARJ is a member of Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN), the social action arm of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. CSAN is a network of 42 charities that work across the field of social action including families and children, prisoners, elderly people and homeless people. More information can be found at: www.csan.org.uk

See CARJ submission at  GRTInquiry.CARJ27Jan2017LH