5
ISSUES: Racial & Ethnic Discrimination
Chapter 1: Racism & discrimination
England’s most disadvantaged groups:
Gypsies, Travellers and Roma
The experiences of
Gypsies, Travellers and
Roma
Some people in our society are being
left further behind because they face
particularbarriers inaccessing important
public services and are locked out of
opportunities. There are several factors
that may contribute to this, including
socio-economic
deprivation,
social
invisibility, poor internal organisation of
the group, distinctive service needs that
are currently not met, cultural barriers,
stigma and stereotyping, small group
size, and very importantly, a lack of
evidence which limits us in our ability to
assess the multiple disadvantages these
people face.
Although there are many people facing
multiple disadvantages in England, here
we have focused on the experience of
one specific group: Gypsies, Travellers
and Roma.
Researchpublishedby the Commission
in 2009 presented evidence of
Gypsies’ and Travellers’ experience of
inequality in a wide range of areas and
highlighted “the extent to which many
of their experiences remain invisible
and ignored within wider agendas”
(Cemlyn et al., 2009). Evidence that
follows suggests that this is still the
case in 2016.
Education
Although the educational attainment
of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children
in
England
improved
between
2008/09 and 2012/13, the attainment
gap between Gypsy and Roma
children, and White pupils appears to
have widened, while the gap between
Travellers of Irish heritage and White
pupils has not changed.
Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children
were less likely to achieve “a good
level of development” in their early
years (EYFS) in 2013/14 (19.1% for
Gypsy and Roma children, and 30.9%
for Traveller children, compared with
61.8% other White children). Similarly,
a lower percentage of Gypsy and Roma
children (13.8%) and Traveller children
(17.5%) achieved the GCSE threshold
in 2012/13 compared with other White
children (60.3%) and the attainment
gap widened between 2008/09 and
2012/13.
Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children
were also among those most likely
to be excluded from school. Their
exclusion rates were four to five times
higher than the national average in
2012/13: Gypsy and Roma (136.3 per
1,000) and Traveller (169.4 per 1,000)
children compared with other White
children (41.8 per 1,000) in 2012/13.
Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children
are particularly vulnerable in a school
setting and subjected to bullying
(DfE, 2014). Because of the transience
of these pupils, head teachers report
difficulties
in
quickly
accessing
funding; for example, the pupil
premium, for new pupils. There was
also a shortage of expertise to provide
effective support to Roma pupils
(Ofsted, 2014).
Identity can be complicated
for ethnic minorities in modern
Britain
Understanding the identity of various
groups in society has become a
precarious
part
of
multicultural
Britain, because our identity is often
multifaceted.
Although most of us claim multiple
elements to our identity, ranging
from our religion to even the local
community in which we live, for almost
three quarters (72%) of White Britons
the country in which they live in is the
single most important part of their
identity.
However, for many ethnic minorities
there are other layers which affect
their sense of identity. Although 39%
identify most with the country they
live in, half consider their religion or
ethnicity as the most important part of
their identity compared to only 10% of
White Britons.
Almost half (47%) of Muslims consider
their Islamic faith to be the most
important part of their identity,while43%
of Black Britons consider their ethnicity to
be the key to describing themselves.
Competing identities impacts on
integration and this doesn’t show
signs of going away
It’s important to understand that these
competing identities exist in order to
begin to tackle many of the problems
around integration.
Just over a third (35%) of minorities
report feeling like they belong to a
different culture, with a further 22%
being excluded from society as a whole
by explicitly agreeing that they don’t feel
like they are a part of British culture.
The identity factor plays some role in this.
A third (33%) Muslims – the group most
likely to identify with their religion – are
most likely to say they do not feel a part
of British culture, while only 19% of those
with no faith feel the same.
However, fundamental issues such as
identity are not the only factors in this
disconnect from society. A range of
socio-economic factors that might not
be directly associated with identity
come into play. Those with a household
income of less than £20,000 a year are
twice as likely as thosewith a household
income of more than £50,000 to feel
excluded from British culture.
The younger generation are the most
likely to say they feel disconnected
from British culture (29%), and this is
something we should pay attention to
if we hope to make progress over the
next decade in unifying British citizens.
August 2016
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