Gypsy, Roma, Traveller children subject to “shocking racist bullying”

Children from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities experience “shocking” levels of racist bullying at school, according to a new report published ahead of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) History Month. 

Today marks the start of a month of activities aimed at celebrating GRT lives, histories and cultures. But the report, published last week by the Council of Europe’s Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, found that travellers experience persistent discrimination in the UK, particularly in education. 

Sasha Smith*, a history teacher at a secondary school in East London, where a number of the students belong to GRT communities, has witnessed the discrimination first hand. 

“I’ve definitely heard a few comments thrown about [directed towards GRT children], about living in caravans, or living in car parks,” Smith said.“ [GRT children] tend to stick together, they are less integrated into the school community.” 

The report noted  that bullying drives poor attendance and high dropout rates among GRT students. 

“Lots of the [GRT] boys drop out before year 11, a lot don’t even get GCSEs,” Smith added.

Smith’s observation chimes with data from the government’s Race Disparity Audit, which found that GRT students had the “worst education outcomes of all ethnic groups”.

The authors of the Council of Europe report called on UK authorities to take priority action to tackle racist bullying in schools, including making it mandatory to record such instances. They also recommended training for teachers on Gypsy, Roma and Traveller cultures and ways of life. 

One charity, Gypsy and Traveller Empowerment (GATE) Herts., is already working with schools in Hertfordshire, where there are 55 Gypsy and Traveller sites, to increase cultural understanding of GRT communities.

The charity’s CEO, Josie O Driscoll said: “[GRT people] experience hateful rhetoric on a daily basis. Death by suicide is six times higher than the general population and accounts for 11% of deaths.”

Her organisation also runs a hate incident reporting website, Report Racism GRT, which collects information about GRT hate incidents and offers support to victims. 

*Name has been changed to protect the identity of the interviewee and her students.