Discrimination against Romani Women in Spain

15 December 2004

European Roma Rights Center Submission to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women

Cristi Mihalache¹

During its 31st session, held July 6-23, 2004, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has reviewed Spain’s compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. On the occasion of the review, the European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) has provided the Committee with written comments on the human rights situation of Romani women in Spain².

The ERRC submission stressed that Romani women in Spain have been subject to intersectional discrimination on the basis of, most significantly, gender and ethnicity, creating particular obstacles above and beyond problems posed by racial discrimination alone. The report submitted by the ERRC draws the attention of the CEDAW to violations of Articles 2, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 12 and 16 of the Convention, and highlights the following specific concerns:

• Romani women face discrimination in the criminal justice system. One of the consequences is the disproportionate overrepresentation of Romani women in Spanish prisons;
• Policies to combat domestic violence and other gender violence have not yet had significant impact among Spanish Romani communities; when Romani women are subjected to domestic violence, they are often reluctant to use mainstream mechanisms for combating gender violence due in part to lack of support for such actions, as well as a range of other reasons not yet addressed by adequate policy measures;
• The Governmental policy on Roma has downplayed gender concerns. Similarly, the Spanish government’s Fourth Plan on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men does not address any concerns that are specific to Romani women, such as that Romani women face particular and significant barriers in accessing employment;
• Romani children suffer discrimination in the Spanish educational system. A disturbing tendency of segregation of Romani children in public schools has been reported. Moreover, a disproportionate number of Romani girls drop out of school after elementary school, while incidents of vehement opposition to the admission of Romani children in schools by non-Romani parents have also been reported from Spain; 
• Roma in Spain tend to be employed in the informal economy: as street-vendors, garbage collectors, domestic workers and so on. All research suggests that Romani women tend to be more unemployed that Romani men. Significantly, research also shows a great deal of prejudice on the part of employers and co-workers towards employing Romani women, so much so that some of them claim to be non-Roma from Latin American countries. Women tend to be concentrated in lower paid jobs than men. Unfortunately, the State Report and other government document focus on training for women, ignoring the role of discrimination in employment; 
• Romani women tend to be more unhealthy than women belonging to the general population and women’s life expectancy is lower in Romani communities as research suggest. Moreover, child mortality rates are higher among girls than among boys. Romani women have complained of the hostility they have experienced at the hospitals and also of the tendency to segregate all Romani women together in some health care facilities; 
• Romani marriages are not recognised in Spain and the consequences of this are borne disproportionately by women, given that many of them are unemployed; 
• Romani women’s participation in public life, such as occupying high profile positions, inclusion on mainstream party lists, etc., is rare. 
• The Spanish anti-discrimination body does not meet the international standards in terms of its independence, being only a subsidiary body of a Ministry. The independence of anti-discrimination bodies has been stressed as a compulsory factor towards adequate protection and remedy against discrimination by a number of international human rights bodies. Moreover, implementation of the recently adopted Spanish anti-discrimination law remains to be assessed.

In view of the above, the ERRC recommended that the Spanish Government undertake the following:

1. Collect and publish in a form readily comprehensible to the public dissagregated data on the basis of sex and ethnicity on the situation of Romani men and women in the fields of education, housing, employment, health care, and other relevant sectors.

2. Without delay, ratify Protocol 12 to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Without delay, ratify the Additional Protocol to the European Social Charter, providing for a Collective Complaints mechanism.

3. Ensure that the “Council for the Promotion of Equal Treatment and Non-Discrimination of People on Grounds of Racial or Ethnic Origin” is a fully independent body, that is adequately staffed and funded, and that it is competent to examine issues related to intersectional discrimination.

4. Officially recognise Roma as an ethnic minority.

5. Encourage and provide incentives for the inclusion of women from minorities, particularly Romani women, in the national and local administration, law-enforcement bodies and the judiciary.

6. Devise comprehensive programmes for the rehabilitation of women prisoners who have completed their terms. Provide long-term sustainable measures to ensure that they are fully reintegrated into society.

7. Reconceptualise the Roma Development Plan as a programme of positive action to ensure equality in practice, taking into account the history of discrimination of the Romani community in Spain and the continuing impact of racism at all levels of Spanish society.

8. Require that gender concerns are mainstreamed and greater participation of Romani men and women is ensured in designing, implementing and monitoring of projects under the Roma Development Plan.

9. Require the Institute of Women’s Affairs to develop programmes targeted at Romani women and girls that aim to improve their access to health, education, employment and political participation and also provide services to combat violence against them. Facilitate the development of links between Romani women’s organisations and mainstream women’s organisations.

10. Undertake urgent measures to remedy the under-representation of Romani women in public institutions.

11. Address on a priority basis the disproportionately high rates of school abandonment among Romani girls.

12. Take urgent measures to put an end to the overrepresentation of Romani boys and girls in public schools and provide comprehensive measures to ensure that all Romani children in Spain enjoy full and unimpeded access to mainstream education. In this regard, pay particular attention to how compensatory education programmes have led to segregation of Romani children.

13. Ensure that teachers receive adequate training on the cultural specificities of minority communities in Spain, and on the obligation not to discriminate, in particular in those schools with a significant number of Romani pupils.

14. Investigate levels of unemployment among Roma women and develop and implement initiatives to address the root causes of their limited access to employment.

15. Develop and implement effective programmes aimed specifically at improving the access of Romani women and girls to healthcare; replicate instances of good practice in provision of health education, such as the training of Romani women health mediators, which is being successfully implemented in other countries.

16. With a view to ensuring that Romani women and girls do not suffer discriminatory treatment in accessing healthcare, provide information to medical personnel on minorities in Spain, particularly as regards the Romani minority, and training on the legal obligation not to discriminate.

17. Provide training to both public and private actors in Romani history, cultural practices and the contributions of the Romani community to Spain.

18. At the highest levels, speak out against the problem of anti-Romani sentiment, which particularly affects the capacity of Romani women to fully enjoy all their rights. Address the problem of widespread racism, and gender stereotyping by developing resource materials and conducting comprehensive training for national and local administration, educational institutions, law-enforcement authorities, the judiciary, health-care providers, media, and other key institutions.

The full text of the ERRC submission is available HERE.

In its Concluding Observations on Spain, released on July 26, 2004, the CEDAW took note of the problematic situation of Romani women in Spain, expressing concern that “Roma women remain in a vulnerable and marginalized situation, especially with regard to education, employment, housing and health”, and recommended that the State party “promote and protect the human rights of Roma women, in particular with regard to their access to education, employment, housing and health.”

As regards education, the Committee noted that “despite the progress made by women in education in recent years, [it] remains concerned about discrimination in this area, in particular about early drop out rates from school of Roma girls”, and recommends that “the State party intensify its efforts to promote the access of Roma girls to education and their retention in the system. It recommends that the State party conduct research into the subject and, on the basis of its findings, provide incentives to Roma parents to encourage them to ensure that their daughters attend school.”

The full text of CEDAW’s Concluding Observations on Spain can be found HERE.

Endnotes:

1. Cristi Mihalache is ERRC Advocacy Officer.
2. The ERRC submission is based on research commissioned by the ERRC to Ms Begoña Pernas and Ms Daniel Wagman, researchers based in Spain, as well as on extensive material from the ERRC archives.