In November 2002 two young Scottish Travellers, Clementine and Charlene, were invited to attend a conference on Roma women and Health. They were accompanied by Michelle Lloyd from Save the Children (Scotland). The conference was organised by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and the Council of Europe and held in Vienna. Here are their views on the conference and what they learned.

"My visit to Austria on the subject of women’s health was very interesting but very surprising. The more I heard the more appalled I am at the fact that Gypsy-Roma still have to live with all this discrimination worldwide. There were women there from loads of countries some of which I’d never even heard of: Ukraine, Moldovia, Macedonia, Spain, England, Serbia, Bosnia, Romania, Czech Republic, Poland, Finland and more.

I was saddened with one particular story that a Roma woman from Sweden told us about her mother who was forced to have an abortion at 7 months pregnant, and then sterilised so she was never able to have any more children.

There was another Roma girl from Albania talking about the prostitution amongst the Roma girls, but she also said that they were naïve. They were being conned into thinking they’d get a better life but actually they were being sold on to prostitution. This is so awful, I think that is to do with lack of education and always being on the sides of the community.

We sat at a table with 35-40, as the Gypsy woman from England said – “we’re all strong women, and we can only go forward together”. I agree with her we need to stand together and be strong. As a young Traveller myself, I know what happens when you face discrimination in Scotland but when you hear some of the examples from other Travellers around the world, it really does have a big impact on you.

We talked a lot about women and different health issues and shared experiences. Me and Charlene told them about projects we have been involved in for young Gypsy and Traveller girls and health. There is going to be a follow up to this meeting and I really think together we could make a difference in Traveller women’s health. For too long women’s issues have been kept back and ignored.

I know in Scotland sometimes things don’t seem to move as quickly as they do in other countries but if we don’t bring such subjects forward then they will never be resolved. I’m not educated, I also never went to high school because of an illness, but it’s not brains that count, it’s us, young Traveller women to bring up to meeting like this what our families have been suffering for years."
By Clementine

"This was my first time doing anything like this and I found it very interesting, but at the same time very shocking that Roma and Traveller people have to live like this. I suppose I was a bit shy about speaking up but everyone was dead friendly and encouraging (even if I did get the giggles a bit at first!). I spoke about what we’ve been doing in Scotland but I also learned so much.

I think Scotland is bad for discrimination but when I heard other Gypsy-Roma women talking it was really bad in their countries too. Where I live in Scotland we face discrimination as well. My sister is in a wheelchair and we live on a site. Because we live on a site she can’t get what she needs, the council won’t provide a proper ramp or shower block. I feel if we had been in a house she would have had all this support – at one point they even pretended to offer us a house (even though we knew they didn’t have one suitable) but that would have meant leaving the rest of our family and our way of life. They wouldn’t ask a settled person to move into a caravan! At the end of the day it all comes down to the same thing – discrimination against Gypsy-Roma. My Mum has been fighting this case for years but in the meantime we all suffer in the family.

I spoke at the Scottish Parliament last year and this time in Vienna, it may not be much but I felt dead proud to be speaking up."
By Charlene

The real joke was that 35/40 women were in this big room talking about improving health but as soon as there was a break they rushed outside for a fag. I think nearly everyone smoked! Still, they do say the best networking is done over a coffee and a fag. Here’s hoping!

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