According to a new study by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), Roma women in Europe suffer widespread discrimination, poverty and low levels of education, literacy, employment and access to basic services such as health care. In nearly all of the eleven EU countries surveyed, “the average situation of Roma women in core areas of social life . . . is worse than that of Roma men.”
The Director of FRA, Morten Kjaerum, has called the magnitude of “Roma exclusion and deprivation” across Europe “shocking.” According to the FRA, such poverty and social exclusion deepen gender inequalities for Roma women, leaving them vulnerable to early marriage and high rates of domestic violence.
EU countries analyzed by the FRA included Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Spain.
Compiled from: Discrimination Against And Living Conditions of Roma Women in 11 EU Member States, FRA, The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (October 2014); New Survey Highlights Alarming Situation of Roma Women in 11 EU Member States, European Women’s Lobby (November 7, 2014).