Racism against Roma, Gypsy and Traveller people

This entry concerns racism against Roma, Gypsy and Traveller people with a focus on Europe where the majority of the population live. The entry provides a concise overview of the main features of anti-Roma racism (also referred to as antigypsyism, antiziganism or Romaphobia). The entry is organised as follows: section 1 summarises the complexities of collecting data on Roma, Gypsy and Traveller people in a racist environment; section 2 then gives a historical backdrop to anti-Roma racism, recognising the specificity of different eras. Section 3 provides an overview of the specific forms of racism against Roma, Gypsy and Traveller people: biological and cultural racism (including place discrimination), structural violence (including poverty discrimination and banal racism in everyday life) and racism in academia. The final section – section 4 – then gives an overview of key policies that concern Roma, Gypsy and Traveller people. Whilst there have been some developments in raising awareness of racism, prominently driven by European institutions and Roma, Gypsy and Traveller activists, the lack of concrete outcomes and actions has been a disappointing recurrence. This section examines why policies are not often successful. Nonetheless, Roma, Gypsy and Traveller voices and activism are becoming more influential in the public sphere. The work of such thinkers and doers are referred to throughout the entry.