Human Rights Problems Facing Romani Women in
Serbia Brought to the Attention of the UN Women’s Rights Committee
Budapest, Belgrade, March 22, 2007: The European Roma Rights Centre
(ERRC), acting in partnership with Bibija, Eureka and Women’s Space,
non-governmental organisations based in Serbia, submitted a parallel report to
the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW). The organisations highlighted issues of concern with respect to Romani
women in Serbia in advance of the Committee’s review of Serbia’s compliance with
the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women to take place in May 2007.
The report is based on research
undertaken by the partners in 2006 and 2007, involving six Romani women
researchers who documented human rights issues facing Romani women in Serbia.
Deprivation of rights, especially in such areas as education, health care, and
employment, incidence of domestic violence as well as racially-motivated abuse
of Romani women, are amongst the main problems experienced by Romani women in
Serbia. Romani women currently living in Serbia as internally displaced persons
(IDPs) from Kosovo or recently returned to Serbia from Western European
countries, Germany in particular, are exposed to particularly precarious
circumstances.
The major issues highlighted in the report
include: Violence against women: Domestic violence was
reported by the majority of Romani women who agreed to answer questions
concerning this issue. Half of the Romani women interviewed declined to talk
about domestic violence; of the remaining 81 women, 63 reported instances of
physical and verbal abuse by family members. While the problem of domestic
violence also affects women from the majority community, Romani women are
especially vulnerable due to widespread prejudice and neglect by law enforcement
officers as well as by institutions providing support to victims of domestic
violence. Romani women testified that police are often reluctant to act to
protect them; in some instances, police officers themselves subjected victims to
abuse or they acted inadequately to prevent further abuse. Admission criteria in
some state funded safe houses effectively exclude of Romani women from accessing
the services provided therein.
Romani women and children are also
subjected to physical and verbal racist attacks by neo-Nazi groups.
Education: Romani women face serious barriers in accessing
education as reflected in higher illiteracy rates among Romani women compared to
Romani men and significantly higher rates compared to non-Romani men and women.
Barriers arise from high levels of poverty as well as patriarchal traditions in
some communities, which result in lower expectations for Romani girls to
complete education. Inequalities in access to education are exacerbated by
discriminatory practices against Romani children in education such as erroneous
placement in special schools for mentally disadvantaged children; segregation in
Roma-only classes; and humiliating treatment by teachers and classmates. Lack of
personal identity and house registration documents needed in order to enrol in
school also impede access to education.
Employment: Many Romani
women do not have access to formal employment as a result of low educational
attainment levels as well as direct and indirect discrimination on the part of
employers. Women working in the grey economy are excluded from social benefits
and face insecurity. A number of instances of discrimination against Romani
women in recruitment were reported.
Health: Romani women’s health
situation is significantly worse than that of the general population as a result
of inadequate living conditions – such as substandard housing, extreme poverty
and the disadvantaged position of some Romani women within their domestic
setting. Lack of identity documents, health insurance or health cards prevent
many Romani women from accessing health care services. Structural problems in
access to health services are compounded by widespread discriminatory practices
by medical practitioners with respect to Romani women. Discrimination against
Romani women is particularly evident in the areas of reproductive and maternal
health and emergency care due to these being the most commonly used health care
services.
The research towards the report was carried out with the
support of the Open Society Institute Public Health Program.
For
additional information, please contact:
Ostalinda Maya Ovalle
(ERRC):
ostalinda.maya@errc.org
Ilona Kovacs, Piroska Kovacs (Eureka):
ilonasu2000@yahoo.com Svetlana Ilic
(Bibija):
bibija@eunet.yu Vera Kurtic
(Women's Space):
catz@bankerinter.net
The full report (pdf) is available here:
http://www.errc.org/db/02/27/m00000227.pdf