According to the Discrimination and Roma Community 2022 Annual Report, although the biggest increase is in education, health and housing, social networks and media are the areas where discrimination against the Roma community is most common. By Fundación Secretariado Gitano (FSG).
Presented in Seville this Monday, the Report includes a total of 554 cases—analyzed and documented—of discrimination against Roma in the past year. A follow-up study was conducted on the code of conduct on online hate speech signed between internet companies and the EU, which included 180 cases.
Specifically, 189 cases of discrimination occurred in the field of social networks, followed by 87 cases in the media; 79 access to goods and services; 51 cases related to education; 40 housing and others access to employment; 26 in the field of police services, as in “other cases”; In 16 cases, they refer to health issues.
The report concludes that there has been a “significant” increase in cases where victims have been identified in various areas, and that media cases have decreased and there has been greater awareness of victims and more interest in advocating human rights when reporting cases.
MEDIA AND SOCIAL NETWORKS
Most of the discrimination cases in the media are the news that mention the ethnic origin of the people in cases of violence, guilt or delinquency, that are against the deontological codes, as well as the anti-Gypsy hate comments published by the news readers. in digital versions of newspapers.
In the section of social networks and hate speech cases on the Internet, there are extremely serious cases, considering that they incite violence, even destroy or dehumanize Roma by making them look like animals.
Such messages, in addition to being illegal and seriously damaging to the dignity and honor of Roma, can lead to action, namely serious attacks and acts of violence against men or women, including children. pulled back by platforms,
The FSG emphasizes that there is a “greater commitment” from these companies to monitor and remove these anti-Gypsy messages, although the response to complaints has been rather erratic depending on each platform (72% of reported content has been removed).
However, despite uncovering the cases and seeking support, sometimes the people exposed to these incidents do not want to make any complaints or complaints, so there is a distrust of the authorities and State institutions when it comes to litigation. to end termination proceedings or initiate legal action.
WHERE IS THE DISCRIMINATION GROWTH?
In the section on access to goods and services, the report includes a frequent case of discrimination in access to restaurants, bars and nightclubs, swimming pools and other entertainment centers where Roma are denied access solely because of their ethnicity. The novel emerges under the extreme surveillance of women in shopping malls and supermarkets, which security guards keep close watch on or accuse of stealing.
In the field of education, there has been a significant increase in cases from 27 in 2020 to 51 in 2021, this increase may be due to greater knowledge of Roma families about grievance mechanisms or increased hostility and hostility. bullying against Roma students in some schools.
The FSG provides a practical example. At a school in Malaga, a teacher made derogatory comments about Roma children to a Roma student, for example: What are you doing here, you have to be at home, you don’t work, I bet you 50 euros you don’t pass this exam…
The student forwarded the complaint to the FSG and reported all this to the central administration, who downplayed the comments and told the student, “Ignore him, he is a good teacher, he gets sick fast sometimes but no he is”. he is a bad person. The student felt discriminated against, dropped out of his education at that centre, and enrolled in another centre.
In the employment area, the report identified more cases than in the previous year, often companies that refuse to accept a CV when the job candidate is Roman or refuse to interview when they identify their ethnicity.
Two times more cases were collected in the field of health compared to the previous year, which unfortunately shows that discriminatory situations continue to be experienced in health centers and hospitals.
In the police departments, the report identifies almost the same cases as the previous year, many of which are police identification by ethnic profile, a bad police practice that they often oppose. While in the residence, there are many situations where some real estate agents or owners refuse to rent or sell the apartment when they find out that the person or family who wants to buy or rent the apartment is Roma.
The Foundation’s Annual Report has been published since 2005 to provide specific data and confirmed cases of discrimination that shows that the right to equal treatment for Roma continues to be violated in Spain, and this edition has been marked by the endorsement of the Comprehensive Report. Equal treatment and non-discrimination law.
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