Written submission from GATE Hertfordshire (GRT0054)

GATE- Herts very much welcomes the Inquiry .

GATE is a very small community organisation based in Hertfordshire with a national reach. It was formed in 2010 by a group of people from Travelling communities, who saw a need. GRT communities face harassment and discrimination on a daily basis as a result of negative stereotypes and deeply ingrained cultural prejudices.

GATE’s Chair Josie O’Driscoll is an Irish traveller and the project manager Sherrie Smith is a Romany Gypsy. Volunteer Leigh-Marie Smith a Romany Gypsy also input on this submission.   We advocate, sign post, and outreach  on a grassroots level. We deliver training in a range of subjects such as hate crime, domestic violence, cultural awareness and craft skills to build community links and confidence.

The aim is to educate both Travelling communities and the wider community to live side by side in a diverse community. GATE lives by the motto ‘Nothing about us, without us’ and hopes to help all Travellers and Gypsies to have a say in the things that affect their lives.

Last Year we established the only dedicated hate crime reporting page for Gypsy and Travellers ReportRacismGRt.com Sharing, reporting, recording and challenging all forms of racism is tantamount to breaking down the last acceptable form of racism.  We hope that by educating and publicising the challenges we all face daily, we can promote inclusivity, social cohesion and start to unite the wider community with the Gypsy and Travellers in a positive way.

We apologise for this submission being a bit  late, however below are statements on the areas that concern us most.

We would be happy to arrange a meeting so we can give you more detailed aural explanation of our submission

Gypsy Traveller experience in public life. Josie O’Driscoll

The attitude of front line staff in the public sector is often ignorant and off putting. Many times I have been to the Doctors or hospital and met with hostility. They don’t want to deal with you and they show it. As well they assume you can read long forms . If a Roma person went in it would be worse for them due to the language and the dislike coming from staff. The same has happened to me with my children at school ,It happens with most Gypsies and Travellers I know . They don’t want you there but there are some good schools as well. Maybe there are national policies about this but it doesn’t get to the local level . All the  good Reports in the world are worth nothing if the will is not there to support us And that is what it feels like sometimes. I am as well worried about shops and pubs where  I live and where they can ban Gypsies and Travellers for no good reason.  I was having a meeting with other women in pub during the day. The manager would not serve us  He said to staff that all we wanted to was to listen to the music. I asked him to talk to me . I told him I had never been there before and that if other people had caused problems that was nothing to do with me and did he think that is fair. We talked for a long time  and in the end he came round and there and then he spoke to the  staff .

Children’s experience  in School. Sherrie Smith

My daughter has been called names  at her secondary school because its known she is a Gypsy. Horrible  names. I want her to stay there but it is hard. Teachers don’t take it seriously enough They might say to the child to apologise but that’s not enough Any other racism in the school is taken up higher.  I think the Department for Education needs to develop a template – written by Gypsies Travellers or Roma people and is should be made  compulsory .   My daughter’s school is a good one.  They  have sessions on racism but  have not talked about  Gypsies Travellers or Roma. I  am going to work with that school and a couple of others to hold sessions myself -  I feel so strongly about it .The DfE write many reports but they can’t seem to get into the teachers  plans I don’t know why that is but surely, they can make this happen?

Attitudes of the Police . Leigh Marie Smith

The Police don’t protect Gypsies and Travellers and they  won’t contact the police because of the racism that exists. The Police are unwilling to visit sites and when they do  they usually turn up in large numbers and  usually it’s to make an  arrest , not to follow up on a concern about someone living there . I know a Gypsy living in a council flat  whose home got  broken into a few times She knew it was a local person who had thrown racist abuse at her for a long time. The police would not act on it in any way. They did not even approach that person  or offer to protect my friend. One officer said” there’s  no way they can tell by the colour of your skin what you are – so what’s the problem”  The police look at Gypsies  and Travellers  as aggressors first and victims second That is the way it is and it seems no amount of training manuals have made much inroad in this

Hate Crime Reporting

We all feel strongly that it is important for Gypsies Travellers and  Roma to report hate crime against them. But it has gone on for so long.  Its a part of our daily lives. People don’t think it’s worth reporting because nothing will happen We are not sure if  the authorities realise this .

So we started a dedicated website reportracismgrt.com . It’s easy to fill in and send off . There is no UK data on hate crime against Gypsies Travellers We hope our website will help that to change .

January 2017