Landmark Vote Supporting Equality for Romani Women Passed in European Parliament

BRUSSELS–A groundbreaking vote yesterday demonstrates the commitment of the European Parliament to achieving full equality for Romani women. The EP adopted by a large majority a report presenting the situation of Roma women living in the European Union. The report, which calls for policymakers throughout the European Union to address a wide range of issues affecting Romani women, marks a victory for the Romani community, the poorest and most marginalized minority in Europe.

"This adoption of this report marks a critical turning point and we hope an advancement in the European Parliament's Roma policy," said Nicoleta Bitu, a representative of the Open Society Institute's Joint Roma Women's Initiative. "It is an important step toward changing the lives of all Roma."

The report urged public authorities in the EU to ensure Romani women and girls equal access to education and health care, including an end to segregation in schools and hospitals. It also called for support services for Romani survivors of domestic violence, redress for human rights violations, safer and socially mixed housing, enforcement of antidiscrimination laws, and policies to address the high levels of unemployment.

The document further states that all efforts to improve conditions for the Roma must work to "secure the fundamental human rights of Romani women," and "ensure that Romani women are involved in the preparation, planning and implementation of these processes."

The report was presented by MEP Livia Jaroka from Hungary, who is the first Roma Member in the history of the European Parliament. Two programs of the Open Society Institute (OSI), the Network Women's Program and the Joint Roma Women's Initiative, contributed policy recommendations and research to the EP report, pulling from studies completed by Roma women research fellows.

Yesterday's report reflects the important role that Romani women's organizations play in policy arenas throughout Europe. On May 3, 2006, Romani women activists testified at a hearing of the European Parliament on the widespread and overt discrimination Romani women face in the labor market. At the hearing, the Open Society Institute released its report On the Road to the EU: Monitoring Equal Opportunities for Women and Men in South Eastern Europe, which provided a much-needed assessment of how the region is complying with EU standards on gender equality. The report, prepared by the OSI Network Women 's Program, is one of the first women's rights projects to integrate Romani women's issues.

Minority women are at an even greater disadvantage in the labor market, with poverty and racial discrimination compounding gender barriers to the workplace. The monitoring report addressed this multiple discrimination and found that Romani women in some countries face unemployment rates that are four times higher than those of non-Romani women. In most countries, Romani women can only find work in the unregulated informal sector, which lacks security.

Angela Kocze, representing OSI's Joint Roma Women 's Initiative, urged the European Parliament to put the research to use. "Roma issues should not be detached from actual public policy," she said. "The issues should be integrated and mainstreamed into a greater social, economic and political agenda."

Romani women also presented an overview of their employment status in eight countries at two events in Bucharest, Romania, in May. At a regional roundtable sponsored by the European Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia, 25 Romani women from a variety of Romani women's organizations welcomed the employment research, as well as analysis on Romani housing issues and police relations. At the International Conference on the Implementation and Harmonization of Roma Policies, participants committed to integrating Romani women's issues into all sectors of design and implementation of policies for Roma.

Note to Editors

The European Parliament report is available for download. Member of Parliament for Hungary, Livia Jaroka, introduced and served as rapporteur for the yesterday's report, which was approved by the EP Committee on Women 's Rights and Gender Equality on April 25, 2006. Jaroka was the first Roma woman to serve in the European Parliament.

The monitoring report, On the Road to the EU: Monitoring Equal Opportunities for Women and Men in South Eastern Europe, was prepared as part of the Open Society Institute Network Women's Program's Bringing the EU Home Project.