Breaking barriers: An analytical report on Roma children and women
A summary of findings from four MICS surveys in Roma settlements in Kosovo (UNSCR 1244), Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia
Governments, international organizations, and civil society have recognized the importance of protecting and advancing the rights of Roma individuals, leading to the implementation of various laws, plans and strategies to enhance their well-being. The Roma community constitutes the largest ethnic minority group in Europe. Out of an estimated 10 to 12 million Roma living in Europe, approximately 6 million are citizens or residents of the European Union (EU).
Improving the lives of Roma requires a human rights-based approach. All countries in Europe and Central Asia have formally committed to protecting and promoting the rights of all children and women.
Prioritizing the well-being of Roma children and women within the Roma community is essential for promoting social justice, human rights, and inclusive development. Addressing their specific challenges, empowering them, and providing equal opportunities will lead to a more equitable and inclusive society for all. It is crucial for governments, international organizations, and civil society to intensify collaboration and implement targeted interventions to uplift the Roma communities, and ensure they benefit from universal services on an equal basis with the rest of the population. By doing so, Europe can move closer to achieving its goals of equality, inclusion, justice and participation for all its citizens, regardless of their ethnic backgrounds.
Children under 5 years of age who are stunted or wasted, Roma settlements
Recommendations
Focusing on the well-being of Roma children and women within the Roma community is vital for promoting human rights and inclusive development. Empowering them and providing equal opportunities will lead to a more equitable and inclusive society for all.
However, addressing the disparities and ensuring access to universal services will require further efforts and collaborative actions from governments, international organizations, and civil society to address the complexity of social and economic factors that are perpetuating the cycle of disadvantage of Roma.
Health and Nutrition
Recommendation 1: UNICEF strongly advocates incorporation of Roma mediators into health-care (as well as social and educational) systems to enhance its effectiveness to provide health-care services, particularly for those without health insurance or personal documentation, including Roma mothers in need of antenatal and delivery care. Relevant stakeholders should be supported to engage and facilitate dialogues with Roma community leaders and activists to gain their trust and support. Existing home visiting platforms should be enhanced to address the equity gaps in health, development and well-being of Roma children through advocacy, policy advice and technical assistance.
This integration signifies a pivotal step toward promoting inclusivity, enhancing access to essential services, and fostering a more equitable society where every Roma can enjoy the full spectrum of health services.
Significance of nutrition: Nutrition plays a pivotal role in fostering the learning capabilities and holistic development of children, especially in their formative years. The existing literacy gap between Roma and non-Roma children, as indicated in the findings, is a cause for concern.
- Recommendation 2: UNICEF advocates the inclusion of nutritional provisions within kindergarten and primary school facilities. The challenges posed by poverty often manifest as material and nutritional insufficiency, leading to deficits in essential nutrients. Consequently, these deficiencies have the potential to impair cognitive functions, thus negatively influencing children’s capacity to learn. Consequently, ensuring the availability of adequate nutrition becomes of paramount importance, particularly for marginalized communities that face material deprivation, such as the Roma community.
- Recommendation 3: UNICEF advocates for expanding national systems for family-centred early childhood interventions for young children at risk of or with developmental difficulties and with disabilities to enhance child development and participation and promote inclusion in early years.
Recommendation 4: UNICEF recommends providing nutritional provisions in kindergartens and primary schools to address cognitive deficits from material deprivation, especially crucial for marginalized children, such as Roma.
Timely Vaccination Intake: In Roma settlements where transportation is limited or access to hospitals is lacking, support for home visiting services and establishing mobile clinics is recommended. This approach aids in raising awareness about the significance of timely vaccination and expanding the scope of vaccinated Roma children. These efforts should be conducted in close collaboration with pertinent stakeholders, including community leaders and Roma-led organizations. Collaborative initiatives, pre-eminently those where informal community leaders are involved, have the potential to effectively mitigate vaccination hesitancy among Roma families and parents. Prior to implementing vaccination initiatives, it is recommended to launch a well-structured awareness campaign to underscore the enduring benefits and importance of vaccinations.
Recommendation 5: UNICEF strongly advocates the implementation of home visiting initiatives and establishment of mobile clinics where access to hospitals is lacking within Roma settlements, with a distinct emphasis on culturally responsive engagement.
Additionally, UNICEF strongly advocates strengthening and expanding the capacities of home visiting services to reach out and provide holistic support to Roma children and families. This support includes immunization, promoting adequate feeding practices, fostering responsive caregiving, and supporting early learning, as well as facilitating access to es
Education
Recommendation 1: UNICEF recommends the adoption of a comprehensive strategy that engages community leaders, parents/caregivers, and positive role models to amplify awareness about the transformative potential of education in alleviating poverty and dependency. The proclamation of role models and the promotion of positive deviance within communities can have a ripple effect in reducing school dropouts, preventing child marriages, and enhancing social cohesion in the targeted countries.
Additionally, UNICEF advocates ensuring equitable access for Roma children to high-quality and inclusive early childhood education by expanding educational infrastructure, promoting inclusive practices, and removing financial, attitudinal, and other barriers that hinder Roma participation in early childhood education and care (ECEC), and expanding support for parenting of young children to foster responsive caregiving and early learning at home.
- Recommendation 2: To enhance the quality of education, UNICEF recommends transforming the roles of mediators into tutors or mentors who can be available during or after classes for individual support. This transition would help bridge language barriers and promote inclusivity by providing personalized support to Roma children.
- Recommendation 3: UNICEF places significant emphasis on prevention and early detection of dropouts among Roma students. We recommend implementing a systematic early sign dropout system that facilitates communication between educational institutions and social work centers. This system would enable the exchange of information concerning attendance and dropout rates, following the successful model initiated in Montenegro with support from the UNICEF Country Office. This replicable model can be adopted in neighbouring countries to improve educational outcomes.
- Recommendation 4: UNICEF recommends that governments and stakeholders consider the possibility for mandatory secondary education. This policy has shown to significantly increase enrolment and attendance rates among Roma students in North Macedonia, while also acting as a deterrent to child marriage, particularly among Roma girls.
- Recommendation 5: To create truly inclusive school environments and enhance the school ethos, UNICEF recommends capacity building of schoolteachers and principals through specialized training in multiculturalism. By equipping educators with the skills and knowledge needed to promote diversity, understanding, and acceptance, we can build school communities that embrace and celebrate differences. This not only benefits students from diverse backgrounds but also contributes to the overall development of a more inclusive and harmonious society.
Child Protection
- Recommendation 1: Establishing a robust interagency synergy between child protection and other mechanisms such as health, educational and social protection mechanisms is imperative, at both national and subnational levels. Pre-eminently, by harmonizing the efforts of the child protection and social protection agencies, we can create a more comprehensive safety net to safeguard at-risk children effectively. The collaboration between child protection and social protection agencies ensures a holistic approach that addresses not only immediate child welfare concerns but also broader socioeconomic factors affecting vulnerable children and families. This integrated approach maximizes potential for positive outcomes and reinforces the commitment to ensure the well-being and protection of all children, irrespective of their circumstances.
- Recommendation 2: Relevant governments should facilitate the anonymous reporting of child marriage practices and strengthen the establishment and utilization of childline services. Enabling anonymous reporting is crucial as it ensures the safety of informants and fosters a conducive environment for reporting harmful practices. Simultaneously, enhancing childline services is paramount, as it ensures that children in distress receive immediate support and assistance, mitigating the adverse effects of child marriage and other forms of harm. These measures collectively contribute to a safer and more protective environment for children, safeguarding their rights and well-being.
- Recommendation 3: Governments should prioritize the expansion and improved accessibility of child protection services. This effort should be particularly directed towards children vulnerable to harmful cultural practices and gender-based violence. Ensuring easy access to these services is of paramount importance, as it is the key to reaching and effectively assisting children in need. This accessibility imperative holds even greater significance for children placed in kinship care, family-based alternative care, and orphanage facilities, as they often face unique challenges and vulnerabilities. By bolstering the availability and accessibility of child protection services, governments can significantly enhance their ability to protect and support children in these critical situations, ultimately contributing to their safety and well-being.
- Recommendation 4: Relevant stakeholders should take proactive measures to facilitate the implementation of awareness-raising campaigns aimed at heightening public consciousness regarding the detrimental consequences of early child marriage for both Roma boys and girls. These campaigns serve as a fundamental initial step in the process of transforming prevailing attitudes and behaviours related to child marriage and gender inequality within the community. By effectively disseminating information and fostering dialogue, stakeholders can stimulate the critical conversations necessary to drive social change and promote more equitable and protective environments for Roma children, thereby enhancing their prospects for a brighter and safer future.
- Recommendation 5: Relevant stakeholders should take proactive steps to implement a comprehensive approach. This approach should encompass educating parents, empowering young individuals with a strong emphasis on gender equality, and promoting positive role models within the community through “positive deviance” campaigns that showcase successful examples from within the community. Education and empowerment stand as central strategies for breaking the cycle of harmful cultural practices and fostering gender empowerment and equality.
- Recommendation 6: Relevant stakeholders should prioritize the streamlining and enhancement of birth registration processes to guarantee that every child receives legal recognition. Legal recognition and ensuring a child’s “legal visibility” in official records are vital for enabling children to exercise their rights fully. Simplifying registration processes plays a pivotal role in achieving this objective, ensuring that bureaucratic barriers do not hinder a child’s access to their rights and legal protections.
Social protection and adequate standard of living
Recommendation 1: Stakeholders with a vested interest in promoting social justice should give due consideration to the necessity of enacting policy changes and reforms, as appropriate, to break down barriers and facilitate equitable access to social protection services, with a special focus on historically marginalized communities, such as the Roma.
It is imperative to champion policies that explicitly prioritize the needs of socially vulnerable groups, including children. The concerted effort in policy advocacy and reform is indispensable in addressing deep-seated systemic inequalities, thereby guaranteeing that social protection programmes are not only accessible but also efficaciously serve the needs and enhance the well-being of the Roma community. Inclusivity within policies stands as an indispensable safeguard for upholding the rights and enhancing the overall quality of life for these vulnerable populations.
- Recommendation 2: Advancing social welfare should prioritize the streamlining and simplification of application processes for social protection programmes. This entails a reduction in bureaucratic complexities, the diligent implementation of their ex-officio responsibilities, and the simplification of documentation requirements. Simultaneously, governments should proactively offer support and guidance to individuals and families, facilitating their navigation through these processes with greater ease and efficiency. Such simplification serves the crucial purpose of alleviating administrative burdens and ensuring that individuals and families in need can readily access vital social protection services, free from undue obstacles and unnecessary hindrances.
- Recommendation 3: It is imperative for pertinent stakeholders to establish comprehensive data collection and analysis systems that methodically gather and scrutinize disaggregated data. These data are instrumental to comprehend the precise impact of social protection ervices (and cash transfers) on Roma families and children. Stakeholders should harness these data to their fullest potential, utilizing them as a powerful tool to pinpoint barriers, evaluate programme effectiveness, and guide evidence-based decision making for programme enhancement. Emphasizing data-driven decision making is pivotal for the development and execution of efficacious social protection initiatives. Disaggregated data are invaluable as they unveil specific challenges encountered by the Roma community and facilitates a thorough assessment of the outcomes achieved through interventions.
- Recommendation 4: Efficient interagency collaboration is essential among diverse governmental and non-governmental stakeholders to jointly develop culturally sensitive and precisely targeted outreach strategies tailored to reach Roma families via community-based interventions. The primary goal is to heighten awareness about the accessibility of social protection services. This collaborative approach should extend to engaging community leaders, Roma mediators, and organizations, leveraging their influence and expertise to effectively disseminate pertinent information. Targeted outreach endeavours play a pivotal role in ensuring that Roma families are not only informed about the existence of available services but are also encouraged to access them when needed.
Roma participation
- Recommendation 1: Governments should recognize and act upon the importance of including Roma youth voices in decision making processes by integrating them into youth councils and other platforms, ensuring a more diverse and representative governance.
- Recommendation 2: Governments at all levels should ensure equitable and proportional representation of vulnerable minority groups. This approach is crucial for ensuring that policies and decisions concerning these communities are made in a collaborative and inclusive manner, where nothing that affects Roma is determined without the active participation of Roma.
Highlights
This report provides an overview of selected findings from the sixth round (2018–2020) of Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) conducted in Roma settlements in Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. It focuses on Roma children and women, aiming to track progress and highlight disparities within the Roma community compared to the national average. The reference to ‘Roma’, as an umbrella term, encompasses a wide range of different people of Romani origin and groups such as Ashkali, Egyptians and Roma.
The analytical report leverages the MICS surveys to track the progress of Roma children and women within the specific Child Rights Monitoring (CRM) framework. Some of the framework’s sub-domains have been excluded because of a lack of indicators.
*All references to Kosovo should be understood to be in the context of United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).