Traveller groups welcomed calls for more support, but questioned the characterisation of domestic violence as a problem particularly affecting the community
By Sonia Elks
LONDON, April 5 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Britain's Traveller community should be offered programmes to tackle domestic abuse and challenge "outdated" attitudes towards women, lawmakers said on Friday.
Women need more targeted support to escape violence within often isolated and close-knit communities, while children should get classes on consent and respect, said a report from parliament's Women and Equalities Committee.
The term Traveller is used to cover a number of traditionally itinerant people who are recognised as distinct ethnic minority groups under British law.
"It was clear that in some parts of the Gypsy Roma Traveller community there is still a very traditional view of women's roles," the committee's chairwoman Maria Miller told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
"One of the things we were struck by were the particular problems facing women in the Gypsy Roma Traveller community when it came to domestic violence and being able to secure the help that they needed."
Up to half a million Traveller and Roma people live in Britain, according to government estimates.
Traveller women face high levels of domestic coercion and violence due to a male-dominated culture in which women are often seen as subservient to men, the inquiry heard.
Local authorities should offer Traveller women a single trusted contact who can build links and give information and support on domestic abuse and violence, the inquiry said.
It called for the government to look at funding programmes run by established Traveller support groups aiming to challenge gendered views and tackle the root causes of abuse.
A lack of awareness of issues around consent and healthy relationships was also leading to domestic abuse among young Traveller people, the panel said, urging schools to ensure that consent and respect were covered in sex education lessons.
The recommendations drew a mixed response from Traveller groups, who welcomed the calls for more support, but questioned the characterisation of domestic violence as a problem particularly affecting the community.
"I don't think it's wholly accurate," said Helen Jones, chief executive of Leeds GATE Travellers' association.
"Domestic violence and abuse is a problem within some families, but certainly not all.
"We would have wished the recommendations made on this topic to be inclusive of all," she said. (Reporting by Sonia Elks @soniaelks; Editing by Claire Cozens. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights, and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)
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