Roma & LGBT+

“I was hesitant to let people know that I was gay in a Romani context… because I assumed I wouldn’t be welcome if I were to reveal who I am. I think that was a mistake. I should have come out sooner.

Roma people constitute the largest ethnic minority group in Europe, with an estimated population of 10 to 12 million. Gaining specific figures on the exact number of Roma people living in Ireland has been difficult, as their ethnic identity is not included in census forms and there’s an understandable reluctance to tell officials that they belong to a group which is continually subjected to state-sanctioned racial discrimination.

The rough estimate at the moment, from the National Roma Needs Assessment (a new report by Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre and the Department of Justice and Equality) is 5,000. According to Oein DeBhairduin, a core member of the online support group, LGBT Pavee, there may be over 13 different Roma groups living in Ireland alone. “There are different dialects, different belief systems, different habitations and engagements, different ethnicities to a certain degree, different nationalities, and at the moment everyone is engaged as a singular group. It’s quite diverse, but the system is a ‘one-sizefits-all’.”

Where does this leave LGBT+ Roma in Ireland, of which there are approximately 500, based on the one in ten assumption? It’s hard to know, because at this point no LGBT Roma have come forward to share their experiences. Pavee Point suggests that this lack of visibility, or confidence to come forward, is rooted in the broader experience of Roma people in Ireland.

“What we found in the report is that there is a very high level of experiences of poverty in the Roma community in Ireland, and very extreme poverty for a minority of Roma,” says Siobhán Curran, Roma Project Coordinator at Pavee Point. “Across the board there were extremely high levels of discrimination, particularly in social protection and accommodation. Many Roma are living in very substandard accommodation.

“All of this was part of a broader finding that there were negative experiences with services for some Roma in the state, and they didn’t always feel that they could engage with services. I think this links very much to the experience of LGBT Roma and the extra barriers they face. If you think of the supports that somebody may need to come out, or if they have come out, for their family, the access to mainstream services is not the same as it is for the non-Roma community.”

The upshot is that there are no services are specifically tailored towards LGBT+ Roma in Ireland, despite a clear need.

“Quite regularly we deal with breakdowns in the home, alienation, and suicidal ideation,” says DeBhairduin. “There’s a lack of cultural connectivity where suddenly people are asking themselves who they are, and that comes in conflict with their other sense of identity.”

Added to this, according to Curran: “The issues facing Roma in Ireland are very complex. Oftentimes we’re dealing with issues of racism, homelessness, poverty, survival and then the issues that are very important around identity don’t get prioritised.”

According to Czech Roma LGBT+ activist David Tiser: “Roma LGBT people face triple discrimination: firstly as Roma, secondly as LGBT people, and thirdly as LGBT people in the Roma community. In the case of young Roma LGBT living in ghettos, there is a fourth ground for discrimination: exclusion. Due to the address of their residence, they are often unable to access services and are at a major disadvantage in terms of engaging with agencies such as the police, healthcare, and so on.”

LIVING OPENLY

The Council of Europe’s Roma Youth Action Plan published a study named Barabarapien in 2014. ‘Barabarapien’ means ‘equality’ in the Romani language, along with other related meanings such as together, togetherness, next to each other, etc. The report outlines the multiple discrimination faced by Roma youth across Europe by telling the stories of young Roma individuals. Maria, based in Serbia, lives with her female partner in a Roma settlement, and she tells the story of how she and her partner chose to live openly. “Although we are two barely-educated Roma women living in quite bad conditions, we dared ask to be recognised as a same-sex family,” she says.

“Apart from being finger-pointed all the time, we haven’t been harassed or discriminated against. There are many women here who are either single parents or their husbands don’t care a lot about their families, so they are often left to take care of everything, and that is where I step in and help them. I feel this is the reason that the people in the community accept my partner and I. Maybe they don’t like the way we live, but they need us.”

Out, gay Romani Gypsy, Isaac Blake, also had a positive experience in his community. Currently Executive Director of the Romani Cultural & Arts Company in Cardiff, Blake grew up on a Gypsy and Traveller site. “People have seen me grow up from a young child into a young man, so I’ve never really experienced challenges,” he says.

However Isaac is quick to point out that his story is not necessarily the norm. “I’m not going to and lie and say that everyone has had a positive experience similar to mine. There are a lot of LGBT people in the community who have had a negative experience, and they are actually afraid to come out.”

William Bila (pictured left), Adviser on Partnerships and Network Development at the ERRC, is also an out gay Romani man, but it took him some time to come to this point.

“I was hesitant to let people know that I was gay in a Romani context,” he says. “I think that held me back from participating fully and volunteering in different Romani-led activities in the emancipation movement, because I assumed I wouldn’t be welcome if I were to reveal who I am.

“I think that was a mistake – I should have come out sooner, but I didn’t want to be excluded. I was afraid to come out as many young people are when they don’t have other visible examples of people like them in their communities.”

Bila’s reluctance to come out earlier echoes the experiences of LGBT+ people across the board, and he agrees that Romani communities are no different to others in many respects when it comes to discrimination.

“I’ve talked to some of my friends, they’ve had quite homophobic experiences within their families, some of them being excluded entirely, others only excluded for a couple of weeks and came back together, so you have the full range. Romani people are just like all other people. Some are accepting, some need some time, and others refuse to listen.

“Every time you tell someone it becomes a little bit easier and a little bit more natural. Romani people - and this is my personal conclusion - basically are not more or less homophobic than anyone else.”

WIDER DISCRIMINATION

According to the website of the Council of Europe, many LGBT+ Roma experience social exclusion on personal, familial and community levels. At the same time they are also facing discrimination from the wider LGBT+ population because of their origins.

LGBT+ Irish Roma often struggle to find ways to successfully negotiate their ethnic and sexual identities, while often within LGBT+ movements there is little awareness of the specific concerns of Irish Travellers and Roma.

The Council of Europe’s Roma Youth Action Plan suggests that young LGBTs may feel torn due to there being a cultural clash between sexual orientation and some Roma traditions. The Barabarapien study highlighted a conflict experienced between being LGBT+ and a Romani, with members of the community having to choose between one or other aspect of their identities.

This ‘choice’ is most likely the reason for the invisibility of Roma LGBT+ people in Ireland. It’s a chicken and egg situation, because if there was more visibility, there would be more supports.

Community Development Worker with the Roma Project at Pavee Point, Gabi Muntean of Pavee Point is keen to encourage Roma LGBTs to come forward.

“Just because nobody has come to us yet, it doesn’t mean they’re not there,” she says. “We would like to support LGBT Roma people in Ireland. We would like to talk to them.” So how can LGBT+ Roman be encouraged to come forward?

“ We would like to support LGBT Roma people in Ireland. We would like to talk to them.

Gabi Muntean, Pavee Point

“There are plenty of things that can be done to try and open up the table a bit,” says Oein DeBhairduin. “We should not just to ask ‘How can we help?’ but check in with ourselves and ask ‘What can I do to help?’

“It’s assertive inclusion – rather than waiting for people to present themselves, it’s about engaging with people assertively, seeking them out. Make sure they know there’s always a space there.”

“ Roma LGBT people face triple discrimination: irstly as Roma, secondly as LGBT people, and thirdly as LGBT people in the Roma community.

“There is a need for LGBT Roma role models for new generations,” adds Curran, “but before that there’s a need at a higher policy level for clear support of Roma that involves outreach, that involves public information that’s accessible to the Roma community, rather than expecting that people can access the mainstream services.”

According to DeBhairduin we also “need to have those awkward conversations about how people treat the Roma. When people see those who are very ethnically identifiable as Roma out and about in the wider community, there is this fear, because a lack of information leads people to believe the common thought which runs along the lines of ‘thievery, alienation, the other’.”

“ People have seen me grow up from a young child into a young man, so I’ve never really experienced challenges.

Isaac Blake

The National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy, launched in 2017, clarifies that the needs of LGBT+ Travellers and Roma will be one specific focus in the development of the LGBT+ Inclusion Strategy, to be led by the Department of Justice and Equality, and on which a consultation process will commence this year. The government have also committed to challenging homophobia and transphobia within the Traveller and Roma communities and giving support for Traveller and Roma families who have children/partners coming out.

“This is the first time this has been encapsulated in policy,” says Curran. “There needs to be action related to that now.”

The ’Roma In Ireland: A National Needs Assessment’ report was launched on January 18. It can be downloaded from www.paveepoint.ie