Dispelling Myths, Challenging Stereotypes

Here we offer some facts to dispel common myths and stereotypes. Click on a statement to reveal the facts.

• Gypsy/Travellers are not a proper ethnic minority group, and should not be recognised/protected as such.

  Fact: Both the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government recommended that Gypsy/ Travellers in Scotland should be regarded as an ethnic group. A 2008 judgement in relation to an employment tribunal [K. MacLennan versus Gypsy Traveller Education and Information Project] set a precedent in this regard, it concluded that ‘Scottish Gypsy/Travellers’ are a group which can be defined by reference to their ethnic origins and therefore can be afforded the protection offered by the Equality Act 2010. This means they now have the same legal rights as English Gypsies and Irish Travellers.

• The Gypsy/Traveller community keep themselves to themselves; they don’t want to access services like health and education.

  Fact: Despite, in many cases, having a greater health need, Gypsy/Travellers use mainstream health services less than other members of the population. Some of the reasons for this involve practical difficulties: such as complex procedures for registering and accessing services. Isolation of sites can create problems in accessing dentists and opticians. A number of GP surgeries insist on having a permanent address in order to register with them [even although this is not a necessary requirement], and a lack of patient held medical records can add to the barriers Gypsy/Travellers face accessing health services. Reports from Gypsy/Travellers often state experience of hostility and prejudice from healthcare providers, which again impacts on Gypsy/Travellers utilising services.

  Fact: Gypsy/Travellers are entitled to be educated along with all other children. For some families engaging with schools is a challenging process, which is sometimes due to cultural differences between the school and home. Some Gypsy/Traveller families report that schools have little sympathy and offer little support for Gypsy/Traveller families, their values and lifestyle. Like any other children and young people, there are those who have had positive and negative experiences of education. What is paramount is that education authorities, schools and support services are tasked with delivering inclusive practices for all Scotland’s children. These are the rights of all children in the UK, compounded by the UN Convention on the Rights of The Child.

• You can’t be a Gypsy/Traveller and live in a house.

  Fact: Gypsy/Travellers are an ethnic group; “Born a Gypsy/Traveller, always a Gypsy/Traveller”. Being a Gypsy/Traveller involves much more than just travelling – even if you live in a house you are still a Gypsy/Traveller. “We have our own customs, traditions, language and beliefs. Some people live in houses and others in trailers; we often move between the two, but we’re always Gypsy/Travellers”.

• The council has offered to put Gypsy/Traveller families in council housing; what are they moaning about?

  Fact: Gypsy/Travellers living in ‘bricks and mortar housing’ share all the same issues facing the community as a whole, while also having their own particular concerns. Specific issues include: difficulty in settling into mainstream accommodation, stress, isolation and worsening health problems.

  “If you are used to living in a caravan/trailer your whole life and then put into a house, it’s really hard to get used to. It would be like expecting people who live in houses to change to living in a caravan and just put up with it”.

• Gypsy/Travellers don’t pay taxes, why should public money be spent on them?

  Fact: All Gypsy/Travellers living on local authority or privately owned sites pay council tax, rent, gas, electricity, and all other relevant charges – which are measured the same way as other households. Those living on ‘roadside encampments’, generally speaking, do not pay council tax rates but they also do not receive services. All residents within the UK pay tax on their purchases and petrol. All Gypsy/Travellers are charged VAT on everything that they buy.

• Words like ‘tink’, ‘gypo’ and ‘pikey’ are so common that it‘s okay to use them; it’s not offensive.

  Fact: All of these words are considered racist. These words have been used historically and/or currently as allegations about Gypsy/Roma/Travellers ethnicity, and refer to them in a derogatory and pejorative manner.

• Gypsy/Travellers are benefit scroungers.

  Fact: A very small number of Gypsy/Travellers receive benefits. Many Gypsy/Traveller families, who spend the majority of their time travelling from one eviction to the next, find it difficult to access the correct level of benefit support [if any] without a fixed address.

  There is a strong work ethic in Gypsy/Traveller culture based on the need to survive. Gypsy/Travellers often start work at a younger age than the rest of society. Traditional skills are passed down from generation to generation.

• Gypsy/Travellers are dirty and leave mess everywhere they go.

  Fact: Gypsy/Traveller culture is built upon strict codes of cleanliness, learned over centuries of life on the road. Concepts such as ‘mokadi’ and ‘mahrime’ have created strict guidelines, for example: the rules surrounding washing [dishes and personal hygiene]. Good quality sites are often in the minority. The majority of sites are in poor locations and bring with them health hazards; such as contamination by vermin and decayed/outdated facilities. It is often the case in council sites that rubbish is not lifted as frequently as it should be by local authorities.

• Gypsy/Travellers are thieves and criminals; they steal everything everywhere they go.

  Fact: There can be crime in any community. There is no evidence of higher crime rates among Gypsy/Travellers. The media – and images used in reports – are often inaccurate and discriminatory. Some Gypsy/Travellers feel they have been criminalised by laws to curtail their traditional lifestyle.

• Gypsy/Travellers are loaded; did you see the money they spent on their weddings in My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding?

  Fact: Traditionally many Gypsy/Travellers are self-employed and pay tax just like anyone else. Gypsy/Traveller culture often values portable wealth, and because of this money can be more visible. But, as in any community, there are rich and poor families – the rich being in the minority. The amount of capital their home is worth is far less than the equity many non Gypsy/Travellers hold in houses, and is constantly depreciating in value.

• Scottish Gypsy/Travellers are the same as Gypsy/Travellers on My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding.

  Fact: MBFGW focused on a small number of individuals from 5 sites [out of an estimated 300-plus sites across the UK]. In any community, there are people who choose to live their lives in certain ways. What MBFGW did not cover was the fact that there are around 300,000 Gypsy/Roma/Travellers in the UK who do not enjoy the wealth shown on MBFGW, and who face discrimination, stereotyping and substandard living conditions on a daily basis. The clear message is not to believe everything you read, see and hear in the media.

Laura Flannagan interviews Dr Lynne Tammi about her work on the social representations of Gypsy/Travellers.

Till Doomsday in the Afternoon: Gypsy/Travellers in Scotland – A Learning Resource

Although primarily developed for the secondary school curriculum, this resource is flexible so can be easily adapted for use within other themes and settings.  For example, Community Learning and Development practitioners may find it a useful addition to equalities and human rights awareness raising.

You can download a copy here.