CYP Now - NCB Now: Comment - The discrimination against Travellers must bestopped

On 5 November, events across the country marked the 400th anniversary of the gunpowder plot. One section of society, however, may not have been celebrating. Two years ago, a bonfire night event climaxed in an effigy of a Gypsy caravan, complete with cardboard cut-outs of children, being torched.

Discrimination against Gypsy and Traveller families is widespread. In a2001 Mori poll, one in three respondents admitted personal prejudiceagainst these groups.

It is easy to condemn the acts of violence, verbal abuse and directdiscrimination.

But do we in the children's sector have the commitment to understand andaddress Gypsies' and Travellers' needs?

Discussions about educational inequalities and ethnicity often neglectto mention the 80 per cent of Gypsy and Traveller young people who donot attend secondary school.

And as we plan for children's health, do we acknowledge the impact oflower life expectancy on this group? In Leeds, the life expectancy ofGypsies and Travellers is nearly 30 years less than the settledpopulation.

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