Ms Laura Pohjolainen:

Pavee Point thanks the committee for the opportunity to attend this meeting and to raise some of the concerns about domestic and sexual violence in Traveller and Roma communities. Pavee Point is a national Traveller and Roma organisation which works towards attaining human rights for Travellers and Roma in Ireland. Our submission contains a number of recommendations for policy and legislation in order to prevent domestic and sexual violence. These include amendment of the habitual residence condition; development of an adequate and comprehensive national Traveller and Roma integration strategy; signature and ratification of the Council of Europe convention on combatting and preventing violence against women and domestic violence.

It is important to understand that domestic and sexual violence are not more prevalent in minority ethnic groups such as Traveller and Roma cultures. However, Traveller and Roma women are more vulnerable to such violence because of discrimination based on their ethnicity and gender. Due to this racism and discrimination, many Traveller and Roma women experience poverty, high levels of unemployment, low educational attainment levels, social isolation, mental and physical health issues and poor standards of accommodation as well as homelessness. This situation makes Roma and Traveller women more vulnerable to domestic and sexual violence, including prostitution and trafficking for sexual exploitation. It also creates significant barriers to accessing services and protections that are crucial for women experiencing violence. As a result, many Traveller and Roma women rarely access services and have little choice but to stay in violent relationships and situations or to face homelessness, destitution and social isolation.

The habitual residence condition, HRC, is a serious obstacle to fleeing violence for Traveller and Roma women. Many Roma women in particular fail to satisfy the HRC even though they have been living in the State for significant periods of time. Without access to social protection, access to services for such women is also denied. For instance, access to a refuge is dependent on the woman's ability to pay for her place or whether she is in receipt of social protection. Clearly, Roma women who are not in employment and are not habitually resident are unable to get help in refuges.

No person should be left outside the State's protection systems. We recommend an exemption to the HRC in respect of women who are affected by domestic and sexual violence as well as the introduction of guidelines in the HRC for dealing with individuals who experience domestic and sexual violence. We also urge the Government to meet its requirements to develop an adequate and comprehensive national Traveller and Roma integration strategy. This needs to have clear goals, timeframes and funding mechanisms to address the structural inequality, discrimination, racism and poverty that Traveller and Roma women face and that are at the core of putting women at risk of domestic and sexual violence.

Ireland's current strategy has been criticised by the European Commission as having significant shortcomings. The improvement of the socioeconomic situation of Traveller and Roma women is key to ensuring adequate protection for them from violence and to increasing their access to services and protections. It would also be possible through this strategy to address anti-Roma and anti-Traveller racism and discrimination, which are the root cause of women not being able to access services and protections.