Executive summary

• Author: Chryso Pelekani, Loizos Symeou
• Pages: 8-9

8

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In spite of the small number of Roma or Gurbet1 people living in the Republic of Cyprus,2

their situation is as difficult as in several other European countries with large and deeply

marginalised Roma populations. The Council of Europe estimates that the number of Roma

living in the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) is about 1,250 or 0.11 per cent of the overall

population (data from 2012); the National Roma Integration Strategy for Cyprus (NRIS)

estimates that in the areas controlled by the RoC, there are 650-700 Cypriot Roma now

living.3

The general government policy for the promotion of Cypriot Roma social inclusion follows

a horizontal policy that targets all vulnerable groups within a broader policy and its social

integration structures (e.g., general social inclusion policies and the National Reform

Program). Since Cyprus is promoting the integration of Roma through mainstream policy

measures in the context of existing structures, there are no separate monitoring

mechanisms in place for members of this group.4

The topics analysed in this report focus on the challenges faced by Romani women,

intermobility within Cyprus, and on the prevention of drug use among Roma. The reason

why the authors selected these specific themes for the third monitoring report is because

until now there have not been any reports or research related to the domestic migration

and mobility of Cypriot Roma, or research about Roma women in Cyprus, or about the

impact of the distribution and use of drugs in the Roma community in Cyprus. Topics such

as education, housing, health and employment were mentioned and analysed in the

previous Roma Civil Monitor reports.

For this reason, it was important to examine and investigate the themes mentioned above.

These topics provide a more complete picture of the situation of Cypriot Roma and other

issues faced in their community. As emerged from the interviews conducted with Roma

(10 Roma) and non-Roma (two non-Roma), the lack of concrete political or social Roma

integration measures creates problems not only among Romani communities (for both

men and women) but also problems for those around them.

Situation of Roma women

Despite the intense activity of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth (MoEC),

of other governmental or non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and of institutions

around the issue of Roma, smooth integration into the Greek Cypriot (G/C) community

around the issue of educationremains difficult for Roma and as a consequence, their

illiteracy level remains high. Our interviews revealed that Roma women face intolerance,

lack of respect, daily racism and discrimination, and are marginalised - not just outside

the home but also the home, especially by their husbands. The position of Roma woman

is a degraded one and they are considered inferior. Women’s participation in the Cyprus

Roma Association-CYPROM is a movement that aims to help Roma women express

themselves and fight for their rights.

1 Roma in Cyprus are known as Gurbets; but, in this report the term ΟRomaΠ will be used.

2In this report, ΟCyprusΠ refers to the areas controlled by the government of the Republic of Cyprus (EU

Member State since 2004), which is also referred to as Οthe SouthΠ. Areas that are not under the control of the

government of the Republic of Cyprus are referred to as Οthe NorthΠ.

3 Policy Measures of Cyprus for the Social Inclusion of Roma, 06 June 2017,

https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/roma_cyprus_strategy_en.pdf (Retrieved on January 21, 2019)

4 Pelekani, C. & Symeou, L. (2019), Civil society monitoring report on implementation of the national

Roma integration strategies in Cyprus: Assessing the progress in four key policy areas of the strategy.

European Commission & Central European University.