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Take action on discrimination against Travellers
Learn about Travellers and what you can do to help make a difference.
Travellers have been part of Irish life for centuries. They are a separate ethnic group, with their own customs and traditions.
Some facts:
- Male Travellers have over twice the risk of dying in a given year than settled males. For female Travellers, the risk is more than three times higher than the settled population.
- The infant mortality rate for Travellers was 18.1/1000 live births compared to a national figure of 7.4/1000.
- 17% of Travellers have difficulties registering with a GP and in many areas it was found that only a small number of GPs provided services to Travellers.
Many Travellers still live on the side of the road in awful conditions with no access to water or electricity. Some Travellers live in official accommodation that is poorly serviced and is often situated in unhealthy and dangerous locations.
Travellers experience racism and discrimination nearly every day of their lives. This can include physical and verbal abuse, as well as exclusion from shops and services. It can lead to low self-esteem, stress, anxiety and feelings of being a social outcast. This discrimination, combined with poor accommodation and living conditions can have a damaging affect on the health of Travellers.
Traveller health is significantly worse than the health of those in the settled community. Their way of life means that they tend to move from area to area quite a bit. However the law states that every time a person moves to a new health board area, they must apply for a new medical card. This can take up to six weeks, during which time they may be outside the health care system.
Some GPs refuse to treat Travellers, saying their "books are full". After a Traveller has been refused health care a number of times he/she may go to their local service health service and end up being appointed one of the doctors that refused them in the first place!
Since Travellers are a separate cultural group, they have their own unique health needs and need to be treated differently in the health service. Health care planners often do not recognise this and it can impact Travellers access to health services and, as a result their overall health status.
The majority of Irish Travellers cannot read and this is another inequality that they face. They may not be able to understand the instructions on medicine bottles, appointment cards, health promotion leaflets or materials. This can lead to them taking too little or too much of their medication, missing important appointments or not knowing how to prevent health problems.
Actions:
- Speak up for Travellers and challenge discrimination.
- Find out more. There is a lot of information on Travellers and their culture at www.paveepoint.ie.
Lobby your local TDs:
- To put Travellers’ health on their agenda.
- To have adequate halting sites and housing.
- To put enough funding into Traveller health programmes.
- Politicians are there to work for you and if you get enough people behind you, you can push things forward and make a difference! Find out more.
Further information:
www.spunout.ie/health/Equality/Discrimination/Discrimination
www.spunout.ie/health/Equality/Discrimination/No-to-discrimination
Information from The Public Health Alliance for the island of Ireland. See www.phaii.org for more information and to find out how you can get involved. Download the ‘Health in Ireland – an unequal state’ youth document.
