Weaving Strong Relationships Within Roma Women Associations to Overcome Violence Against Women

Abstract

Cultural relationships shape individuals’ response towards some of the most pressing challenges, such as the urgent one of tacking violence against women. In this sense, women from ethnic minorities have to face more systemic barriers in accessing care and protection services for victims of gender violence. Despite the progress made in recent years, the official circuits continue to be far from the Roma reality. In this research, authors explore the key role played by two Romani women association in fulfilling this gap. Through the communicative methodology this research bridges together participants’ and scientific knowledge in a co-creation process to illustrate how, despite systemic barriers, two Romani women associations are working to prevent and overcome violence against women. The findings of this research warn of the impact of training in gender violence for Roma women, accompaniment and counselling for victims, to overcome the problem by strengthening intercultural relationships. Thus, the article analyzes the bridging work of those Roma associations and identifies how they are contributing to closing the gap between Roma women who had suffered gender violence and the institutions. How these two Roma-women associations counteract the under-representation of Roma identity in official services is also discussed.