Measuring anti-Romani discrimination in Canada

A Romani flag over a map of the Toronto metro area

October 23, 2024 — Romani Canadians face widespread incidents of everyday discrimination, according to a report released last month by the François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University and the Canadian Romani Alliance. More than two-thirds of the report’s Romani respondents also said they experienced major discrimination such as denial of housing based on their identity.

An estimated 110,000 Romani people live in Canda, particularly in the Greater Toronto-Hamilton area (GTHA). The research team interviewed adults in the GTHA (64 Romani and 23 non-Romani), with most Romani people being emigrants or refugees from Central and Eastern Europe.

The report used the everyday discrimination scale developed by David Williams, Florence Sprague Norman and Laura Smart Norman Professor of Public Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. This scale measures daily incidents that chip away at people’s self-worth, such as jokes, insults, and stereotype-based questioning. People who score high on the scale have a broad range of adverse health conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetescardiovascular disease, and poorer mental health.

According to the new report’s authors, its findings highlight the need to move beyond diversity statements and cultural sensitivity education and invest in anti-racism education and policies that center Romani voices.

FXB co-authors of the report include Stephanie Martinez-Fernandez, Edita Rigova, Margareta Matache, Aqil Arif Merchant, Keisha Bush, and Jacqueline Bhabha.

Read an FXB press release

Read the report: Confronting Major and Everyday Discrimination: Romani Experiences in Canada’s Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area

image: Mary Delaware