Bibliographic details and abstracts are available to all. Downloads of full-text dissertations are restricted to University of Portsmouth members who must login. MPhils may be accessed by all.

Abstract

Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Families have been part of the British community for over 500 years. Within the United Kingdom (UK) there is an estimated population of around 300,000 gypsy and travelling families and around 200,000 Roma families, the census in 2011 recorded 58,000 people as Gypsy/Traveller in England and Wales, just 0.01% of the population. (Office for National Statistics, 2011) Within Britain, those who identify themselves as Traveller or Romany constitute a diverse and culturally rich legion of communities who distinguish themselves differently and carefully from one another. “In the UK, Gypsies and Irish Travellers have been recognised as distinct ethnic groups in law since 1989 and 2000 respectively” (Houses of Parliament, 2004).

The Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Communities (GRTC) are often invisible within mainstream society, with little known about them. This unique and culturally rich community has developed a reputation for being disruptive, volatile and anti-social. This has been fuelled by prime-time television shows such as my “Big Fat Gypsy Wedding” and “Here Come the Gypsies” which inflame societies already negative, preconceived views of this community.

These communities are often deemed to be resistant to involvement from professionals, particularly social workers and police, preferring to keep issues secreted within their own community.

This Literature review aims to analyse ways in which social workers approach working with families from the GRTC, identify the factors and themes that are integral to successfully working with this group and highlight areas where there may be implications for social work practice. The author has conducted this literature review by critically analysing and examining five research articles to address the chosen question.

An analysis of the chosen literature identified the following four themes:

• Preconceived prejudice
• Complexities of cultural awareness.
• Effective communication, community engagement and multi-agency collaboration
• Understanding the social and economic needs and aspirations of GRTC

The themes and the findings indicated several challenges, concerning current social work practice when engaging with GRTC’s. Whilst considering current social work context the author will discuss these findings in depth. Following the discussion, supported by wider research, the author will conclude their findings, making recommendations for future social work practice.

Finally, the author has proposed to disseminate the findings from this research paper by producing a poster that encourages Social Workers to explore the cultural history of GRTC’s which coincides with the upcoming Gypsy Roma and Traveller annual history events.

Course: Social Work - MSc - C2081F

Date Deposited: 2021-10-20

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis13717.html