A quarter of Roma children suffer from malnutrition, and the life expectancy of Roma in Europe is ten years shorter than other Europeans, according to a study of 4,500 Roma across Europe.
- Every fourth Roma child lives in a household that can not access basic needs, such as a healthy diet, heat or has difficulty paying rent. Many face hunger. In addition, the life expectancy of Roma is 10 years lower than that of the rest of the population, writes the European Agency for Fundamental Rights (EAOP) based in Vienna.
"The report highlights the shocking difficulties faced by too many Roma in Europe today," said EEAO Director-General Michael O'Flaherty.
The study was based on interviews conducted between December 2018 and July 2019 with more than 4,500 Roma in Belgium, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Children often face hostility, and almost a third of parents say their children have been verbally abused at school because of their identity.
Another survey conducted by the EAPC, on the other hand, shows that almost half of EU citizens (45%) would be uncomfortable with having Roma as neighbors, a proportion highest in France (52%). To improve the situation, the EAPC calls on EU Member States "to enable Roma and traveling people to follow their own way of life, providing sufficient places of reception that offer decent accommodation".
