Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, minoritised ethnic groups in the UK, including Roma populations, faced heightened risks of morbidity and mortality – exacerbating existing health inequalities. Yet “recovery” narratives have primarily emphasised economic growth and productivity, largely ignoring the persistent ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic inequalities. What can we learn about the actual experience of Roma communities during and following the pandemic, writes Iliana Sarafian?
Roma groups across Europe, including the UK, have poorer health and higher mortality rates than non-Roma. They face numerous barriers to adequate healthcare, with Roma, Gypsy, and Traveller communities in the UK having a life expectancy that is 10-12 years shorter than the national average. Often referred to as “hard to reach” in policy and health interventions, Roma communities are seldom engaged in research, while gauging accurate population counts remains challenging due to long-standing issues of exclusion and discrimination (despite the inclusion of a specific Roma category in the 2021 census).
Across Europe, the pandemic intensified racist anti-Roma attitudes, with Roma being blamed for spreading the virus and labelled as “hesitant” or “non-compliant” with public health measures. This led to securitised and militarised measures targeting Roma communities in several states. In this context, our ethnographic fieldwork in Leicester and London explored how migrant Roma communities navigated the post-COVID-19 crisis as part of a wider project on this topic.
Hidden identities: “They would get rid of me if they knew”
Stigma significantly drives health inequalities, undermining access to health services, housing, and employment, as well as generating physiological stress. A 2023 study revealed pervasive racial discrimination experienced by Roma communities in the UK before and during the pandemic, including discrimination by the police, in education, employment, and public spaces. Chronic illness among Roma is also highly prevalent. Additionally, the pandemic coincided with Brexit-related uncertainties and discrimination, further impacting the lives of Roma communities in the UK.
Our participants often adopted strategies of invisibility, allowing others to classify them based on nationality, mainly as Eastern European. To avoid discrimination, they often concealed their identities from employers, colleagues, neighbours and health professionals. One woman from Leicester working in a sewing factory shared, “My employers don’t know that I’m a Roma, I think they would get rid of me if they knew it.” Her need to hide her identity reflected her fear of being viewed as dishonest or inferior, stemming from past experiences of racism, discrimination, and social exclusion in her home country, coupled with an awareness of similar discrimination in the UK. Another respondent said,
“I don’t want people to know that I am Roma. If you say the word ‘Gypsy,’ people think that you are scum, rubbish, the lowest of the low in UK society.”
Avoiding contact with health providers and delaying seeking healthcare was common, driven by distrust of public services. Most interviewees believed that health practitioners would not address their health needs due to language barriers. Precarious work, lack of stable housing, and non-registration with a general practitioner (GP) further hindered healthcare access. Contrary to opinions that migrants rely exclusively on the NHS, our research participants were less likely than other groups to access primary care before the pandemic, a gap that widened during the pandemic’s first year, with digitalisation and virtual consultations exacerbating these inequalities. Most of our Roma interlocutors were not registered with a GP, and those who were rarely sought appointments. Instead, they treated themselves at home with medicines brought from their home countries and shared medications with others who needed them.
Precarious work and exploitation
The labour market experiences of Roma migrants in the UK remain under-researched. Our study found that most participants were engaged in short-term employment, zero-hours contracts or gig economy jobs without union protection. This precarious employment made it difficult for them to reduce exposure to (or self-isolate from) COVID-19. Government measures to support businesses and employees during the pandemic, including the furlough scheme, did not align with casual employment and the existing challenges of poverty and deprivation among working individuals in the UK. Consequently, Roma working in precarious conditions were less likely to be placed on furlough and had the highest rate of income decrease during the pandemic.
In both Leicester and London, our informants mostly worked in precarious jobs characterised by low pay, long hours and difficult working conditions. These jobs often involved heavy manual labour, such as warehouse, factory, and cleaning work, making them susceptible to labour exploitation. Some worked without contracts for wages below the UK minimum wage. Without financial support or savings, many Roma felt compelled to continue working during lockdowns, often in secret. One interviewee noted:
“We had to work to be able to live. We either die of hunger or COVID. It was awful.”
Those who fell sick stayed home without pay. Limited English language proficiency among many interviewees was a significant barrier to asserting their rights and seeking redress for exploitation. Regional disparities were evident, with London offering relatively higher pay and more job opportunities compared to Leicester, but accommodation prices in London were also significantly higher.
Overcrowded Housing
During the pandemic, research illustrated a significant disparity in living conditions, with 60% of Roma in the UK experiencing overcrowded housing. The impact of overcrowded housing on the well-being of our research respondents was evident. Contrary to popular opinions that migrants rely on housing benefits, most of our research participants were living in privately rented accommodations. Many shared that their accommodation conditions had caused stress, exhaustion and other adverse health effects, including exacerbated asthma due to dampness and mould. Families shared small apartments or houses, with numerous occupants struggling for access to limited facilities. Self-isolating or reducing exposure to COVID-19 was severely limited. One woman in London shared:
“I continue to be constantly sick from the house I share with others, but I must work.”
Additionally, the dependence on employers for housing or other support further entrenched individuals in exploitative conditions, with the risk of losing accommodation when changing jobs heightening feelings of fear and isolation.
Overall, the ethnographic accounts of migrant Roma populations in the UK highlight systemic issues that sustain social inequalities. Our study stresses the urgent need to recognise the link between socioeconomic conditions, systemic discrimination and health outcomes, particularly for communities often rendered “invisible” – both in official statistics and wider social discourse.
All articles posted on this blog give the views of the author(s). They do not represent the position of LSE Inequalities, nor of the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Image credits: image by Perfect Lazybones via Shutterstock.
