Traveller children and the state: Welfare or neglect?

Abstract

Travellers' historical experience is of persecution. Recent policy in England and Wales reflects assimilation or exclusion, with Travellers facing the paradox of pressure to settle and insufficient sites because of the failure to implement legislation. The conditions for many Travellers are damaging, and undermine access to other rights and services. Children are particularly severely affected, resulting in societally imposed neglect. Traveller children's low health status and the negative effects on their development are documented in practice reports, seminars and research. Policy trends have culminated in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 which removes rights and increases penalties for travelling, and is likely to exacerbate an already problematic situation for many Traveller children. Welfare services both have contributed to and can counteract this societal neglect. Problems of access and service delivery are outlined in relation to health, education and social services, and new service developments described. Key criteria for positive practice are found to be common to these areas of welfare provision, and include anti‐discrimination and cultural respect, outreach and community‐oriented work; hand‐held records; specialist provision focused on immediate needs and commitment to mainstream change; flexibility and inter‐agency development work; and advocacy and campaigning alongside Travellers.

Gypsy-Travellers and Welfare Professional Discourse: On Individualization and Social Integration

“…Thus there is an existing literature that has sought to problematize notions of childhood (and engagement with education in particular) and social integration in terms of Gypsy‐Traveller interaction with the state and social welfare. This literature points to the importance of childhood and social integration in contemporary discourse and how they are constructed as prerequisites for “inclusion” and “empowerment” (Cemlyn 1995; DCSF 2008; EUMC 2006; Ofsted 2003). Not addressed in this literature, however, is the function of the concept of individualization to this discourse.…”

“…The view that Gypsy‐Traveller communities in Britain need more interaction with mainstream institutions and wider society is a longstanding one prevalent in policy and academic discourse (Cemlyn 1995; Cudworth 2008; Department for Children Schools and Families – DCSF 2008; European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia – EUMC 2006; Office for Standards in Education – Ofsted 2003). The response to these claims on the part of scholars can be broadly defined as taking two forms (Vanderbeck 2005).…”

Health care needs of Travellers

“…However, Travellers view child abuse as totally abhorrent and most would claim that it does not exist within their culture. Most professionals working with Travellers would agree with Cemlyn17 that there appears to be less evidence of child abuse in the very child centred Traveller community than in the non-Traveller community. Travellers do tend to be strict disciplinarians but there is also a high level of physical affection within families.…”

“…17 During the nineties, more posts have been created, although in many, the worker is expected to fulfil a poorly defined role in far too few hours. Although there is little documented evidence of the effectiveness of the role, Cemlyn comments that “the profile of health issues and health care rose very significantly” after a specialist health visitor was appointed in Avon 27…”

Negotiating marginalized identities

“…Travellers mistrusted social workers and made minimal demands on services, and conversely social workers found Travellers' mobile lifestyle dif®cult to engage with, resulting in a`de facto conspiracy to ignore Gypsies' (Butler, 1983: 26). More recently (Cemlyn, 1995(Cemlyn, , 1998 has con-®rmed that statutory social work involvement with Travellers is minimal and that few social service agencies plan appropriate services, even where substantial communities of Travellers reside in their area. Cemlyn (1995) has also commented on damaging legislation affecting Travellers, culminating in the 1994 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act, which made it illegal for Travellers to`stop' other than on (scarce) of®cial camping sites, resulting in many Travellers being evicted from temporary stopping areas.…”