IDENTIFYING AND CHANGING
STEREOTYPES BETWEEN ROMA AND
NON – ROMA PEOPLE
Dr. Gregor Maučec
ISCOMET, Maribor, Slovenia
Stereotypes
• What are they?
– Colective social constructs/representations
– Beliefs (convictions) that surpass individual level: they are shared by
groups and refer to members of another group
– Shared mental images (collective pictures in our heads) which have or
do not have a close connection with social reality
– Means by which individuals and groups orient themselves in an
otherwise extremely complex and incomprehensible world
– They can be connected with positive or negative attitudes towards
other people, communities and groups to which they refer
– They are imparted to younger members of a specific society in the
process of bringing-up and in various social contexts (at home, in
school, by participating in social networks, etc.)
• Why are they harmful?
– Negative stereotypes often lead to or reinforce segregation,
discrimination, social exclusion, marginalisation and also poverty of
members of non-dominant groups
Stereotypes about Roma
• Opinion polls show that the prejudice and stereotypes about
Roma which form the kernel of popular imagery are
universal and ubiquitous
• Despite some positive connotations (e.g. Roma are good
musicians, dancers and gifted artisan), they are
overwhelmingly negative
• Early common stereotypes about Roma can be seen to have
strong racial, ethnic and class bases; subsequent stereotyping
of Roma invoked fears and antipathy among non-Roma
people alongside themes of idleness, indiscipline and
depravity, themes which persist to this day
• The dominant groups in Europe regard Roma as uneducated
and unteachable, uninterested in school and work, conniving,
dirty, and lazy
Stereotypes about Roma – continuation…
• Stereotypes relating to physical appearance (dark skin and hair), smell
(they are dirty and stink, they have atrocious personal hygiene and they
spread diseases), language spoken or designation of Roma with pejorative
or offensive names (Gypsies, Cigani, etc.)
• Criminal stereotypes: Roma are beggars, thieves, swindlers, pickpockets,
trespassers, rowdies, dirty, immoral, con-men, tricksters, they have bad
manners, they are all fiddlers and brawlers, they are genetically predestined
to become thieves and drug dealers, etc.
• Anti-Roma stereotypes of economic/social character: Roma are unsocial,
social misfits, dishonest, untrustworthy, lazy, work-shy parasites who live
off other people’s backs, layabouts, liars, idlers, parasitic deviants, riff-raffs
(social marginals), they like to live in isolation and they are united among
themselves, they do not want to be integrated or to work or to live in a
civilized way, they have too many children and bad personal finance
management, etc.
Stereotypes about non-Roma
• Word “Gadjo/Gadji” or “Civilian” is commonly used within
Roma communities to indicate non-Roma man/woman and
does not carry a pejorative or offensive meaning in the
sense of “Gypsy”
• Roma often view the Gadje negatively as oppressive,
domineering, source of trouble, easy victims of Gypsy
cunning, or sometimes positively as trustworthy, but most
significantly, the Gadje are considered impure because they
do not respect the Roma code of hygiene—marimé
• Such distinction of Roma from Gadje may continue to
impact the integration of Roma into society at large, their
participation in civil society, and their use of public
services
Changing stereotypes
• Two significant attributes of stereotyped attitudes:
persistence and rigidity
• Stereotypes are extremely resistant to changes
despite information that contradicts them – mostly
such information is interpreted as an exception to
the general rule, as an incident, etc. Even when
people encounter a stereotyped group member who
violates the group stereotype, they often continue to
maintain the stereotype by splitting it into subtypes
- as a result of subtyping, stereotypes become
impervious to disconfirming evidence
Changing stereotypes – continuation…
• Stereotypes may become, under specific circumstances, less
outspoken and less frequently used, while it is much more
difficult to change or reduce them. However, so far research has
found that stereotypes may be widespread and persistent, but
they are also amenable to change when people make an effort to
reduce them. Several studies on the issue indicate that
stereotypes are responsive to new information and subsequently
can be successfully changed or even reduced to some extent if
dealt with proper techniques and methods and social
perceptions made more accurate when people are motivated to
do so.
• The majority of anti-Roma stereotypes have maintained their
original purport in different societies for centuries.
Reducing stereotypes between Roma and
non-Roma
• Strategic tools aimed at changing stereotypes about Roma and nonRoma should ensure that measures and actions chosen seek to
eliminate false believes by:
– providing correct and accurate information
– avoiding “one-way” communication (both Roma and non-Roma must be
given an opportunity to engage with the topic of stereotypes and to
contribute their views)
– providing the practical skills to empower Roma and non-Roma to speak
out against stereotypes
– invoking empathy for members of outgroup on both sides
– pointing out similarities among rather than differences between Roma
and non-Roma, but subsequently emphasising cultural diversity and
plurality
Reducing stereotypes between Roma and nonRoma – continuation…
– focusing on changing stereotypy behaviours and actions, rather than on
modifying attitudes and/or beliefs, which are remarkably resistant to
change
– offering communities sound alternative explanations to people’s
justifications for their stereotypy views, stressing that ethnic groups are
not homogenous
– obtaining and having the support of clear unambiguous political
leadership
– being supported by sustained and substantial funding
– collaborating across relevant agencies and full
consultation/involvement of all ethnic communities
– offering practical solutions to changing stereotypy behaviour rather
than just focusing on widely held beliefs
– developing long-term plans rather than one-shot interventions
Strategies for reducing stereotypes between
Roma and non-Roma
• Individual strategies: they include actions and measures
directed towards individuals (e.g. providing knowledge about
social and cultural issues, dissonance and empathy)
• Interpersonal strategies: they foster intergroup contact,
consensus information, dialogue and advertising and
awareness-raising campaigns
• Stereotypes operate at both individual and systemic levels:
anti-stereotypes strategies need to be implemented at all levels
(i.e. individual, institutional and cultural)
• No strategy for change will be successful without significant
political will and adequate support of leading structures in a
respective country.
Strategies for reducing stereotypes between
Roma and non-Roma – continuation…
• The best possible approach for combating stereotypes is multifaceted, inclusive (encompassing all relevant strategies and
involving all parties affected) and developed in accordance with
the specific and local circumstances of the communities for which
it is intended.
• Dynamic, iterative and consultative approach, using both ‘topdown’ strategies (e.g. community or institutionally instigated
action, such as advertising campaigns targeting specific actions or
behaviours) and ‘bottom up’ strategies (e.g. addressing specific
stereotypy behaviours), is more likely to succeed than are
replications of ‘one-size fits all’ programs, without due regard for
local community concerns and political sensitivities around such
issues as entitlement, dispossession, racism and prejudice