The Situation of the Roma Women in Romania – Sociological Study [2011]

The study “The situation of the Roma women in Romania” consisted in a nationally-representative survey, carried out in June-July 2011, in 48 rural and urban localities from 27 counties; 804 questionnaires were applied.

Beyond the quantitative data, the research was completed through semi-structured interviews made with Roma women and local representatives from the town halls, medical centres and schools. The research instruments and the report were structured on seven dimensions, providing an overview on the situation of the analysed population, i.e.: family, education, work and occupations, health, habitation, values and trends, interventionism and needs.

A special attention was paid to the phenomenon of early marriages and domestic violence. The reasons why the Roma women do not attend schools or do not continue their education were identified; among them, there are: the precarious financial situation of the family, the lack of perception on the importance of the school and the start of married/couple life. Regarding the lack of a stable job, most of the women explain this situation through the responsibility of child care, lack of education and early marriage. 14.3% of the female respondents state that they agree that Roma girls should get married before the age of 15. The data show that the most acute needs of the Roma women are related to habitation, health services and integration into the labour market.