Approximately 12 million Roma are living in Europe. They constitute the biggest ethnic minority since the EU’s enlargement in 2004 and are present in almost all countries. Roma are less likely to have access to sexual and reproductive health information, care and rights. The barriers to health care that many Roma confront result from the complex and interrelated effects of poverty, discrimination and unfamiliarity with government institutions generally, and health services in particular.

IPPF EN runs a three-year project in Hungary and Slovakia which aims at providing accessible and high quality sexual and reproductive health services and sexuality education for Roma and other marginalized groups. The project adopted an integrated community approach establishing sustainable partnerships with the Roma community and other marginalized people living in regions with a large Roma presence. The project works with communities of greatest needs, operates in areas where there is low or insufficient presence of other agencies and government services, introduces concepts of local decision-making, self help and sustainability, aims to improve access to contraceptives.

The IPPF EN project is one of many initiatives in Western and Central and Eastern Europe that aims to improve the SRHR status of Roma and other vulnerable and socially excluded groups. This conference aims to define mechanisms, share experiences and best practices from different initiatives which could provide a basis for policymakers and civil society to address the needs and to promote the rights of Roma people.

The conference will open with a testimony from a Roma woman about the challenges she faced in her daily and sexual and reproductive life. Subsequently, Roma champions and leaders will give us an insight in their lives as a Roma person. How did they become a Roma activist and what solutions do they fight for? The plenary session will close with a presentation on the general SRHR challenges of Roma living in Western and Eastern Europe.

Through interactive small group discussions, participants will get the opportunity to share and learn from best practices on following topics: mediators, working with media, community involvement, youth and peer education, social and cultural issues in working with Roma, SRHR services, partnerships, social inclusion and rights. Based on the input from conference participants, a declaration with concrete recommendations for policymakers to address the SRHR of Roma in Europe will be issued.