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Discrimination and the Roma community, 2015
Cases of access to justice
1.
Valencia.
Access to justice.
Direct discrimination.
The FSG office in Valencia sent the Department several
legal documents including a draft claim lodged against the town hall of Valencia by two Roma men who felt they
had been discriminated against by the judge in a legal case they were involved in.
The Department and the FSG office in Valencia requested more detailed information from the two men and
documents to be able to monitor the case and prove the existence of discrimination.
The Department examined the documents and spoke with the person who had direct contact with the two par-
ties who informed us that the case was pending in the courts. Apparently there were a number of irregularities
surrounding the case and the different legal procedures they were party to and in which they felt they were
being discriminated against. They claimed that their rights were not being upheld because they were Roma.
Since this case required legal representation before the courts, the case and all of the documentation was hand-
ed off to the organisation called ‘Movement against Intolerance’.
2.
Granada.
Access to justice.
Direct discrimination.
A Roma woman informed us that she was in the process
of separating from her husband and feared losing custody of her daughter because in his suit the father claimed
that “growing up in a Roma family could have negative consequences for his daughter”.
The young woman who was awaiting the custody hearing explained that she felt uncomfortable and feared
that these comments about her Roma family could influence the judge’s decision regarding the custody of her
daughter given the negative image people have of Roma..