This master's thesis titled, Challenges of Roma Women Empowerment and Social Activation, examines the complex topic of social inclusion, social activation and empowerment of Roma women in the European Union and Slovenia. It focuses on the experience of Roma women, which are faced with numerous obstacles, and analyses the strategies and practices which may contribute to their empowerment and inclusion into society. The thesis also deals with the experience of mentors who work with Roma women and analyses how their knowledge and approaches to their work with this particular group contribute to the development of effective empowerment and social activation programmes.
The theoretical part deals first with the analysis of the socio-economic position of the Roma while drawing attention to the differences among Roma communities in Slovenia and the challenges that their social exclusion causes. Special attention is placed on European strategies and national policies which focus on Roma inclusion and the needs of Roma women within those strategies. Furthermore, the thesis delves deeper into the issue of the multifaceted discrimination against Roma women and the specific challenges in the areas of education, employment and healthcare they encounter. It also considers the concept of social activation and various approaches used by European countries to encourage the social inclusion of vulnerable groups. Empowerment as a dynamic process is another significant part of this research – it focuses on the psychological, social and political power of Roma women and their role in the empowerment of the Roma community. Finally, the focus is turned to the role of professionals in social activation programmes.
In the empirical part, special attention is placed on Roma women since the perception of their roles is key to understanding their active inclusion into society. In addition, the perception and evaluation of the social activation programme for Roma women is also examined, while taking into account suggestions for improvement, proposed by both Roma women and mentors. The obstacles and challenges of implementing the programme are also considered, as well as other factors that influence its efficacy. Hence, the data was gathered through semi-structured interviews and analysed using the content analysis method. The sample consisted of eight participants: three mentors who work with Roma women and carry out the Social Activation programme, and five women belonging to the Roma community who had participated in the programme of Social Activation for Roma Women.
The results show that the Roma women perceiveed their role in the community first and foremost through traditional roles; however, these roles are gradually changing. Nevertheless, they expressed their wishes for personal and professional improvement, at the same time faced with different obstacles in their active inclusion further into society, such as discrimination, based on both their ethnicity and gender, as well as cultural and educational limits. Both the Roma women and the mentors pointed out that social activation for Roma women means much more than just inclusion into activities or professional opportunities; it is an important and comprehensive process of personal and social growth, and empowerment while reducing the feeling of loneliness Roma women experience. The participants also put forth suggestions for improvement, which most often related to the design of the programme itself and its duration, along with a greater inclusion of the Roma community into the programme’s preparation and implementation while taking into account specific needs and circumstances of women within the Roma community.
|
