'People have said they hope coronavirus kills us all': Leeds GATE calls for action against shocking online abuse faced by Gypsies and Travellers

These appalling comments have all been made against Gypsy and Traveller communities in Leeds in recent weeks.

A Romany Gypsy woman has described the devastating impact of this abuse as a Leeds charity calls for action to root out hate against Gypsies and Travellers.

Leeds GATE, which works to improve the quality of life for Gypsies and Travellers in the city, has highlighted the shocking level of violence and abuse directed at its community members.

It comes as the Yorkshire Evening Post's Call it Out campaign shares real life experiences of abusive online behaviour and calls on the city to unite in the fight against online abuse.

Susanne*, 25, is Romany Gypsy and grew up in Leeds.

Speaking to the YEP, she said: “There are many times that I’ve seen signs up in the windows of pubs in Leeds saying ‘no Gypsies or Travellers.’

"Just recently my brother was refused entry to a restaurant because the staff said ‘you’re Gypsies and you’re not coming in’.

“I’ve been physically assaulted when stones were thrown at us when travelling and I’ve had people tip rubbish into our camps as they know that we’re the ones who will take the blame.

“There is so much hate online. I’ve seen comments about how people want to burn us all to death, how they want to drop boiling water on us or how they hope coronavirus kills us all.”

GATE says these comments are just a snapshot of the online abuse written against Gypsies and Travellers in Leeds, with much of the hate directed at people who live on the ‘roadside’ - when they travel around and stop in different places.

The right to travel around is protected by law and Leeds City Council has a ‘negotiated stopping’ scheme - allowing Travellers to stay on designated sites for 28 days without fear of eviction.

But the charity said hateful messages and negative stereotypes against the community are rife online and can have a profound effect on Gypsy and Traveller people in Leeds.

Reading abusive comments has had a huge impact on the mental health of Susanne and her family.

Susanne added: “It makes my mum petrified to let me go anywhere, she’s just so frightened of me getting hurt.

“Reading the abuse on social media puts you down and gives you no hope. It just makes you feel degraded, depressed, a failure, like there’s no point in being nice because it’ll just be thrown back in your face.

“And it can put anxiety and any mental health conditions through the roof.”

Eve Ryan is GATE’s hate crime and criminal justice advocate and a caseworker for Report Racism GRT - a hate incident reporting website and support service run for Gypsy, Traveller and Roma communities in the UK.

She supports victims of hate crime and listens to their experiences, before following up reports with the police or lodging complaints to organisations that are believed to have perpetrated abuse.

Eve, 26, said: “When people do make a report it’s rarely a one-off occurrence, they tend to have experienced a lifetime of racism and hatred.

“It damages people’s mental health, their self-esteem and research shows it actually manifests in physical effects too.

“Gypsies and Travellers in Leeds have a life expectancy of 50 years compared to the 78 years of the general population in Leeds, and Gypsies and Travellers have high rates of suicide.

"We often see certain stereotypes about Gypsy and Traveller communities that simply are not true, stereotypes such as criminality or uncleanliness.

“It exists on practically every social platform and media portrayals of Gypsy and Traveller communities are overwhelmingly racist and negative.”

Eve urged people in Leeds to consider the way they think and speak about Gypsy and Traveller communities and to consider whether their language would be acceptable if directed towards any other ethnic minority group.

She added: “A good rule of thumb is: if you wouldn’t say it about another ethnic minority do not say it about Gypsies or Travellers. Do not use racial slurs such as ‘P*key’ or ‘G*ppo.’

“It would be great to see more celebration of the communities to highlight the amazing things that people who are Gypsy and Traveller achieve.

“We have people from the community who have been awarded MBEs, who have contributed so much to Leeds and who stand up for their communities every day.”

Susanne said the Leeds GATE team gave her the confidence to report her experiences of hate crime and the charity continues to support her.

She said: "They make you feel valued for who you are, they listen to you, respect you and they don’t judge.

“I’d urge people to talk to others and spread the word with family and friends about the negative impact of racism and hate towards the Gypsy and Traveller communities.

“People need to realise that we have feelings - the hate has a big impact on our lives."

GATE encourages anyone who lives in Leeds to report any hate speech against Gypsy or Traveller communities to www.reportracismgrt.com. If anyone is in immediate danger and you feel comfortable to do so, call the police.

*Name has been changed.

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