Gypsies and Travellers
Empowerment and inclusion in British society

Author/Editor(s):

Joanna Richardson, Andrew Ryder

Format:

Hardback, 224 pages, 234 x 156 mm

ISBN

9781847428950

Published:

12 Sep 2012

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North America customers can order this book here from the University of Chicago Press.

"This collection makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the situation of one of the most excluded groups in British society. The concern with the empowerment and inclusion of Gypsies and Travellers underpins all chapters which cover a wide-range of policy areas."
Dr Nando Sigona, Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford

"This is a timely collection on a topic of important political and policy concern in Britain, which has in practice received little coverage in academic analysis." Pete Alcock, Professor of Social Policy and Administration, University of Birmingham

About This Book

The eviction at Dale Farm in the UK in 2011 brought the conflicting issues relating to Gypsy and Traveller accommodation to the attention of the world's media. However, as the furore surrounding the eviction has died down, the very pressing issues of accommodation need, inequality of access to education, healthcare and employment, and exclusion from British (and European) society is still very much evident. This topical book examines and debates a range of themes facing Gypsies and Travellers in British society, including health, social policy, employment and education. It also looks at the dilemmas faced in representing disadvantaged minority groups in media and political discourse, theories on power, control and justice and the impact of European initiatives on inclusion. Gypsies and Travellers: Empowerment and inclusion in British society will be of interest to students, academics, policy makers, practitioners, those working in the media, police, education and health services, and of course to Gypsies and Travellers themselves.

Author Biography

Joanna Richardson is Principal Lecturer in housing at De Montfort University, Leicester. Her previous books include The Gypsy debate (2006), Providing Gypsy and Traveller sites: Contentious spaces (JRF, 2007), From recession to enewal (The Policy Press, 2010) and Housing and the customer (2010). Andrew Ryder is a Fellow at Bristol University, Associate Fellow at the Third Sector Research Centre and Visiting Professor at the Corvinus University, Budapest. He is a longstanding campaigner for Gypsy Roma Traveller communities.

Contents

Foreword ~ Lord Avebury
PART ONE: CONTEXT, ISSUES AND POLICY RESPONSES: Setting the Context: Gypsies and Travellers in British Society ~ Joanna Richardson and Andrew Ryder
Accommodation Needs and Planning Issues ~ Joanna Richardson and Maggie Smith-Bendell
Gypsy and Traveller Health ~ Patrice Van Cleemput
Education, inclusion and government policy ~ Brian Foster and Sarah Cemlyn
Gypsies, Travellers and Social Policy: Marginality and Insignificance: A case study of Gypsy and Traveller children in care ~ Dan Allen
Economic Inclusion ~ Margaret Greenfields, Andrew Ryder, David Smith
PART TWO: EMPOWERING GYPSIES AND TRAVELLERS: Justice and Empowerment? ~ Joanna Richardson and Andrew Ryder
Recognising Gypsy/Traveller History and Culture ~ Thomas Acton and Andrew Ryder
Research with and for Gypsies, Roma and Travellers
Combining Policy, Practice and Community in Action Research ~ Margaret Greenfields and Andrew Ryder
'Stamp on the Camps' - The Social Construction of Gypsies and Travellers in Media and Political Debate ~ Joanna Richardson and Richard O'Neill
EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies: Insights into Empowerment and Inclusive Policy Development ~ Iulius Rostas and Andrew Ryder
PART THREE: CONCLUSIONS: Inclusion, Space and Empowerment for Gypsies, Roma and Travellers ~ Joanna Richardson and Andrew Ryder.

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Gypsies and Travellers
This book is a comprehensive and fascinating read. There are 13 contributors and they all offer a different insight into aspects of Traveller life across areas of accommodation, health, social policy, justice, education and employment. The book provides something for those new to the topic of Gypsies and Travellers as well as those who are more familiar with the many difficulties various Traveller communities still face in England today, through no fault of their own. ,,The book provides a historical and current overview of the situation for Traveller communities, it is structured in three sections which allows readers to gain an understanding of the historical and current issues and policy responses, good practice in empowering Gypsies and Travellers and the editors also provide some suggestions for developments in this field. ,,The editors provide a useful introduction to the text in tackling the complexity of terminology surrounding the literature on Traveller communities. This publication emphasises good practice in working with Travellers communities and the need for more engagement with communities themselves to improve the issues identified and in undertaking participatory research. ,,As a professional who has worked closely with Traveller families I feel this book will be of interest to a wide audience including students, scholars, educationalists and many others interested in issues of equality and diversity. ,
Reviewed by Kate D'Arcy

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