The University of Worcester has been awarded £95,000 of National Lottery funding to conduct research into the experiences of disabled people within the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities of the UK.
The year-long project will seek to uncover why the voices of disabled people are largely excluded from policy debates surrounding these specific communities and their needs.
Researchers will work with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities to identify the barriers that cause the voices of disabled people to be marginalised. The team will also examine whether strengthened links with relevant disability charities and community groups might enrich the lived experience of disabled people in these communities.
The University of Worcester will work in partnership with Shaping Our Lives – a national network of disabled people – on the research, as well as drawing on the expertise of IMPACT, the University’s own service user and carer group. Funding for the research has been provided by The National Lottery Community Fund, working in partnership with DRILL (Disabled Research on Independent Living and Learning).
Becki Meakin, General Manager of Shaping Our Lives said: “We are delighted to be able to strengthen our partnership with the University of Worcester in researching the barriers to inclusion that disable people across the UK experience. This funding award recognises the expertise of Shaping Our Lives and the University in reaching out to seldom-heard communities and raising awareness of inequalities in our society.”
Dr Peter Unwin, Principal Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Worcester, and lead researcher on the project, said: “Discrimination towards Gypsy, Roma and Traveller groups has been described as the last acceptable form of racism and while specific issues addressed in policy documents include hate crime, accommodation needs, health needs and educational needs, there is virtually no mention of disabled people’s needs and voices within these varied communities. We intend to enable these missing voices to be heard.”