Roma people and suicide

This is part of a blog series where we have explored this topic with different communities.

As of 2021 there were 101,135 people in England who identified their ethnicity as Roma. There is currently no national data on Roma people and suicide in England despite concerning anecdotal evidence from the community. A recent report from the NHS Race and Health Observatory highlights a need for this data, and that suicide prevention activity should consider the specific needs of Roma communities.

Working with a translator we spoke with four Roma people to hear about their experiences around suicide and stigma. They all shared different experiences and priorities for suicide prevention with us.

This Roma man explained the barriers he experienced with accessing healthcare. It was important to him that people have access to translation and that support is not denied arbitrarily.

This Roma couple highlighted the importance of housing in reducing suicide risk for the Roma community.

We heard that it is really important for this Roma woman that people have a space to talk about their experiences and their feelings when they face difficulties.

For this project we worked with Roma Support Group. They are a Roma-led Registered Charity working with East European Roma refugees and migrants. Since 1998 Roma Support Group has worked with thousands of Roma families, offering them a variety of services, engaging the Roma community in all aspects of running and managing the organisation and promoting an understanding of Roma culture in the UK.

Roma Support Group also delivers the Roma Mental Health Project which aims to improve the access of Roma communities to mental health and health services. To find out more: https://www.romasupportgroup.org.uk/