Support is available to prevent suicide – say the Samaritans
The Samaritans reach out and talk to Romany Gypsies, Roma and Travellers, amid an ongoing crisis of suicide among our communities.
As many people with first-hand experience sadly know, evidence indicates that the suicide rate within Gypsy, Roma, Showmen and Traveller communities in England is particularly high ... writes Eva Bell, Participation Officer at Samaritans.
For anyone unfamiliar with the scale of the issue, a 2020 study commissioned by GATE Herts, revealed that, 100% of Welsh Gypsies; 82% of Irish Travellers, 80% of Scottish Travellers and 32% of Romani Gypsies respondents reported having relatives who had attempted suicide in the previous five years.
Every suicide is a tragedy that devastates families, friends and communities, so it’s vital to remember that support is available, and suicide can be prevented.
While the causes of suicide are complex, Samaritans wanted to explore the specific issues people within these communities face – and how prevention can be improved, ultimately helping to save lives.
Suicide, discrimination and racism
To genuinely address the causes of suicide, we must take practical action to challenge discrimination and injustice, working hand in hand with people affected. We know that prejudices can cause some of the feelings associated with suicidal thoughts - feeling like you’re a burden, feeling you don’t belong or feeling trapped – which is why we’re calling for improved suicide prevention care and support that recognises the impact racism and discrimination can have on people’s wellbeing.
In September 2023, the English government published a new suicide prevention strategy which acknowledged a need for more comprehensive research and a better understanding of suicide amongst ethnic groups, including people who are Gypsy, Roma or Travellers. As we approach the first anniversary since this was published – and with a new government - there is a real opportunity to build on this commitment and ensure meaningful change.
Importance of lived experience
To build our understanding of how suicide prevention can be improved for communities disproportionately affected, together with our partners in the Suicide Prevention Consortium, we worked closely with Roma Support Group, Showmen’s Mental Health Awareness Charity and Friends Families and Travellers.
Different people told us about various barriers and challenges they face and what they thought needed to change to improve suicide prevention.
Working with a translator we spoke with four Roma people, they identified improvements needed in access to translation in healthcare, safe and affordable housing, and safe spaces to talk.
“I had a very difficult situation in my life, it’s really important to talk”, a Roma woman told us how important providing people with space to talk is in helping them face their feelings.
A Showmen Traveller woman highlighted that learning how to talk about suicide is important as well as the need for the Showmen community to be included in the planning and implementation of prevention work. She urged “keep bringing us into the conversation and engaging with us and have us be the authority on it.”
A Gypsy woman we spoke with highlighted the need for more education within her community to learn language around feelings from an early age. To achieve this, she told us “the English government need to fund suicide prevention activity for Gypsy communities”.
We also spoke with a New Traveller who raised the need for greater education, seeing it as the key to addressing stigma that surrounds their community: “the vast majority of the opinions and stigmas that surround the New Travelling community are completely false...through education, empathy can grow.”
Next steps
Samaritans has learnt so much from these community organisations – and are very grateful for everyone’s time.
We’ve started to share these insights with key policymakers and will continue to champion the importance of involving community members in all policies that impact them.
We will also continue to raise awareness of our helpline and the non-judgemental space it provides anyone who needs to talk.
If you’d like to find out more, visit: https://www.samaritans.org/about-samaritans/research-policy/ethnicity-and-suicide/ or contact campaigning@samaritans.org
By Eva Bell, Participation Officer at Samaritans
(Photo by Gianfranco Grenar on Unsplash)