Antigypsyism in the Czech Republic is not a thing of the past. It persists in institutions and politics, new research shows

Anti-Gypsyism is deeply rooted in the Czech Republic and has persisted throughout historical periods—from the First Republic through the communist regime to the present day. This is shown by a new research report from the Centre for European Policy Studies and the Slovo 21 association. The document proposes several legislative and social changes as solutions.

The report warns that anti-Gypsyism cannot be understood as a marginal problem or a series of isolated failures. It is a systemic phenomenon that permeates education, housing, access to justice, and political decision-making, and it has a direct impact on the daily lives of Roma and on interpersonal relationships in general.

Key findings of the research include the persistent segregation of Romani children in schools, which limits their chances for a quality education. The authors of the report point out that political representatives often avoid desegregation for fear of negative public reaction. 

The report also addresses the forced sterilization of Romani women, which occurred not only during the communist era but also after 1989. Although the state has introduced a compensation system, the topic remains on the fringes of public debate and lacks broader recognition of historical responsibility. Among other things, the research also notes that far-right violence against Roma has not yet been fully recognized as a factor contributing to Romani emigration and a sense of long-term insecurity.

The report acknowledges that the Czech Republic has formally recognized anti-Gypsyism as a social problem in recent years, for example by adopting a definition at the government level. However, the document also warns that symbolic gestures without concrete steps do not change reality.

According to the report, the Czech Republic lacks, among other things, sufficient legal protection against discrimination and hate crimes, systematic collection of anonymized ethnic data, strong institutional support for Romani civil society, and genuine involvement of Roma in the creation and evaluation of policies that affect them.

The author of the research is Gwendolyn Albert, an independent consultant and researcher focusing on human rights violations committed against Roma in the Czech Republic and elsewhere in Europe. In her methodology, Albert combines a literature review, legal analysis, and available qualitative and quantitative data on the socioeconomic situation of Roma and their access to justice. 

The investigation also included ten structured individual interviews with Romani respondents of various ages, genders, and regional backgrounds. "I was moved by the descriptions of the respondents' personal experiences with anti-Gypsyism. I admire every Romani man and woman who stays in this country and tries to make it better," states the author of the research report, Gwendolyn Albert. 

In its conclusion, the research report presents recommendations for both Czech authorities and the European Union, in which the author highlights key challenges and opportunities for applying the tools of so-called transitional justice. "I hope that civil society will use the results of the research to push for anti-Gypsyism to become truly unacceptable in Czech society," explains Albert. 

"One of the best ways to achieve this is for civil society to advocate for education about the Holocaust and its Romani and Sinti victims to be mandatory for eighth-grade students in all types of educational institutions. The state should fund programs in which students would take part in a guided tour of the Memorial to the Holocaust of the Roma and Sinti in Moravia at Hodonín u Kunštátu and the Memorial to the Holocaust of the Roma and Sinti in Bohemia at Lety u Písku. It would have greater significance if the Czech state funded this from its own resources rather than from the generosity of foreign donations," adds Albert. 

The research is part of a broader mapping of anti-Gypsyism within the international Jekhipe project. At the national level, it is implemented by the Slovo 21 association, which has been focusing on the integration of Roma into mainstream society for more than 25 years. The Jekhipe project is funded by the European Union and coordinated by the ERGO Network—a European network of local Romani organizations bringing together more than 30 organizations from across Europe. 

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Research Report_Anti-Gypsyism in the Czech Republic

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