Bilbao denounces two cases of discrimination against Roma women
- A group of young people, who have followed and surrounded in a perfumery, accepts that one of their employees continues by gypsy, as recorded in a recording. In a clothing store, a group of policemen takes two Gypsy women to the locker rooms and naked women without giving any explanation to do the exploration. Both are cases of harassment in Bilbao in January, through which the Association of Gypsy Women of the Basque Country AMUGE and the Romi Berriak youth association have denounced discrimination against seven women.
The Association of Gypsy Women of the Basque Country (AMUGE) and the Romi Berriak youth association have appeared on Monday morning to denounce the discrimination suffered by seven women for gypsies. They met at AMUGE headquarters and were informed by the head of AMUGE, Tamara Clavería, and one of the seven discriminated women, Manuela Vega.
Two cases have been reported in January, one in each store in Bilbao. One of them was in a perfumery and the affected is a group of young people between 17 and 21 years old. According to the youth, a shop worker persecuted them, "laughing and with a clear attitude of harassment". Not a few, and more workers joined next, until seven workers surrounded the group of girls. Faced with this situation, the young people requested a complaint sheet and once outside the store they went to AMUGE to report what happened. The people affected recorded an audio after being persecuted, in which one can hear how one of the workers acknowledges that he has followed by the gypsy, using as an argument that a Roma woman stole him the day before.
The second case of discrimination occurred in a clothing store. When two sisters about 30 years old were in the store, some "six" police officers appeared, which led the couple to the changing rooms. They were undressed for no justified reason, leaving them in underwear for exploration. Assaulted women have said that when they asked the agents if they were acting as gypsies, one of them responded with a threat: he accused them of being racist.
AMUGE and Romi Berriak stressed that in both cases women who have suffered discrimination have felt "overwhelmed, persecuted, embarrassed and stigmatized in public". Far from being an isolated fact, they have also stressed that they are "the reflection of an entrepreneurial culture", which has internalised that the Roma are considered suspicious. The statement was based on the study conducted by AMUGE in 2021: it was introduced in twenty establishments in Bizkaia following the testing methodology and in sixteen of them attitudes based on prejudice against the Roma were detected.
Alongside the public complaint, administrative complaints and criminal complaints have also been lodged. "Procurement and public service policies in commercial establishments require equal and respectful treatment for all people and the provision of prevention and intervention protocols for companies based on racist prejudice. These responsibilities are clearly defined by the Spanish Comprehensive Law 15/2022 on equal treatment and non-discrimination," both associations have pointed out.
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