Friends, Families and Travellers is a registered

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

in the United Kingdom. It campaigns against discrimination against Gypsies, Roma and Travellers in the UK.

Actions

The group has accused

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

's 2010–2015 series ''

Big Fat Gypsy Weddings ''Big Fat Gypsy Weddings'' is a British documentary series broadcast on Channel 4, that explored the lives and traditions of several British Traveller families as they prepared to unite one of their members in marriage. The series also feature ...

'' and it 2020 '' Dispatches'' programme "The Truth About Traveller Crime" as promoting discrimination against Gypsies and Travellers. In July 2021, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United Kingdom, it has resulted in confir ...

, it conducted a survey which found out that 74% of GP surgeries they visited in March and April broke

NHS England NHS England, officially the NHS Commissioning Board, is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care. It oversees the budget, planning, delivery and day-to-day operation of the commissioning side of the ...

guidance by refusing to register nomadic patients. The charity has also noted that the pandemic brought awareness to, and exacerbated, existing inequalities relating to Gypsy and Traveller communities. In 2021, it campaigned against the

Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was introduced by the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice. It gives more power to the police, criminal justice, and sentencing legi ...

, calling its tightened restrictions on unauthorised campsites as "

draconian Draconian is an adjective meaning "of great severity", that derives from Draco, an Athenian law scribe under whom small offenses had heavy punishments ( Draconian laws). Draconian may also refer to: * Draconian (band), a death/doom metal band fro ...

" and an infringement on nomadic people's

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

. Ivy Manning, the group's engagement officer, said: "people living roadside will soon be caught in a catch-22 of potentially facing prison or being forced to move into bricks and mortar" and that "entire lives could be criminalised for exercising the right to roam and live nomadically". Following these concerns,

Cambridge City Council Cambridge City Council is a district council in the county of Cambridgeshire, which governs the City of Cambridge. History Cambridge was granted a Royal Charter by King John in 1207, which permitted the appointment of a mayor. The first recorde ...

pledged to stand "in solidarity" with Gypsies and Travellers. The group has also claimed that traditional events such as the

Appleby Horse Fair The Appleby Horse Fair, also known as Appleby New Fair, is "an annual gathering of Gypsies and Travellers in the town of Appleby-in-Westmorland in Cumbria, England." The horse fair is held each year in early June, attracting roughly 10,000 Gy ...

will no longer be allowed to occur under the provisions of the bill. After it was revealed that

Pontins Pontins is a British company operating holiday parks in the UK, founded in 1946 by Fred Pontin. Since 2011, it has been owned by Britannia Hotels. Pontins specialises in offering half-board and self-catering holidays featuring entertainment ...

had blacklisted people with Irish surnames from its holiday sites in order to prevent

Irish Travellers Irish Travellers ( ga, an lucht siúil, meaning "the walking people"), also known as Pavees or Mincéirs (Shelta: Mincéirí), are a traditionally List of nomadic peoples#Peripatetic, peripatetic indigenous Ethnic group, ethno-cultural group ...

using the sites, the group argued that such barring Gypsies and Travellers from holiday camps, pubs and across the UK was commonplace.

Actions

See also

References

Further reading