NaDiRa short study: Measuring Antiziganism

Project team:

• Susanne Pickel
• Toralf Stark

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Project description:

Until now it has not been possible to survey the real extent of antiziganism and resentment towards Sinti*zze and Rom*nja. Therefore, the following questions arose for this research project: How can antiziganism, racism and group-related prejudices against Sinti*zze and Rom*nja be measured adequately, validly and reliably? What attitudes towards Sinti*zze and Rom*nja can currently be observed and what are the causes of racism and group-related prejudices?

Results:

Our study shows that anti-gypsy attitudes exist to a considerable extent in Germany. These are divided into different dimensions and thus contribute to racist discrimination against Sinti and Roma.

Furthermore, our results indicate that attitudes in the majority society are multi-layered: Almost 25% of the participants were aware that Sinti and Roma are disadvantaged and discriminated against. In addition, there are the well-known negative attitudes towards the minority (prejudice, romanticisation, criminalisation, approx. 30% of the mentions).

In about 12% of the mentions, Sinti and Roma are not perceived as part of German society, although they are a recognised minority in Germany. Rather, they are identified as Eastern Europeans or as refugees. The prejudices of members of the majority society are thus also linked to their attitudes on the topic of migration of citizens from Eastern Europe to Germany.

Surprising insights:

In earlier studies on antiziganism, the denigrating foreign term "Z." was still used as a synonym for Sinti and Roma. The results therefore reflect a prejudice structure associated with this term. If the word "Z." is avoided, as in our open survey, more complex attitudes towards Sinti and Roma are revealed than in previous surveys.

For example, we asked: "What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of Sinti and Roma?" In addition to familiar negative stereotypes and prejudices, we also recorded a number of positive connotations and less prejudiced attitudes. In addition, just under 25% of respondents showed an awareness of discrimination against Sinti and Roma. This includes both historical persecution at the time of National Socialism and current exclusion and discrimination. 

Significance for practice:

Our research findings can serve as a basis for policy recommendations and support discrimination prevention. Since they distinguish between different forms of prejudice in the context of antiziganism, they enable a targeted use for civil society work as well as in political, school and university education.

For example, we are already using our results in university teacher training: We have designed a lecture hour (90 minutes) on the topic of antiziganism, which is part of the introduction to political science. In addition, we are planning the joint project "Tools for participation of Sinti and Roma for school and administration", which is also based on our results.

Publications:

• Pickel, Susanne & Stark, Toralf (2022): Antiziganismus als eigenständige Form des Rassismus gegenüber Sinti*zze und Rom*nja: Ergebnisse einer Pilotstudie zur mehrdimensionalen Erfassung antiziganistischer Einstellungen in der Mehrheitsgesellschaft. NaDiRa Working Papers 3, Berlin: Deutsches Zentrum für Integrations- und Migrationsforschung (DeZIM).

Short studies in preparation for the Racism Monitor:

In order to prepare a comprehensive racism monitor, DeZIM called on scholars from the DeZIM research community in 2020 to develop innovative study ideas. These should extend existing research projects, pursue new and innovative approaches or build an infrastructure to research racism. By 2021, more than 120 researchers at the six locations of the DeZIM research community had conducted a total of 34 short studies. These are divided into six thematic priorities:

• Health system
• Education system and labour market
• Institutional racism
• Dealing with experiences of racism
• Participation and the media
• Racist ideologies and attitudes