Legal Aspects of Ethnic Data Collection and Positive Action by Jozefien Van Caeneghem

Author:Jozefien Van Caeneghem
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030236687
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

5.3.2 Importance of Open-Ended Categories, Multiple Affiliations and Re-classifications

The design of the questionnaire can also influence the quality and reliability of data collected on Roma ethnicity.279 If data collection practices only include pre-printed categories accounting for officially recognised minorities, Roma populations that are not officially recognised as such risk remaining invisible in so-called any-other categories.280 When Roma categories are included among the predetermined categories, Roma respondents may fail to self-identify, for instance because the names used are not the ones they use or prefer.281 An open ended, write-in category could be an interesting alternative solution, because it allows Roma to identify with any category of their choosing.282

The experience of the Irish Census, where a Travellers question was included in the 2006 Census following negotiations and lobbying, proves that the lack of formal recognition as an ethnic minority does not necessarily hinder data collection on groups like the Roma.283

On the other hand, official recognition does not guarantee that Roma are counted in official data collection practices. For instance, while Roma and Sinti are a national minority in Germany, official data are lacking following a ban on sensitive data collection by the German Federal Constitutional Court.284

Messing rightfully stresses that data collection on Roma must take into account that Roma identity is often mixed or multiple.285 For instance, Roma may feel equally Roma and Hungarian as the result of centuries of integration, assimilation and racial exclusion.286 Therefore, allowing people to tick multiple ethnic categorisations may generate more accurate data on the Roma minority.287 The introduction of this option in the Hungarian and the Romanian Censuses in 2011 resulted in an increase in Roma self-identification.288

Upon the collection and analysis of data on Roma, one must take into consideration that the context-specificity of Roma identity may limit data comparisons.289

As will be seen, Roma may prefer different categories depending on their situation, the context and nature of the encounter as well as throughout time.290 Research cites changes in socio-economic status, political climate and connotations of categories as elements that may have an impact.291

Because Roma identity may evolve and change, data collection efforts should allow re-classifications and the categories used should also develop and be adjusted throughout time.292 While the latter may result in lack of conceptual consistency, it ensures that the categories respond to a social reality.293

On a final note, it must be pointed out that the abovementioned suggestions may impact on data collection efforts. While the suggestions made here are desirable from a human rights perspective, they may complicate the collection and analysis of data sets. Therefore, it is important to closely involve social science experts in the development of ethnical categories in order to assess the feasibility of different methodological options and the operationability of the data collected through such methods for equality and anti-discrimination purposes.294

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