Fundación Secretariado Gitano (FSG) fighting discrimination and promoting equal opportunities and dignity of Roma people.

As part of this campaign, today, 16 November 2017, the International Day for Tolerance, Amanda, a young Roma woman is getting a tattoo of prejudice in protest at the everyday social rejection of the Roma population. Over the last days, a call has been made to ask people help stop the tattoo and turn it into something positive by using the hashtag #ElTatuajeQueMásDuele (The Most Painful Tattoo).

The campaign aims to highlight the profound, entrenched social rejection of the Roma community, the everyday discrimination that is often obscured but which has highly negative repercussions on people’s lives and is a barrier to a better society for all. The unfair and discriminatory treatment received by many Roma people manifests itself in multiple ways: problems in renting housing, finding employment, getting a job interview, access to leisure establishments, cases of segregation in schools or unjustified police stops. These issues undermine the right to non-discrimination of a great many people and hinder the exercise of other essential rights for a dignified life.

“The Most Painful Tattoo” campaign shines a light on this social rejection using the symbol of the tattoo. The stereotypes and prejudices underlying discrimination are a painful mark for their victims. The campaign aims to reveal this mark and its repercussions through painful and permanent means: the tattoo. Different materials have been published as part of the campaign, including a video in which Amanda explains her reasons behind the tattoo; a video of Jorge, the tattoo artist who is helping the cause by participating in this initiative; and a video with testimonies of several Roma sharing their own experience.

The campaign aims to gather as much support as possible. Fundación Secretariado Gitano is calling out to the Internet to use the hashtag #ElTatuajeQueMásDuele (The Most Painful Tattoo) on social media today. This is how we will achieve our aim and shine a light on a problem that affects a great many Roma people in Spain and overall Europe.