Antigypsyism in Sweden is structural, persistent, and deeply rooted. Despite progress—such as the 2014 White Paper on abuses against Roma, the Commission against Antiziganism (2014–2016), the 2012–2032 long-term Roma Strategy, and the 2025–2029 Action Plan against Racism and Hate Crime—Roma continue to face systemic discrimination in education, housing, policing, employment, and access to public services. Trust in institutions remains fragile after the 2013 “Roma register” scandal, and guarantees of non-recurrence are still incomplete.
Civil society monitoring highlights ongoing gaps: only about 11% of municipalities actively implemented Roma inclusion measures in 2022–2023; Roma students still face bullying, segregation, and low expectations; hate crimes remain under-reported and rarely prosecuted; and Roma organisations are chronically underfunded and excluded from real co-governance. Meanwhile, ethnic stereotyping in political discourse has resurfaced, fuelling prejudice and exclusion.
At the same time, new government mandates in 2024–2025—including Brå’s in-depth study of antigypsyist hate crime, Forum för levande historias assignment to strengthen school materials, and the transfer of minority policy coordination to MUCF—create both risks and opportunities. Roma CSOs warn that rushed, non-consultative reforms undermine trust, but also see a window for systemic change if reforms are anchored in transitional justice principles.
The paper ‘National Policy Recommendatons on Fighting Antigypsyism in Sweden‘, authored by Trajosko Drom, synthesises national policy and legal analysis, civil society monitoring, stakeholder mapping, and findings from a national survey of stakeholders on transitional justice and combating antigypsyism. It builds on Roma Civil Monitor reports and independent Roma civil society submissions, while aligning with EU and Council of Europe standards and the JEKHIPE project’s transitional-justice approach.
About the author: Trajosko Drom is a Roma women’s association that works with rights issues and social development for the Roma minority. The organization is involved in a wide range of social and cultural issues, with a special focus on women’s issues
