Minority and Indigenous Rights in Scotland: Cultural Recognition of Scotland's Gypsy Travellers

By Professor Angela O’Hagan, Chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission.

I had the privilege of speaking at the University of Stirling at their conference on Minority and Indigenous Rights in Scotland in March this year.

In my short presentation at the conference, I highlighted the Commission’s Spotlight Project on the cultural recognition of Scotland’s Gypsy Traveller community. This project examines the denial of cultural recognition and its impact, both past and present. I also highlighted the significant discrimination experienced by Scottish Gypsy Travellers and the legacy of the 'Tinker Experiment' in the form of trauma and the ongoing experience of inadequate accommodation, as highlighted by the Scottish Housing Regulator who has found serious concerns on sites Fife as well as Perth and Kinross.

Our expert human rights monitoring team on this Spotlight project, which began in Summer 2024, have worked directly with victims of the experiment and an archival researcher to collate research and develop an archive documenting the ‘Tinker Experiment’, including victims' statements of their experiences and the long-term impact this has had on them and the realisation of their human rights.

As I explain in the podcast, with colleagues from the University of Stirling Human Rights Journal, the SHRC will use the evidence to publish a report examining the impact of the ‘Tinker Experiment’ on legislation, policy and practice to date. We will also assess the impact on the relevant human rights and legal understandings of forced assimilation, cultural genocide and ethnocide, and explore what is required for a redress process for the victims.

The Commission's findings will be available by late 2025, and we will continue to support the victims of the experiment in their self-advocacy for human rights realisation.

I was asked to expand the conversation into my reflections on my first six months in office as Chair of the Commission and to discuss the challenges and opportunities in making human rights real in people’s everyday lives in Scotland. If you want to hear more about those thoughts as well as more detail on the Spotlight project, please listen to the podcast!

You can view the University of Stirling Human Rights Journal’s podcast episode here and a short clip on Linkedin.  

You can find out more about the SHRC's Spotlight on the Cultural Recognition of Scotland's Gypsy Travellers.