"For the Romany women to make their voice heeded, they must be supported in their emancipation, they should be given responsibilities and people should prove to respect them as women and as Romanies", this was stated by Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, deputy secretary general of the Council of Europe, at the conference named "Our voice is listened to" about Romany women’s rights, that took place in Stockholm on December 3rd. The deputy secretary of the CoE recalled the commitment of the institutions and the European countries "to improve the situation of the Romanies", but at the same time he pointed at the problems that still remain, for instance in the area of education, as he spoke of the "school segregation" which is suffered by the Romany students or Romany women and children being "the main victims of the trade of human beings". To face these problems, stated Boer-Buquicchio, "they must be made more aware of the risks they run, so that they can be better protected. The philosophy of the CoE is not to work ‘for’ the Romanies, but ‘with’ the Romanies, helping them be less vulnerable. They do not need charity, they need to be respected".
