DECLINE IN XENOPHOBIA TOWARDS ROMA IN UKRAINE: AN ANALYSIS OF RECENT PUBLIC OPINION TRENDS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17721/2413-7154/2024.92.104-113Keywords:
Roma, Russian-Ukrainian war, Bogardus scale, xenophobia, socio-cultural studiesAbstract
This study examines recent trends in attitudes towards the Roma in Ukraine, measured through the social distance score on the Emory Bogardus scale. Historically, the Roma community has faced considerable xenophobia in Ukraine, consistently ranking among the lowest in social acceptance. For decades, the social distance score for Roma has remained around 6.00 on a 7-point scale. However, from 2021 to 2023, data from Ukrainian sociological institutes indicate a gradual decrease in this score to 4.75. Our sociological research corroborated this positive trend, though with an important caveat: The improvement in attitudes towards Roma may not be as substantial as it appears. Some result distortion likely arose due to changes in research methodology. During the war, Ukrainian sociologists shifted from face-to-face interviews to telephone surveys. Additionally, terminology has evolved: Rather than using the previously common ethnonym “Tsyhany”, sociologists now refer to “Roma”, a term that carries more positive connotations for respondents. Nevertheless, an improvement in attitudes towards Roma has indeed been observed. The study attributes much of this progress to Ukrainian media, which has portrayed Roma contributions to the Russian-Ukrainian war positively.
First received: 14 November 2024
Accepted: 27 December 2024
Published: 31 December 2024
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Copyright (c) 2024 Valentyn ZHARONKIN, Janush PANCHENKO, Igor DANYLENKO, Mykola HOMANYUK
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