I don't know if my facts are correct, but I think I saw a "Dateline NBC" or some other "newsmagazine" show do a story on "Travellers", such as seem to be described here. It also included a pagent-like event where young girls were dressed IMHO as 20's flapper girls and paraded around to be considered for future matramonial prospects. If this was a different group of "travellers", please forgive me. If not, this treating of young girls as virtual property shows how this kind of beating could be seen as okay, and all those saying she should go to a family member need to think again.
I had an encounter with gypsies when my father was in the hospital several years ago. The grandmother of the group was also in intensive care, and we had to share the ICU waiting room with them.
Lots of them showed up with children and NO TOYS or anything to keep the children occupied. The children were expected to sit and not bother. One got out of line, and the mother said to her(pointing at me)"See that woman over there? She is a policewoman and she has a gun in her purse. If you aren't good, she will shoot you."
Yikes!!
They were also deliberately vulgar, belching and spitting in the wastebaskets. They tried to make us leave, but as my dad had had heart surgery I wasn't going anywhere.
I think the children live hard lives, and are old at a young age. In our area, we notice that the little girls, as young as 4 or 5, wear full make-up and are dressed very jazzy for their ages.
I saw it.....you're right about the little girls.
I saw that program too...I think it was the bunch in South Carolina.