Social Inclusion and the Fight Against Poverty

Group B3

Poverty

The European Union (EU) definition of poverty is one of the most longstanding and widely known. First adopted by the European Council in 1975, it defines those in poverty as: “individuals or families whose resources are so small as to exclude them from a minimum acceptable way of life in the Member State in which they live.” (Council Decision, 1975).

Absence of material resources restricts the possibilities for consumption. The absence of resources makes it impossible to meet basic life needs on an adequate level. (Večerník)

Poverty lies somewhere between deprivation (man can´t accommodate his needs) and insufficient resources (absence food, clothing, insufficient living etc.)

Structural Causes of Poverty

  Poverty has a structural cause, it isn’t simply the result of an individual’s

‘bad’ behaviour or choices.

Since the pioneering scientific studies of poverty in 19th Century (such as Charles Booth’s in London), six groups have been identified as being especially vulnerable to poverty; 

- the elderly - the unemployed - sick and disabled people - those with low wages - large families - single parent families

Source: Disability, poverty and development, DFID, February 2000

The origins of poverty

Pathological individualistic view: people fail in a competitive society, where they aren’t competitive due to a lack of skills or can’t adapt to society

Pathological family view – poverty is the result of a negative family atmosphere and upbringing

Pathological subcultural view – poverty as a result of primary value system

Structural view – poverty is a result of how society is organized Factor induced poverty – illness, lack of education, failure of

goverment, unfavourable geographical location or poverty alone

First Study on Poverty

The first study of poverty was conducted in England by Charles Booth Managed a shipping company in Liverpool Study on poverty was done in his spare time and funded with his own

money Study was started in 1886 and completed in 1903 Was the first person to come up with the idea of a “poverty line”

“Inquiry into the life and labour of the people of London” Distributed people into 8 classes from A to H based on their wages Class A: “The lowest class which consists of some occasional labourers,

street sellers, loafers, criminals and semi-criminals. Their life is the life of savages, with vicissitudes of extreme hardship and their only luxury is drink”

Class H: “Upper middle class, servant keeping class” Each class was assigned a colour and a map was made showing the

distribution of poverty across London.

Continuation

Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree ” Poverty: A Study of Town Life” Studied poverty in York and his study was first published in 1901 Distinguished between Primary and Secondary poverty Primary Poverty: poverty as a result of not earning enough money Secondary Poverty: Family earns sufficient income but doesn’t manage it

properly

Peter Townsend “Poverty in the United Kingdom” published in1979 Rediscovery of poverty in academic literature After World War II some people assumed material poverty was no longer an

issue Developed the “Deprivation Index” which consists of 12 entries

Assessments of poverty

Absolute and relative poverty Absolute poverty: The number of people living below a defined income

level Relative poverty: People that are below a percentage of average incomes

e.g. The number of people who earn less than 50% of the average income Subjective and objective poverty

Subjective poverty: Person may have enough income to meet his/her basic needs but feels deprived because they do not have as many material possessions compared to the average person.

Objective poverty: Income level is below the poverty line and they cannot afford basic necessities

Primary and secondary poverty - Previously mentioned with Benjamin Rowntree

Poverty Trap

Refers to phenomena when people fall into (or stay in) poverty due to circumstances beyond their control.

Circumstances might include corruption, lack of education, poor health care… Gap between subsistence level and the average of low wages is important.

If the gap is too large it can lead to loss of motivation and can lead to people relying on state social benefits.

Can lead to social parasitism

Instruments to Reduce or Help with Poverty

Social insurance Meant to aid the elderly, new mothers, those with disabilities…

State social support Welfare, unemployment insurance, child allowances…

Social support for people with low incomes Intervention of non-profit associations (Charities, Red Cross…) It can be more effective than direct state support

HOMELESSNESS

• HOMELESS • an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and

adequate nighttime residence• can also include people whose primary

nighttime residnce is in a homeless shelter

• HOMELESSNESS• the condition and societal category of those people who lack housing

and food, usually because they can not afford a regular, safe, and adequate shelter

FEANTSA: Fédération Européenne d'Associations Nationales Travaillant avec les Sans-abris

ETHOS is a "home"-based definition that uses the physical, social and legal domains to create a broad typology of homelessness and housing exclusion.

There are 4 types of homelessness (FEANTSA) :

1. rooflessness (without a shelter of any kind, sleeping rough) 2. houselessness (with a temporary place to sleep in institutions or shelters) 3. living in insecure housing (threatened with severe exclusion due to

insecure tenancies, eviction, domestic violence) 4. living in inadequate housing (in caravans, on illegal campsites, in unfit

housing, in extreme overcrowding).

FEANTSA and a European definition of Homelessness and housing exclusion

(ETHOS)

Main causes of homelessness

Poverty, caused by many factors (unemployment,divorce,…)

Lack of affordable housing Domestic violence Substance abuse and lack of needed services Mental illness and lack of needed services Prison release and re-entry into society Lack of affordable healthcare Natural Disaster Dependence on gaming machines, drug addiction,…

Voluntary homelessness

There is also a special group of homeless called „voluntary homeless“

people who chose a homelessness as a way of life

they want to give up of all the limitations and problems which are connected with property

Statistics

A census was made of the homeless in Prague in 2004

Some results:

http://www.bezdomovci.eu/sad.ayrton.cz/storage/File/Scitani%20bezdomovcu%20Praha%202004.pdf

Age structure men women

To 25 337 102

25 - 60 1954 299

60 - … 231 32

undetected 140 0

World Statistics

In 2005 an estimated 100 million people worldwide were homeless.

European Union: 3,000,000 United Kingdom: 10,459 rough sleepers, 98,750 households in

temporary accommodation Canada: 150,000 Australia: 99,000 United States: Chronically homeless people (those with repeated

episodes or who have been homeless for long periods) 847,000-3,470,000

Japan: 20,000-100,000 (some figures put it at 200,000-400,000)Reports show that homelessness is on the rise in Japan since the mid-1990s.

Social ExclusionSOCIAL EXLUSION…

Term was first used in France in 1974, then expanded through EU policy Shorthand for the consequences of social problems such as unemployment, low

income, bad health, old age, disability, discrimination, racism, child poverty, etc.

Broader term than poverty which is simply a lack of money Contains relativity (society, time and place); activity (implies action); dynamics

(time and place); multi-dimensional

SOCIAL INCLUSION

Term developed in response to Social Exclusion Term is often used (politicans, practitioners, public) Wide use of the term (used in connection with the

process to achieve more social cohesion) Relativity, activity, dynamics, multi-dimensional

(analogous to exlusion) Many definitions

DEFINITIONS

'Social inclusion is the process by which efforts are made to ensure that everyone, regardless of their experiences and circumstances, can achieve their potential in life. (…) An inclusive society is also characterised by a striving for reduced inequality, a balance between individuals’ rights and duties and duties and increased social cohesion'. (Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion, 2002)

‘The development of capacity and opportunity to play a full role, not only in economic terms, but also in social, sychological and political terms.’ (European Social Fund, available at

http://www.cesi.org.uk/kbdocs/socinc.doc)

Social inclusion…

SOCIAL INCLUSION & EU

In 2000 EU leaders estabilished the Social Inclusion Process in a bid to have an impact on poverty by 2010

Is a vital element in the EU’s efforts of ensuring sustained economic growth

EU has provided a framework of National Action Plans (NAPs) for EU Member States coordination

Participation with other actors (NGOs, local and regional partners)

Member states submit NAPs to the EU Each State has its own priorities to improve social inclusion

OMC and SOCIAL INCLUSION

Open Method of Coordination was established at the Lisbon European Council (March 2000)

Aim is to provide and support political cooperation among EU‘s Member States

States are meant to learn from each others’ experiences Flexibile and decentralised method

o common objectives (goals)o common indicators (measures of the progress)o strategic reports (way to reach the goals)o evaluating the strategies (jointly the EU Commision and Member States)

(more available on: http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/spsi/the_process_en.htm)

CHALLENGES FOR SOCIAL INCLUSION

General objectives: Improve governance, transparency and involvement of stakeholders in

the design, implementation and monitoring of the NAPs Promote social cohesion and equal opportunities for all through an

efficient social protection system To reach the Lisbon objectives (more growth, more and better jobs,

better governance) More about it available on: http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/cha/c11325.htm,

http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/cha/c10241.htm

CHALLENGES FOR SOCIAL INCLUSION

Many problems for the future remain: Pensions: need for adequacy, sustainability and modernisation of the

system Health care: better coherence and coordination among various types of

care; sustainability

Recommendation to better fight poverty and social exlusion: better mainstreaming (pull together, cohesion) better governance (as „good“ governance) better links among responsible institutions (NAPs, European Social Fund,

European Regional Development Fund…)(according to Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2006,

available http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/cha/c10154.htm)

Sources

Disability, poverty and development, DFID, February 2000 The European Union (EU) definition of poverty: Council Decision,

1975 Večerník, Jiří: Mzdová a příjmová diferenciace v České republice v

transformačním období. Praha: Sociologický ústav Akademie věd České republiky, 2001 

pictures were borrowed from: Inclusion Europe, 2004, (available:

http://www.inclusion-urope.org/documents/1591.pdf