Child Poverty in Europe Problems and opportunities, visions and recommendations Michaela Moser Octobre

What is EAPN?  A network of anti-poverty networks in 26 EU member states and in Norway plus many European Organisations EAPN’s objectives are:  To keep the fight against poverty and social exclusion on the EU Agenda  To increase the effectiveness of anti-poverty strategies  To strenghten the focus on a right’s based approach  To fight for and with people experiencing poverty to make a social Europe a reality for all  To ensure better participation of people experiencing poverty in decision making processes -

« Arme Kinder fallen nicht vom Himmel » Poor children don‘t grow on trees!

There’s still so much to do! Polite words stay meaningless if real changes are missing How can Europe be a ‚success story‘ if there are still so many inequalities? Public opinion is often very negative. Being accused to be just too lazy to work is very humiliating Jobs seem to count more than people Many of us have no proper housing and cannt afford to pay for heating. And there are also loads of problems with regards to a Minimum Income. Migrants are often excluded from access to social services We don‘t want to have to repeat our stories agian and again and again...

79 Mio people are living below the poverty line (60% of the median income) among them are 19 Mio children  1 out of 5 = 19 Mio children in the EU (=19%) are living in an household with an income below the poverty line (in Poland and Lativa 1 of 3 children) the at-risk-of-poverty rate for children is above the average (EU 16%) Amonge the most vulnerable are:  Children in Single-Parents-Households (34%)  Children in Households with many children (exceptions: Sweden and D)  Children in Households of migrants or with minority ethnic background (more than 50% of the children of migrants are living below the line in Sweden, Finland, Lux, NL) Source and further information:

Doris Salcedo Shibboleth Tate Modern, 2007 Growing inequalities...

Life expectancy Math & Literacy Infant mortality Homicides Imprisonment Teenage births Trust Obesity Mental illness – incl. drug & alcohol addiction Social mobility... and their negative effects on: Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level (2009)

Social polarization in figures Austria: INCOME: Lowest 20% earn 2% of all income Top 20% earn almost 50% of all income Growing gender gap: 1995: -35,8%; 2006: - 27,6% WEALTH: Top 10% hold 54% of private monetary wealth Top 1 Permille holds as much as the lower 50% Global situation: 5% Poorest lost 25% of their real income 5% Richest gained 12% 2,7 billion poor people have to share as much income as the wealthiest people. Political meassures often increase social polarization! Sources: Sozialbericht d BMASK,, Handbuch Armut in Österreich, Branko Milanovic, OECD-Studie

Poor children don’t grow on trees! EU-Action on child poverty and well-being is needed!  Focus on individuals AND their environment  Focus on children AND parents  Universal AND specific meassures  Investment in high quality social infrastrusture:  Child care  Education  Social housing  Health Care  Public Transport  Counselling and support

Poor children don’t grow on trees! EU-Action on child poverty and well-being is needed! 2  A more just distribution of work AND income Adequate Wages Adequate minimum income A more just tax system Innovative labour market policies Meassures for better gender equality Better distribution of different forms of work  Guaranteeing (children’s) rights

Poor children don’t grow on trees! EU-Action on child poverty and well-being is needed!  Concrete poverty reduction objectives  Monitoring processes  Focus on participation innovative projects / participative democracy anti-discrimination meassures valuing children’d potential

The Europe we want! Key messages of EAPN  Social Progress is possible - even in a time of crisis  We need to stop stereotypes and discrimination and guarantee people’s rights  Better and more participative forms of democracy need to be developed.  We need to ensure a fairer distribution of wealth  Local and global action has to go hand in hand. The fight against poverty, social exclusion and inequalities is a fight for global justice.

Ein gutes Leben für alle!  Stärkung und Umsetzung von Alternativen zu einem ‘Growth-and-Jobs-Europe’  Nutzung und Ausbau der vorhandenen Instrumentarien (Social Inclusion Strategy, OMK) - ’Strohhalmpolitik’  Stärkung der Vernetzungen - breitere Allianzen  Initiativen für eine Re-Demokratisierung  Nachdruck auf eine Politik der Umverteilung  Ein gutes Leben für alle! Für ein soziales Europa in einer sozialen Welt Closing the gap(s): Ensuring a good life for all! Life: Living one‘s life (not that of another) - Bodily Health: adequate nourishment and shelter... - Bodily Integrity: freedom of movement, opportunities of sexual satisfaction, reproductive choices - Senses, Imagination and Thought - Emotions: attachments to things and people, love, care, grieve, longing, gratitutde, anger... Practical reason: forming a concpetion of the good, engaging in critical relfection about one‘s life - Affiliation: social interaction, self-respect, nonhumiliation, dignity, nondiscrimination - Living with other species - Play - Laughter - Control over one‘s environment: Political participation, property rights, meaningful work...

An EU - and a world! - free of poverty is possible! ?