Poverty
The academic literature refers to a number of different types of poverty:- Relative poverty (at-risk-of-poverty): an individual, or group’s, living standard relative to the overall standard of living in the society they live in, considered within the European Union as having an income which is 60% or less than the national median income per adult equivalent;
- Consistent poverty: where an individual or group is excluded and marginalised from participating in activities which are considered the norm for other people and have problems of providing food, clothing, housing and other basics considered essential in the society in which they live;
- Subjective poverty: a combination of income and what are considered basic necessities which are used to define indicators of deprivation;
- Absolute poverty: A condition characterised by severe deprivation of basis human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to services (United Nation Report of the World Summit for Social Development: Copenhagen (March, 1995))
“Individuals, families and groups in the population can be said to be in poverty when they lack the resources to obtain the types of diet, participate in the activities and have the living conditions and amenities which are customary ... in the societies to which they belong.” P Townsend (1979) Poverty in the UK: A survey of household resources and standards of living, Penguin (UK)
“The poor shall be taken to mean persons, families and groups of persons whose resources (material, cultural and social) are so limited as to exclude them from the minimum acceptable way of life in the Member State in which they live.” European Commission (1975) Anti-poverty Programme
“...poverty means going short materially, socially and emotionally. It means spending less on food, on heating and on clothing than someone on an average income - above all, poverty takes away the tools to build the blocks for the future” Oppenheim and Harker (1996) Poverty: The facts revised and updated Child Poverty Action Group (London) 3rd edition
“People are said to be living in poverty if their income and resources are so inadequate as to preclude them from having a standard of living considered acceptable in the society in which they live. Because of their poverty they may experience multiple disadvantages through unemployment, low income, poor housing, inadequate healthcare and barriers to lifelong learning, culture, sport and recreation. They are often excluded and marginalised from participating in activities (economic, social and cultural) that are the norm for other people and their access to fundamental rights may be restricted.” European Commission (2004) Joint Report on Social Inclusion Brussels
Social Exclusion
“Social exclusion may be understood as an accumulation of confluent processes with successive ruptures arising from the heart of the economy, politics and society, which gradually distances and places persons, groups, communities and territories in a position of inferiority in relation to centres of power, resources and prevailing values” J Estivill (2003) Concepts and Strategies for Combating Social Exclusion International Labour Office, STEP Programme Geneva
“Social exclusion does not only mean insufficient income. It even goes beyond participation in working life; it is manifest in fields such as housing, education, health and access to services. It affects not only individuals who suffered serious set-backs but social groups, particularly in urban and rural areas, who are subject to discrimination, segregation or the weakening of the traditional forms of social relations...
The causes of exclusion are multiple: q Persistent unemployment and especially long-term unemployment; q The impact of industrial change on poorly skilled workers; q The evolution of family structures and the decline of traditional forms of solidarity; q The growth of individualism and the decline of traditional representative institutions; q New forms of migration, particularly illegal immigration and movements of populations” European Commission (1993) European Social Policy: Options for the Future (A Green Paper). Office of Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg
“Social exclusion is the denial or absence of social contact which fundamentally distinguishes exclusion. The dignity of the individual derives from integration in a social network - or more precisely, into a system of exchange.” European Commission (1994) European Social Policy - A way forward for the Union (A White Paper) Office of Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg
“Social exclusion is a process whereby certain individuals are pushed to the edge of society and prevented from participating fully by virtue of their poverty, or lack of basic competencies and lifelong learning opportunities, or as a result of discrimination. This distances them from jobs, income and education opportunities as well as social and community networks and activities. They have little access to power and decision-making bodies and thus often feeling powerless and unable to take control over the decisions that affect their day-to-day lives.” European Commission (2004) Joint Report on Social Inclusion Brussels
Social Inclusion
“Social inclusion is people’s capability to participate fully in both economic and social life” European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, Dublin (2003) Social Inclusion: Local partnerships with civil society. Foundation Paper No. 4.
“A process which ensures that those at risk of poverty and social exclusion gain the opportunities and resources necessary to participate fully in economic, social and cultural life and to enjoy a standard of living and well-being that is considered normal in the society in which they live. It ensures that they have greater participation in decision-making which affects their lives and access to their fundamental rights (as defined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union).” European Commission (2004) Joint Report on Social Inclusion Brussels
Social Cohesion
“Social cohesion is the capacity of a society to ensure the welfare of all its members, minimising disparities and avoiding polarisation. A cohesive society is a mutually supportive community of free individuals pursuing these common goals by democratic means, it is not only a matter of combating social exclusion and poverty. It is also about creating solidarity in society such that exclusion will be minimised. At the same time, in so far as poverty and exclusion continue to exist, there is also a need to take specific measures to help vulnerable members of society. A social cohesion strategy must, therefore, tackle exclusion by means of both prevention and cure.” Council of Europe, (2004) Revised Strategy for Social Cohesion, Committee of Social Cohesion, Strasbourg.
Mainstreaming Social Inclusion
Mainstreaming social inclusion is the integration of poverty and social inclusion objectives, including an equality perspective, into all areas and levels of policy-making and that is promoted through the participation of public bodies, social partners, NGOs and other relevant actors.
Definitions - provided by the European-funded transnational exchange project ‘Mainstreaming Social Inclusion’, coordinated by the Combat Poverty Agency in Ireland.
See: www.europemsi.org
Last Updated on Saturday, 13 February 2010 11:22
