Dear Mr President: Let's talk about Child Poverty
The number of single
parents, as well as the frequency of child poverty, has increased severely in
the US
Barack Obama is
visiting Sweden, and Single Parents NGO in Sweden wants to emphasize that this
visit will not solely focus on international companies’ growth or the will of
Swedish government to support the TAFTA / TTIP Trade Deal, but also focus on
how “ordinary people” can make better lives, both in Sweden and in the US.
The fact is that
in both countries the poor people have been poorer, these last years. And if we
don’t do anything, this trend will not change. The number of single parents in
the US has been doubled these last 50 years. A third of all Afro-American
children (appr. 15 million) grows up without a father. And five million more
grows up without a mother. Several American studies has showed the negative
effect this may have on children: juvenile criminality has for instance a clear
connection with lack of father figure. American research also connects single
parenthood with other problems, like poverty, drugs and adult criminality. Studies
have also shown that positive father figures contribute to more intellectual
possibilities for children.
Single parenthood
has also an ethnical aspect in the US. 54 % of all Afro-American children grow
up with only a mother. This also affects poverty: 88 % of all Afro-American
families consist of one parent, the same connection for Hispanic families is 59
% and for White families 68 %. The fact is that single parenthood is almost the
most common family constellation for Afro-American families: In the majority of
all American states the majority of all Afro-American children do not live with
both parents.
In the same way
that single parenthood has increased, child poverty have also increased in the
US. 16 million children (that is 22 % of all children in the US) are affected.
It is mainly parents who works, but with shockingly low income. Effects of
child poverty are for instance social, emotional and behavioral problems.
Single Parents
NGO in Sweden wants to point out that a negative social inheritance cannot be
broken only by the individual themselves, but our society needs to give
support, counseling and resources. Single parenthood that is repeated
generation after generation, and poor suburbs that are stigmatized are not
factors that can be explained by religion, culture, ethnicity or
self-discipline. On the contrary, our society is the context in which we grow
up and the frame by which we define ourselves.
Fredrik Reinfeldt
and Barack Obama, focus on measures that strengthen the families that lack resources,
so that we may break the negative inheritance and empower the individuals. Put
more resources to pre-school, school and day-care. Give more to the weak areas.
Invest more in civil society and other networks, that can offer help to
self-help.
For more
information, contact
Secretary General
Sophia Lövgren
08-7201414
