Les enfants et la pauvreté

Transcription

Actes du 5ième Congrès international sur l’enfant
Montréal (Québec), Canada, 23-24-25 mai 2002
Les enfants et la pauvreté :
l’impact des choix économiques, sociaux et politiques
Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on the Child
Montreal (Quebec), Canada, May 23-24-25, 2002
Children and Poverty:
The Impact of Economic, Social and Political Choices
© THEO DONE & ASSOCIATES LTD, 2004
Catalogage avant publication de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
International Conference on the Child (5th : 2002 : Montréal, Québec)
Actes du 5ième Congrès international sur l'enfant, Montréal, Québec,
Canada, 23-24-25 mai 2002 : les enfants et la pauvreté : l'impact des choix
économiques, sociaux et politiques / sous la direction de Dominic D'Abate,
William Rowe = Proceedings of the 5th International
Conference on the Child, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, May 23-24-25,
2002 : children and poverty : the impact of economic, social and political
choices / edited by Dominic D'Abate, William Rowe.
Text in English and French.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 2-923344-02-2
1. Poor children--Congresses. 2. Poor children--Social conditions-21st century--Congresses. 3. Children with social disabilities--Congresses.
4. Poor children--Services for--Congresses. I. D'Abate, Dominic A., 1948II. Di Done, Riccardo, 1950- III. Rowe, William S., 1949- IV. Theo Done
& Associates V. Title. VI. Title: Enfants et la pauvreté. VII. Title: Children
and poverty.
HQ767.82.I68 2002
362.7'086'942
C2004-906109-7E
Dépôt légal - Bibliothèque nationale du Québec - 2004
Dépôt légal - Bibliothèque nationale du Canada - 2004
Legal Deposit - Bibliothèque nationale du Québec - 2004
Legal Deposit – National Library of Canada - 2004
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TABLE DES MATIÈRES / TABLE OF CONTENTS
Un mot des coprésidents du 5e Congrès international sur l’enfant /
A Word from the Co-Chairs of the 5th International Conference on the Child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-5
Un mot des coprésidents du comité scientifique /
A Word from the Co-Chairs of the Scientific Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-7
Liste du comité scientifique / List of the Scientific Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-9
Liste du comité d’honneur / List of the Honour Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Message du lieutenant-gouverneur du Québec / Message of the Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Message du Premier ministre du Canada / Message of the Prime Minister of Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Message du ministre délégué à la Santé, aux Services sociaux, à la Protection de la jeunesse et à la Prévention /
Message of the Minister of Health, Social Services, Youth Protection and Prevention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Déclaration de Montréal sur les enfants et la pauvreté / The Montreal Declaration on Children and Poverty . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Addendum à la Déclaration de Montréal sur les enfants et la pauvreté /
Addendum to the Montreal Declaration on Children and Poverty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Pauvreté infantile : l’impact des choix économiques, sociaux et politiques /
Child Poverty: The Impact of Economic, Social and Political Choices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Section 1 : Le visage de la pauvreté / The Reality of Poverty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Rasheed, Sadig (UNICEF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Opening Address
“A World Fit for Children” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Lebrun, Nicole (Canada) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Atelier / Workshop 201
« Mondialisation de la pauvreté et éducation de base » . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Ife, Jim (Australia) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Atelier / Workshop 307
“Human Rights and Child Poverty” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Ferguson, Kirstin M. (U.S.A.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Atelier / Workshop 503
“Social Capital and Child Labor in the Mesosystem: In Search of Community-Based Social Indicators of Risk” . . . . . . . . . .49
Mayer, Micheline (Canada) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Atelier / Workshop 203
« La pauvreté des enfants signalés aux services de protection de la jeunesse québécois » . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Nolin, Pierre (Canada) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Atelier / Workshop 304
« Les effets du milieu socio-économique sur le développement cognitif des enfants de 5 à 12 ans » . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97
Dufour, Sarah (Canada) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Atelier / Workshop 107
« Le rôle des pères de milieux défavorisés dans la promotion de la santé mentale de leurs enfants » . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
“The Contribution of Fathers from Disadvantaged Neighbourhoods to Their Children’s Mental Health” . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113
Stergiou, Maria (Canada) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Atelier / Workshop 102
“Parental Alienation Syndrome and its Impact on Child Poverty” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122
Section 2 : Les enfants et la pauvreté dans le monde / Children and Poverty Throughout the World . . . . .127
Baker, Maureen (New Zealand) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Atelier / Workshop 405
“Child Poverty, Maternal Health and Social Benefits” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129
Biasoli-Alves, Zélia Maria Mendes et Bazon, Maria Rezende (Brazil) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Atelier / Workshop 402
« Projets d’intervention auprès des familles exposées à des problèmes psychosociaux » . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143
–2–
Behera, Deepak Kumar (India) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Atelier / Workshop 304
“The Impact of Drought on the Indigenous Children:
Some Reflections from Kalahandi District of Orissa, India” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153
Audet, Steve, Papatie, Doris et Riendeau, Roch (Canada) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Atelier / Workshop 305
« Les différents visages de la pauvreté à Kitcisakik » . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164
Ramphal, Anand (South Africa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Atelier / Workshop 402
“The Effects of Poverty on the Psychological and Educational Development of Childen” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173
Richard, Diane (Canada) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Atelier / Workshop 203
« Les revenus de bien-être social chez les familles canadiennes en 2001 » . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .178
Rudd, Jane (U.S.A.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Atelier / Workshop 104
“An Economic, Political and Gender Analysis of Trafficking of Women in Ukraine” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .192
Section 3 : L’impact des choix économiques, sociaux et politiques /
The Impact of Economic, Social and Political Choices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .216
Brown, Garfield (South Africa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Atelier / Workshop 205
“Promoting Attitudinal Change in Children’s Rights, Poverty and the Changing Family” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .220
Browne, Gina and Byrne, Caroline (Canada) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Atelier / Workshop 502
“When the Bough Breaks: Provider-Initiated Comprehensive Care is More Effective
and Less Expensive for Sole-Support Parents on Social Assistance” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227
Fabowalé, Lola (Canada) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Atelier / Workshop 401
“Poverty and Single-Parent Mothers: Do Taxes and Transfers Across Canada Make a Difference?” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .250
Cywinski, Mercedes et Wanderley, Mariangela Belfiore (Brazil) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Atelier / Workshop 101
« Évaluation du programme de revenu minimum “familles citoyennes”
du conseil municipal de Santo André – PRMSA » . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .274
Ramphal, Ritha (South Africa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Atelier / Workshop 402
“Children and Poverty in South Africa: A Call for Preventive Intervention” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .287
Montgomery, Catherine and Mailloux Annie (Canada) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Atelier / Workshop 504
“Developing Tools for the Future. The Role and Challenges of Pre-employability
Projects in Multiethnic Neighbourhoods” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .293
Varga-Toth, Judi (Canada) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Atelier / Workshop 103
“Family and Schools Together Canada Programme Description” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .303
Irons, Jane. E. and Simpson, Phyllis (U.S.A.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Atelier / Workshop 202
“Project SMART – A Program Evaluation: A Health Education Program Focusing
Upon Teenage Pregnancy and Substance Abuse Abstinence” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .311
Hétu, Jean-Pierre et Gasse, Manon (Canada) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Atelier / Workshop 103
« Naître égaux-Grandir en santé ou Comment utiliser l’empowerment
dans une perspective d’approche écologique? » . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .316
Goyette, Martin, Dallaire, Nicole et Panet-Raymond, Jean (Canada) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Atelier / Workshop 302
« Les collaborations entre un Centre jeunesse et les organisations du milieu :
vers une valeur ajoutée à l’intervention? » . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .320
Berthoud, C. M. E.; Ferreira, M. F. C.; Lima, A. D. A.; Oliveira, A. L.; Silva, E. A. R. (Brazil) . . . . . . . . . .Atelier / Workshop 501
“Investigating and Intervening in Families: A Brazilian Project with a Low Income Community” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .338
–3–
UN MOT DES COPRÉSIDENTS DU 5e CONGRÈS INTERNATIONAL SUR L’ENFANT
À titre de coprésidents du 5e Congrès international sur l’enfant, nous voudrions tout d’abord remercier toutes les personnes qui ont contribué
de près ou de loin au succès de cet événement.
Bien que de nombreuses organisations et institutions aient déjà organisé de tels événements sur le
même thème dans le passé et en organiseront probablement d’autres dans le futur, nous croyons que le
cumul des efforts est essentiel pour réussir à faire avancer la cause des enfants. Aucun groupe ou
organisation ne dispose des ressources pour tout régler seul. Les gouvernements et les décideurs n’agiront
que sous la pression continue et soutenue d’une opinion publique au fait des recommandations et
solutions proposées pour contrer les problèmes les plus pressants qui confrontent les enfants, tels que la
pauvreté – qui était le thème du 5e Congrès international sur l’enfant.
Treize ans après que presque tous les 191 pays affiliés aux Nations Unies aient signé la Convention
relative aux droits de l’enfant, la situation des enfants s’est en fait détériorée. Globalement, selon
l’UNICEF, plus de 650 millions d’enfants vivent dans une pauvreté abjecte, dans des familles dont le
revenu est inférieur à 1 $ par jour. Un enfant sur trois est victime de pauvreté dans les pays en
RICCARDO DI DONE
développement; un sur cinq dans les pays industrialisés. L’ensemble des participants au congrès
provenant de pays en développement ont d’ailleurs été très surpris de découvrir que même au Canada, un pays riche reconnu mondialement pour
sa qualité de vie, près d’un enfant sur cinq vit dans la pauvreté. Et nous ne parlons que de pauvreté économique.
Un grand nombre d’enfants souffrent également de pauvreté émotionnelle, psychologique, sociale et spirituelle, particulièrement dans les
pays hautement industrialisés. Il s’en suit que, lorsque l’on traite des problématiques liées à la pauvreté, on ne peut se limiter à la pauvreté
économique. On doit également considérer la pauvreté politique, la culture de la pauvreté ainsi que la psychologie de la pauvreté. La pauvreté
signifie non seulement manquer d’argent mais également manquer de pouvoir. Lorsqu’une personne vit dans une société au sein de laquelle la
pauvreté et le manque de pouvoir génèrent des inégalités en termes d’accès et de participation à la
protection et à la vie économique et sociale de cette société, force est d’admettre que cette personne est
véritablement pauvre.
De nombreux spécialistes – médecins, infirmiers, travailleurs sociaux, enseignants, conseillers
juridiques – ainsi que des représentants de divers corps policiers, des chefs d’entreprise, des leaders
syndicaux et des membres du clergé se sont réunis afin de trouver des solutions novatrices à cette
situation inacceptable. Le Congrès a constitué un forum international nous permettant de colliger
les plus récentes données sur la pauvreté dans toutes ses dimensions et de produire le présent recueil
de textes.
Les tenants et aboutissants de cet important rassemblement pour l’avenir de nos enfants sont
contenus dans la Déclaration de Montréal sur les enfants et la pauvreté, accompagnée d’un Addendum
RASHMI MAYUR
qui présente des recommandations s’adressant spécifiquement aux gouvernements fédéral et provinciaux
du Canada. Ces documents ont en tout, ou en partie, été acheminés, entre autres, au Secrétaire général des Nations Unies, aux 191 États Membres
de l’ONU ainsi qu’au premier ministre du Canada afin de sensibiliser davantage les décideurs du monde entier sur l’urgence de poser des gestes
concrets pour améliorer le sort des enfants.
L’O.S.D.E. entend également organiser un Sommet sur les enfants, la pauvreté et la violence afin d’assurer que les recommandations mises de
l’avant au terme des 4e et 5e Congrès international sur l’enfant donnent lieu à des mesures concrètes. Mettre fin à la pauvreté et la violence qui
affligent les enfants est un défi énorme. Ensemble, cependant, nous pouvons et nous devons faire la différence. Pour l’amour de nos enfants!
Riccardo Di Done
Président fondateur, O.S.D.E.
Coprésident, 5e Congrès international sur l’enfant
Rashmi Mayur, Ph.D.
Président, Global Futures Network
Coprésident, 5e Congrès international sur l’enfant
–4–
A WORD FROM THE CO-CHAIRS OF THE
5TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE CHILD
As Co-Chairs of the 5th International Conference on the Child, we would like first and foremost to thank all individuals who participated and
worked towards making this event a success.
While it is true that many organizations and institutions have held similar events on the same theme
in the past, we believe that it is the accumulated efforts of many which will succeed in furthering the cause
of children. Not one organization or group can do it all alone. Government officials and decision makers
will act only through the continued and sustained pressure from public opinion shaped by those who
make sound recommendations and provide concrete solutions to topical problems facing children, such
as poverty – which was the theme of the Conference.
Thirteen years after almost all 191 U.N. affiliated countries signed the Convention on the Rights of
the Child, the situation of children worldwide has actually worsened. Globally, according to the UNICEF,
over 650 million children live in abject poverty – in families with income lower than $1 a day. One in three
children is a victim of poverty in developing countries; one in five in industrialized societies. Conference
participants from developing countries were surprised to discover that even in Canada, a wealthy nation
RICCARDO DI DONE
that is widely recognized as one of the best to live in, close to one in five children live in poverty. And we
are only talking about economic poverty.
A large number of children also suffer from emotional, psychological, social and spiritual poverty, especially in highly industrialized
countries. Indeed, in dealing with issues of poverty, one must not only deal with economic poverty but also with political poverty as well as with
the culture of poverty and the psychology of poverty. Poverty means not only lacking money, but also lacking power. When one lives in a society
where poverty and lack of power bar you from equal protection, equal access and equal participation to the economic and social life of your
society, then one is truly poor.
Speakers from fields such as health and social services, medicine, nursing, social work, psychology,
education, law as well as representatives from various police forces, corporate executives, union leaders
and members of the clergy came together to find new solutions to this deplorable state of affairs. The
Conference provided an international forum of exchange that enabled us to collect research data and
produce the present compilation of insightful papers.
From this Conference resulted the Montreal Declaration on Children and Poverty along with an
Addendum presenting recommendations that are specifically addressed to the federal and provincial
governments of Canada. These documents, in whole or in part, have been forwarded to the Secretary
General of the United Nations, the UN’s 191 Member States as well as to the Prime Minister of Canada,
among others, to increase awareness and encourage actions on behalf of children from decision makers
worldwide.
RASHMI MAYUR
The O.P.C.R. will organize a Summit on Children, Poverty and Violence in order to ensure that
concrete action follows the recommendations put forward at the conclusion of both the 4th and 5th International Conferences on the Child, so
that within 5 years the world can be filled with renewed hope for our children. Putting an end to poverty and violence against children is a
tremendous challenge, but we owe it to our children – and to ourselves – to make a difference!
Riccardo Di Done
President, O.P.C.R.
Co-Chair, 5th International Conference on the Child
Rashmi Mayur, Ph.D.
President, Global Futures Network
–5–
UN MOT DES COPRÉSIDENTS DU COMITÉ SCIENTIFIQUE
WILLIAM ROWE
HERBERT MARX
« Des pauvres, vous en aurez toujours autour de vous » – Voilà une vérité profonde qui, de l’avis de plusieurs, doit être acceptée comme une
condition inéluctable de l’histoire passée et contemporaine. Ce congrès, qui a réuni de nombreux penseurs, scientifiques et sommités –
théoriciens comme praticiens – dont la carrière est vouée à la réduction de la pauvreté, n’avait pas la prétention de mettre fin à la pauvreté. Il
portait surtout sur les problématiques qui démontrent que le visage actuel de la pauvreté est celui d’un enfant.
Tout au long du Congrès, les exposés, les statistiques de même que les études de cas réalisées partout dans le monde ont mis en lumière le
caractère pernicieux et généralisé de la pauvreté infantile et de ses répercussions. Le Congrès nous a également permis de découvrir des
programmes innovateurs, de nouvelles idées et des méthodes originales qui s’avèrent efficaces autant dans les pays développés que dans les pays
en développement.
En l’absence d’un vaccin socioéconomique, nous devons compter sur notre engagement, notre courage et notre créativité pour transformer les
courants actuels et instaurer les conditions nécessaires pour que tous les enfants du monde disposent des meilleures chances possibles de succès
dans la vie. La synergie et le discours qui ont vu le jour durant le Congrès constituent un pas important dans cette direction.
Nous sommes profondément reconnaissants aux conférenciers, participants et commanditaires qui ont contribué au succès de cet événement
et attendons avec impatience le jour où l’éradication de la pauvreté infantile deviendra la plus importante priorité sociale de l’humanité.
William Rowe, D.S.W.
Coprésident, Comité scientifique
Directeur, École de service social
Université de South Florida
Honorable Herbert Marx
Coprésident, Comité scientifique
Juge à la Cour supérieure du Québec
–6–
A WORD FROM THE CO-CHAIRS OF THE SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
WILLIAM ROWE
HERBERT MARX
“The poor will be with us always”-- a profundity that needs no reference and many would suggest must be accepted both in history and
modernity. This conference that attracted many of the finest thinkers, scientists, and leaders – both practitioners and theorists – who have
dedicated their careers to alleviating poverty did not presume to search for an end to poverty. Rather it focused on the myriad of issues that
demonstrate that the present-day face of poverty is that of a child.
Repeatedly the presentations, statistics, and case examples from every corner of the globe illustrated the pernicious and pervasive reality of
child poverty and its far-reaching consequences. At the same time we heard about innovative programs, fresh ideas, and pioneering methods that
are proving effective in both developed and developing countries.
In the absence of a socioeconomic vaccine we must rely on our commitment, courage, and creativity to change the shape of the river and set
the conditions to ensure that the children of the world are afforded the best possible chances of success in life. The synergy and discourse
generated at this conference are an important step in that direction.
We are deeply appreciative of the presenters, the participants, and the sponsors that contributed to the success of this effort and look forward
to a future that recognizes the elimination of child poverty as the top social priority for human kind.
William Rowe, D.S.W.
Co-Chair, Scientific Committee
Director, School of Social Work
University of South Florida
Honorable Herbert Marx
Co-Chair, Scientific Committee
Justice, Quebec Superior Court
–7–
COMITÉ SCIENTIFIQUE
L’HONORABLE HERBERT MARX
Me Hugues Létourneau, LL.M.
Juge à la Cour supérieure du Québec
Coprésident du comité scientifique
Contentieux, Les Centres jeunesse de Montréal
WILLIAM ROWE, D.S.W.
Professeur agrégé, École de service social
Université de Montréal
Directeur de l’École de service social
Université McGill
Coprésident du comité scientifique
Justin Lévesque, Ph.D.
Edgar A. MacLeod, B.A.
Peter Allik-Petersenn, B.A., LL.B.
Vice-président, Association canadienne des chefs de police
Chef de police, Cape Breton Regional Police Service
Avocat et médiateur familial
Directeur, O.S.D.E. Colombie-Britannique
Me Tony Manglaviti, B.A., LL.L.
Adrian Bercovici
Directeur exécutif
Fondation Générations
Dorival C. Bruni, Ph.D.
Professeur, Université de Rio de Janeiro
Richard Cloutier, Ph.D.
Professeur titulaire, École de psychologie
Université Laval à Québec
Katherine Covell, Ph.D.
Professeure, Psychologie
University College Cape Breton
Directrice, Children’s Rights Centre
Commissaire, Commission de l’immigration et statut de refugié
Rashmi Mayur, Ph.D.
Directeur, International Institute for Sustainable Future
Président, People’s Global Assembly, Nations Unies
Mumbai, Inde
Aldo Morrone, B.A.
Médiateur familial, Service de médiation à la famille
des Centres jeunesse de Montréal
Arthur Neumann, Ph.D.
Psychologue clinicien
Directeur, O.S.D.E. Alberta
Godwin O. Ohiwerei, Ph.D.
Dominic D’Abate, Ph.D.
Directeur, Département de sociologie et anthropologie
New Jersey City University
Médiateur familial accrédité
Directeur, Centre de médiation consensus
Jean Panet-Raymond, LL.L., M.Sc.
Riccardo Di Done
Professeur titulaire, École de service social
Université de Montréal
Président fondateur, O.S.D.E.
Président du 5e Congrès international
Laurel Rothman, MSS
Antonio Discepola, B.A., B.C.L.
Juge, Cour municipale de Montréal
Me Angela Ficca, B.A., LL.L., LL.M.
Directrice du comité scientifique
Avocate, O.S.D.E.
Bernard Fortin, B.A., L.L., L. Péd.
Coordonnatrice national, Campaign 2000
Directrice d’action sociale, Family Service Association of Toronto
Joanne Roulston, MSS
Directrice
Conseil national du bien-être social
François Ruegg, Ph.D.
Responsable du comité organisateur
Ethnologue, Chargé de cours et directeur de recherches à
l’Institut d’ethnologie de l’Université de Fribourg (Suisse)
Me Richard Goldman, B.A., B.C.L., LL.B.
Katherine Scott, MES
Directeur clinique juridique, Projet Genese
Cadre supérieure de politiques
Conseil canadien de développement social
Donald Horne
Directeur exécutif
Services communautaires de Kahnawake
Brian R. Howe, Ph.D.
Me Philip Shaposnick, B.A., B.C.L.
Avocat et médiateur familial
Groupe Interlex du Canada
Professeur, Sciences politiques
Directeur, Children’s Rights Centre
Père Joe Sullivan, B.Th.
Carl Lacharité, Ph.D.
St. John Brébeuf
Professeur, Psychologie, Directeur du GREDEF
Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
Cindy Wiggins, B.A.
France Laurendeau
La paroisse St. Aloysius
Père John Walsh, B.Ph., S.S.L., S.T.L
Recherchiste principale
Congrès du travail du Canada
Directrice, Service de la recherche
Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec
–8–
SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
HONORABLE HERBERT MARX
Me Hugues Létourneau, LL.M.
Justice Quebec Superior Court
Co-Chair of the Scientific Committee
Legal Department, Youth Centers of Montreal
Justin Lévesque, Ph.D.
Professor, School of Social Work
University of Montreal
WILLIAM ROWE, D.S.W.
Director, School of Social Work
McGill University
Co-Chair of the Scientific Committee
Edgar A. MacLeod, B.A.
Vice-President, Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police
Chief of Police, Cape Breton Regional Police Service
Peter Allik-Petersenn, B.A., LL.B.
Lawyer and Family Mediator
Director, O.P.C.R. British Columbia
Me Tony Manglaviti, B.A., LL.L.
Commissioner, Immigration and Refugee Board
Adrian Bercovici
Rashmi Mayur, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Generations Foundation
Director, International Institute for Sustainable Future
President, People’s Global Assembly, United Nations
Mumbai, India
Dorival C. Bruni, Ph.D.
Professor, University of Rio de Janeiro
Aldo Morrone, B.A.
Richard Cloutier, Ph.D.
Family Mediator, Family Mediation Service
of Youth Centers of Montreal
Professor, Psychology
Université Laval à Québec
Arthur Neumann, Ph.D.
Katherine Covell, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist
Director, O.P.C.R. Alberta
Professor, Psychology
Director, Children’s Rights Centre
Godwin O. Ohiwerei, Ph.D.
Chairman, Department of Sociology and Anthropology
New Jersey City University
Dominic D’Abate, Ph.D.
Accredited Family Mediator
Director, Consensus Mediation Center
Jean Panet-Raymond, LL.L., M.Sc.
Professor, School of Social Work
University of Montreal
Riccardo Di Done
Founding President, O.P.C.R.
President of the 5th international conference
Laurel Rothman, M.S.W.
National Coordinator, Campaign 2000
Director of Social Action, Family Service Association
of Toronto
Antonio Discepola, B.A., B.C.L.
Judge, Municipal Court in Montreal
Me Angela Ficca, B.A., LL.L., LL.M.
Joanne Roulston, M.S.W.
Director
National Council of Welfare
Lawyer, O.P.C.R.
Bernard Fortin, B.A., L.L., L. Péd.
François Ruegg, Ph.D.
Responsible for the organizing committee
Anthropologist, Lecturer and Director of Research,
Institute of Ethnology of the University of Fribourg
(Switzerland)
Me Richard Goldman, B.A., B.C.L., LL.B.
Legal Clinic Supervisor, Project Genesis
Donald Horne
Katherine Scott, MES
Senior Policy Associate
Canadian Council on Social Development
Executive Director
Kahnawake Community Services
Brian R. Howe, Ph.D.
Me Philip Shaposnick, B.A., B.C.L.
Lawyer and Family Mediator
Interlex Group of Canada
Professor, Political Science
Director, Children’s Rights Centre
Father Joe Sullivan, B.Th.
Carl Lacharité, Ph.D.
St. Aloysius Parish
Professor, Psychology and Director of GREDEF
Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
Father John Walsh, B.Ph., S.S.L., S.T.L.
St. John Brébeuf
France Laurendeau
Cindy Wiggins, B.A.
Director, Research Department
Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec
Senior Researcher
Canadian Labor Congress
–9–
COMITÉ D’HONNEUR
HONOUR COMMITTEE
JOHN MOULD, M.S.W., R.S.W.
JOHN MOULD, M.S.W., R.S.W.
Children’s Advocate, Directeur du nord de l’Alberta
Services sociaux pour la famille – Alberta
Président, Association canadienne des travailleurs sociaux
Co-président du comité d’honneur
Children’s Advocate, Northern Alberta Director
Alberta Family Social Services
President, The Canadian Association of Social Workers
Co-Chair of the Honour Committee
LIZ O’ NEILL
LIZ O’NEILL
Directrice exécutive, Grandes soeurs et grands frères
Co-présidente du comité d’honneur
Executive Director, Big Sisters and Big Brothers Society
Co-Chair of the Honour Committee
Harata H. Baucke
Harata H. Baucke
Présidente, Aotearoa Nouvelle Zélande
Association des travailleurs sociaux
President, Aotearoa New Zealand
Association of Social Workers
Frank Carbone
Frank Carbone
Président, Rosmar Litho Inc.
President, Rosmar Litho Inc.
André-H. Dandavino, M.D.
André-H. Dandavino, M.D.
Président, Association des médecins de langue française
du Canada
President, Association des médecins de langue française
du Canada
Linda Kislowicz
Linda Kislowicz
Directrice exécutive, Services d’aide à la famille juive
Executive Director, Jewish Family Services
Le très honorable Antonio Lamer
The Right Honorable Antonio Lamer
Ancien Juge en Chef de la Cour Suprême du Canada
Conseiller spécial, Stikeman, Elliott
Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
Special Advisor, Stikeman, Elliott
Louise Landry
Louise Landry
Présidente, Ordre des conseillers et conseillères d’orientation
et des psychoéducateurs et psychoéducatrices du Québec
President, Ordre des conseillers et conseillères d’orientation
et des psychoéducateurs et psychoéducatrices du Québec
Jack W. Lee, C.M., F.I.B.A.
Jack W. Lee, C.M., F.I.B.A.
Membre, Ordre du Canada
Member, Order of Canada
Henri Massé
Henri Massé
Président, Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses
du Québec (FTQ)
President, Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses
du Québec (FTQ)
Pat Minicucci
Pat Minicucci
Premier vice-président, Clientèle privée et PME
Région du Québec, Banque Scotia
Senior Vice-President, Retail and SME Banking
Quebec Region, Scotia Bank
Eugenia Repetur-Moreno, M.S.W. (Equiv)
Eugenia Repetur Moreno, M.S.W.(Equiv)
Executive Director, Canadian Association
Directrice exécutive, Association canadienne
des travailleurs sociaux
of Social Workers
Brian O’Neill
Brian F. O’Neill
Consultant, Ligue Nationale de Hockey
Consultant, National Hockey League
Monique Côté Petit
Monique Côté Petit
Présidente, directrice générale
Association des puéricultrices de la province de Québec
President, Executive Director
Association des puéricultrices de la Province de Québec
Alison Palin
Alison Palin
Directrice générale, Hilton Montréal Aéroport Hôtel
Director General, Hilton Montreal Airport Hotel
John Ruggieri
John Ruggieri
Associé, Di Caprio Ruggieri Inc.
Membre du conseil d’administration, Fonds
d’indemnisation du Bureau des services financiers
Principal, Di Caprio Ruggieri Inc.
Member of the Board of Directors, Indemnity fund
of Bureau des services financiers
Michèle Thibodeau-DeGuire
Michèle Thibodeau-DeGuire
Présidente et directrice générale, Centraide du Grand Montréal
President and Executive Director, Centraide of Greater Montreal
Peter B. Yeomans
Peter B. Yeomans
Maire de la ville de Dorval
Mayor of City of Dorval
– 10 –
CABINET DU LIEUTENANT-GOUVERNEUR
QUÉBEC
Un enfant représente la force promise de nos lendemains. Il est le symbole de l’espérance et du renouveau. Si l’enfant a des droits,
notre société a des devoirs, comme celui de rendre accessible ses rêves en s’ouvrant aux « autrement » qu’il devra mettre au point pour y
arriver. Bien qu’imprégnée de modernité, elle doit également maintenir une image visible et accessible de continuité au cœur de
l’apprentissage de l’enfant. Les grands-parents offrent une voie par excellence pour transmettre ces valeurs du passé.
Il serait souhaitable que notre société puisse veiller au développement de l’enfant en suscitant autant sa réflexion que sa réaction.
La valorisation du court délai de réaction rend le degré de tolérance faible devant la mise en situation. Un comportement issu d’une
prise de conscience demande du temps. Ce temps, il nous appartient de le privilégier dans cette voie. Aider l’enfant à ressentir et à
mesurer ses motivations dans leur juste proportion afin que, graduellement, il développe l’acuité de son jugement.
Oui, les devoirs sont de taille pour nous, les adultes. Mais la volonté qui nous anime fournira l’énergie nécessaire pour faire avancer
la jeune vie qui, irrémédiablement, a besoin de nous. La jeunesse attend que nous lui passions le flambeau de notre idéal. Elle attend
notre respect et notre sens de la dignité. Elle a soif de notre goût de vivre, prête, elle aussi, à participer à un monde meilleur.
Lise Thibault
Lieutenant-gouverneur du Québec
– 11 –
CABINET DU LIEUTENANT-GOUVERNEUR
QUÉBEC
A child represents the promised strength of our tomorrows. He is the symbol of hope and revival. If the child has rights, our society
has duties, such as making the child’s dreams accessible by opening up “other ways” that he will need to work on in order to achieve his
dreams. Although very modern, our society must also maintain a visible and accessible model of continuity at the heart of the learning
process of the child. The grandparents offer an excellent way to transmit those values from the past.
Hopefully, our society will learn to arouse the child’s thinking power as much as his reaction. Unfortunately, having increased the
standing of the quick reaction time has brought a low level of tolerance in life situations. A change of behaviour born from a conscious
decision requires time… time that we must privilege in that way. Helping the child to feel and to measure his motives, in their just
proportions, will help him develop the acuteness of his judgement.
Yes, as adults, we have a tremendous responsibility. But the willingness aroused within will give us the necessary energy to push
forward the young life who urgently needs our help. Youth is expecting that we hand on the flame of our ideal to them. Youth expects
from us our respect and our sense of dignity. Youth is thirsty for our joie de vivre, and ready to participate also in building a better world.
Lise Thibault
Lieutenant-governor of Quebec
– 12 –
C’est avec plaisir que j’adresse mes cordiales salutations à tous ceux et celles qui assistent au 5e Congrès International sur l’Enfant,
sous les auspices de l’Organisation pour la Sauvegarde des Droits des Enfants. Je tiens également à souhaiter la bienvenue aux
visiteurs de l’étranger.
Le thème de ce congrès, « Les enfants et la pauvreté : l’impact des choix économiques, sociaux et politiques », illustre bien
l’importance de centrer notre action collective sur la famille. Il vous permettra d’échanger des idées et de partager des expériences sur
la façon de mener une lutte efficace contre la pauvreté infantile à l’heure de la mondialisation. Vous pouvez être très fiers de votre
engagement durable envers la promotion de programmes sociaux et communautaires novateurs à l’échelle du globe.
Je vous souhaite une rencontre fructueuse et vous offre mes meilleurs vœux de succès face aux défis des années à venir.
Jean Chrétien
Premier ministre du Canada
OTTAWA
2002
– 13 –
I am very pleased to welcome everyone taking part in the Fifth International Conference on the Child, being held under
the auspices of the Organization for the Protection of Children’s Rights. I would also like to welcome those delegates who are visiting
from abroad.
The theme of the conference, “Children and Poverty: The Impact of Economic, Social and Political Choices,” reminds us how
important it is for us, as a society, to focus our efforts on the family. This meeting will prove an excellent opportunity for you to
exchange ideas and share experiences concerning how best to combat child poverty in this age of globalization. You can be very proud
of your enduring commitment to promoting innovative social and community programs worldwide.
Please accept my best wishes for a most productive session of deliberations, as well as every success in addressing the challenges of
the future.
Jean Chrétien
Prime Minister of Canada
OTTAWA
2002
– 14 –
MESSAGE DU MINISTRE DÉLÉGUÉ À LA SANTÉ, AUX SERVICES SOCIAUX,
À LA PROTECTION DE LA JEUNESSE ET À LA PRÉVENTION
C’est avec plaisir que je souhaite la bienvenue aux participantes et participants du 5e Congrès international de l’Organisation
pour la sauvegarde des droits des enfants.
Dans tous les pays du monde, la pauvreté est un déterminant majeur de la santé et du bien-être. Les mauvaises conditions
économiques et sociales se traduisent partout par un accroissement des problèmes de santé physique et mentale et un plus grand nombre
de décès.
Les enfants sont malheureusement les premières victimes de cette situation. Un enfant né dans une famille pauvre a un risque plus
élevé d’être prématuré ou de poids insuffisant ; il a une probabilité plus grande d’avoir un retard de croissance intra-utérine. Leurs
difficultés sont telles qu’elles compromettent souvent leur développement et entravent leur capacité de prendre leur place dans la société.
Puisse ce congrès raffermir les liens de collaboration entre tous ceux et celles qui, à travers le monde, se préoccupent de la santé et du
mieux-être des enfants.
Roger Bertrand
– 15 –
MESSAGE OF THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH, SOCIAL SERVICES,
YOUTH PROTECTION AND PREVENTION
It is my pleasure to welcome all participants to the 5th International Conference of the Organization for the Protection of
Children’s Rights.
Poverty is a deciding factor with respect to health and well-being in all countries of the world,. Poor economic and social conditions
lead everywhere to an increase in physical and mental health problems as well as to a larger number of deaths.
Children are unfortunately the first victims of such circumstances. A child from a poor family has a higher risk of being born
premature or with a dangerously low body weight; he has a statistically higher chance of stunted intra-uterine growth. The difficulties
for these children are such that they often compromise their development at later stages of life and hinder their capacity to take their
rightful place in society.
May this conference strengthen the collaborative ties between all those who, throughout the world, have at heart the health and
well-being of children.
Roger Bertrand
– 16 –
5e CONGRÈS INTERNATIONAL SUR L’ENFANT
DÉCLARATION DE MONTRÉAL
SUR LES ENFANTS ET LA PAUVRETÉ
PRÉAMBULE
Alors que le monde se prépare pour le deuxième Sommet planète Terre, toutes les nations reconnaissent deux impératifs
étroitement liés confrontant l’humanité dans le présent siècle: les enfants et la pauvreté.
1,3 milliards de personnes vivent dans la pauvreté aujourd’hui, comparativement à 245 millions en 1945 (Banque Mondiale, 2002).
Plus de 650 millions d’enfants vivent dans des conditions de pauvreté extrême, subsistant avec moins de un dollar par jour
(UNICEF), sans compter le grand nombre d’enfants qui souffrent de pauvreté émotionnelle, psychologique, sociale et spirituelle.
En 1989, les nations du monde ratifiaient la Convention des Nations Unies relative aux droits de l’enfant lors d’un Sommet à New
York. Pourtant la pauvreté ne cesse de croître, tant au sein des pays en développement que des pays développés. L’incapacité des
gouvernements et de la communauté internationale à rencontrer les besoins les plus élémentaires des enfants, particulièrement
ceux de sexe féminin, qui sont les plus sévèrement touchés par la pauvreté, est une tragédie d’une ampleur sans précédent.
Remédier à cette situation reste un défi énorme.
L’Organisation pour la Sauvegarde des Droits des Enfants (O.S.D.E.), un organisme communautaire qui se préoccupe fortement des
enjeux reliés aux enfants et à la pauvreté, a organisé un congrès international sur Les enfants et la pauvreté : l’impact des choix
économiques, sociaux et politiques à Montréal du 23 mai au 25 mai 2002. De nombreux experts, professionnels et représentants
des milieux communautaires, universitaires, gouvernementaux, corporatifs et religieux de plusieurs pays développés et en
développement ont pris part au congrès. Des intervenants dévoués ont analysé la situation actuelle en regard des enfants et
la pauvreté et oeuvrent présentement à la préparation d’un plan d’action destiné à redresser la situation de plus en plus critique
des enfants.
Nous exhortons l’ensemble de la communauté internationale à adopter la présente déclaration comme ligne directrice pour
assumer leur responsabilité d’améliorer le sort des enfants afin que, d’ici 10 ans, le monde soit à nouveau porteur d’espoir pour
nos enfants.
ÉTAT DE LA SITUATION
Attendu que la situation des enfants vivant dans la pauvreté met sérieusement en péril l’avenir de la planète,
Attendu que la situation des enfants a continué de se détériorer malgré la Convention des Nations Unies relative aux droits
de l’enfant,
Attendu que des efforts particuliers sont nécessaires et que des ressources additionnelles doivent être affectées à la prévention
et à la réduction de la pauvreté,
Attendu que l’avenir des enfants est inextricablement lié aux conditions de vie de leurs parents,
Attendu que les enfants vivant dans des conditions particulièrement difficiles et les enfants ayant des besoins particuliers doivent
faire partie intégrante de tous les programmes visant à prévenir et éradiquer la pauvreté,
Attendu qu’un grand nombre de problèmes sociaux majeurs affectant la société ne peuvent être résolus sans avoir amélioré au
préalable la situation critique des enfants,
Attendu que la responsabilité de transmettre les valeurs éthiques et morales nécessaires au développement harmonieux des
enfants et de la société en général incombe aux adultes et à leurs institutions,
Attendu que le Sommet des Nations Unies pour le développement social de Copenhague en 1995 prônait une approche globale
et holistique du développement des enfants,
Attendu que dans un contexte de globalisation croissante, la coopération internationale est une condition sine qua non pour
résoudre les problèmes des enfants dans le monde entier,
NOUS DÉCLARONS QUE :
Tel qu’il en a été décidé au Sommet du Millénaire des Nations Unies de septembre 2000 à New York, les enfants et la pauvreté
doivent être considérés comme une priorité par les Nations Unies et la communauté mondiale.
– 17 –
Les gouvernements, les sociétés commerciales et les agences internationales du monde entier doivent œuvrer ensemble afin
d’assurer que soit atteint l’objectif global de 450 milliards $ US, requis pour pallier les besoins élémentaires les plus pressants
et éradiquer la pauvreté. Les pays développés doivent respecter leurs engagements en consacrant 0.7% de leur PIB à l’aide
au développement.
Parmi les actions à entreprendre pour mettre fin à la souffrance des enfants, la priorité doit être accordée aux suivantes :
■
Éliminer la faim et la pauvreté en assurant un approvisionnement alimentaire quotidien adéquat. La malnutrition affecte au
moins 40 % des enfants des pays en développement;
■
Organiser et assurer la conservation ainsi que la distribution d’eau potable en quantités suffisantes, permettant de prévenir un
grand nombre de maladies attribuables à la contamination de l’eau – une cause majeure de mortalité infantile;
■
Établir des centres d’enseignement gratuits dispensant une éducation de base et procurant des opportunités d’apprentissage
aux 100 millions d’enfants qui n’ont pas accès à une quelconque forme d’éducation actuellement;
■
Assurer l’accès gratuit aux services médicaux de base pour tous les enfants et les familles, en ciblant particulièrement ceux dont
le revenu s’élève à moins de un dollar par jour.
Nonobstant l’obligation :
■
Des nations du monde de bannir l’enrôlement d’enfants au sein d’armées ainsi que l’utilisation des enfants à des fins militaires.
Les 350 000 enfants présentement employés comme soldats doivent retourner à la vie civile;
■
Des gouvernements de réaffecter les 2 milliards $ US dépensés en armes et matériel de guerre quotidiennement vers des
programmes visant à éradiquer la pauvreté;
■
Des sociétés de constituer un cadre propice à l’émancipation des femmes – un élément clé dans l’éradication de la pauvreté.
Les sociétés ont le devoir de :
■
Déclarer inacceptable la pauvreté dans les pays développés, dans lesquels au moins 20 % des enfants sont victimes de la
pauvreté, et procurer à tous les enfants le soutien matériel, social, psychologique et affectif dont ils ont besoin pour se
développer normalement;
■
Reconnaître que la pauvreté affective, psychologique, sociale et spirituelle des enfants doit être traitée aussi sérieusement que
la pauvreté matérielle, étant donné le nombre croissant d’enfants privés d’amour et d’attention, afin de prévenir l’apparition
d’une société désagrégée.
Nous, les délégués du congrès, stipulons que :
■
Les organisations non-gouvernementales partout dans le monde doivent être soutenues dans leurs initiatives contre la
pauvreté;
■
Les besoins des enfants doivent être considérés par toutes les instances décisionnelles nationales et internationales;
■
Une attention particulière doit être accordée à la protection des droits des enfants face à la pression exercée par la
mondialisation et la privatisation;
■
Les états du monde entier doivent reconnaître que la mise en place de programmes sociaux axés sur la protection et le
développement des enfants fait partie intégrante de leur responsabilité.
Par conséquent :
La présente Déclaration de Montréal considère que les stratégies et programmes implantés depuis 1989 à l’échelle mondiale
n’ont pas réussi à redresser la situation critique des enfants et que la mission la plus pressante de la société dans son ensemble
est de travailler à réduire la pauvreté. Nous recommandons vivement aux gouvernements et aux organisations internationales de
pourvoir un cadre pour l’avènement d’une société basée sur la justice, l’équité, l’émancipation et le développement durable.
La Déclaration de Montréal a été approuvée par des délégués provenant des cinq régions du monde au 5e Congrès international
sur l’enfant le 25 mai 2002.
Riccardo Di Done
Rashmi Mayur
Coprésident, 5e Congrès International sur l’Enfant
Président, O.S.D.E.
Coprésident, 5e Congrès International sur l’Enfant
Conseiller aux Nations Unies
– 18 –
5th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE CHILD
DECLARATION ON CHILDREN AND POVERTY
PREAMBLE
As the world prepares for the second Earth Summit, all nations recognize two inter-related critical issues facing humanity in this
century: Children and Poverty.
1.3 billion people live in poverty today, up from 240 million in 1945 (World Bank, 2002).
Over 650 million children live in extreme poverty, barely existing on $1.00 a day (UNICEF), not including the large number of
children who suffer from emotional, psychological, social and spiritual poverty.
In 1989, the countries of the world signed the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child at a Summit in New York. Yet poverty in
both developing and developed countries continues to grow. The failure of governments and the international community to meet
the most basic needs of children, especially female children, who are the most adversely affected by poverty, is a global tragedy. It
remains a tremendous challenge.
The Organization for the Protection of Children’s Rights (O.P.C.R), a grass-roots organization that is deeply concerned with the
issues related to children and poverty, organized an international conference on Children and Poverty: The Impact of Economic,
Social and Political Choices in Montreal from May 23 to May 25, 2002. A large number of experts, grass-roots and community
workers, corporate, religious and government representatives from developed and developing countries attended the conference.
Committed people have analyzed the state of affairs related to children and poverty and are preparing a plan of action in order to
alleviate the worsening situation of children.
We call on the international community at every level to take this declaration as a guideline as they undertake the responsibility of
improving the plight of children so that within 10 years the world can be filled with renewed hope for our children.
THE STATE OF AFFAIRS
Whereas the most serious concern for the planet’s future is children living in poverty,
Whereas the plight of children has continued to worsen despite the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,
Whereas special efforts are needed and more resources must be allocated towards reducing and preventing poverty,
Whereas the future of children is inextricably linked to their parents’ living conditions,
Whereas children living in exceptionally difficult conditions and children with special needs must be included in all programming
or the prevention and eradication of poverty,
Whereas a large number of critical issues facing society cannot be resolved without first improving the plight of children,
Whereas the responsibility for imparting ethical and moral values conducive to the harmonious development of children and
society as a whole befalls to adults and their institutions,
Whereas the U.N. Social Summit in Copenhagen in 1995 called for a comprehensive and holistic approach to children’s
development,
Whereas the world is becoming more globalized, international cooperation is a sine qua non condition for addressing the
problems of children worldwide,
WE DECLARE THAT:
As was decided at the U.N. Millennium Summit of September 2000 in New York, Children and Poverty must be considered a priority
by the United Nations and the world community.
Governments of the world, corporations and international agencies must work together to ensure that the global target of 450
billion USD required to address the most pressing basic needs and eradicate poverty is met. Industrialized nations must respect
their commitment to devote 0.7% of GDP to development assistance.
Among the issues to be undertaken for eradicating the victimization of children, the following must be given priority:
■
To eliminate hunger and poverty by ensuring an adequate daily food intake. Malnutrition affects at least 40% of children in the
developing world;
■
To set up and provide for the conservation and distribution of adequate quantities of potable water, thereby preventing a large
number of illnesses due to contaminated water, which is a major cause of child mortality;
– 19 –
■
To establish free educational centres providing basic education and learning opportunities for the 100 million children who now
have no access to educational facilities;
■
To provide free access to health care for all children and families, specifically targeting the poor who earn less than one dollar
a day.
Notwithstanding the duty of:
■
All nations of the world to declare a ban on the induction of children into armies and on the use of children on the battlefield.
The 350,000 children who are currently child soldiers must be freed from conscription;
■
Governments to reallocate the two billion USD spent daily on arms and armaments towards programs aimed at eradicating
poverty;
■
Societies to create conditions for the empowerment of women, which is key to eradicating poverty.
Societies are bound:
■
To declare the non-acceptance of poverty in industrialized societies, where at least 20% of the children are victims of poverty,
and provide all of them with the material, social, psychological and emotional framework required for their normal growth;
■
To recognize that the emotional, psychological, social and spiritual poverty of children should be addressed as seriously as
material poverty, since increasing numbers of children are deprived of such basic needs as love and care, to pre-empt the
creation of a fractured society.
We, the delegates at the conference, propose that:
■
Non-governmental organizations around the world must be supported in their actions against poverty;
■
Children’s needs must be addressed within the framework of all international and national decision-making;
■
Special attention must be given to the protection of children’s rights that are under threat due to globalization and privatization;
■
The governments of the world must recognize that social programs for the protection and the development of children are an
integral part of their responsibility.
Therefore:
The present Montreal Declaration considers that world strategies and programs have failed to redress the worsening situation of
children since 1989 and that the most pressing concern of society as a whole must be to work towards alleviating poverty. We urge
governments and international organizations to provide a framework for the development of a society based on equity, justice,
empowerment and sustainability.
The Montreal Declaration was approved by delegates representing all five regions of the world at the Montreal 5th International
Conference on the Child on May 25, 2002.
Riccardo Di Done
Rashmi Mayur
President, O.P.C.R.
Special Advisor to the United Nations
– 20 –
5e CONGRÈS INTERNATIONAL SUR L’ENFANT
ADDENDUM À LA DÉCLARATION DE MONTRÉAL
SUR LES ENFANTS ET LA PAUVRETÉ
Recommandations aux gouvernements
fédéral et provinciaux du Canada
PRÉAMBULE
De nombreux indicateurs démontrent clairement que la proportion d’enfants vivant dans la pauvreté s’est accrue au Canada, bien
que le Parlement ait adopté à l’unanimité en 1989 une résolution visant à éradiquer la pauvreté infantile pour l’an 2000. Au cours
des dix dernières années, nous avons assisté à l’effritement graduel des programmes et services sociaux au Canada. Le maintien
des services sociaux de base et l’instauration de politiques sociales centrées sur la famille requièrent du financement. La mise en
place de stratégies et de programmes pour éliminer la pauvreté infantile accroîtra la prospérité de tous les canadiens.
Nous déclarons que les gouvernements fédéral et provinciaux du Canada doivent :
1. Prendre toutes les mesures nécessaires pour implanter et maintenir des services sociaux conformes aux engagements
découlant de l’adhésion à la Convention relative aux Droits de l’Enfant des Nations Unies et en assurer l’application;
2. Concevoir et mettre en application des normes sociales établissant des seuils minimum en matière d’éducation, de santé, de
protection de l’enfance, de logement et de revenu;
3. Assurer l’arrimage de tous les budgets et subventions fédéraux et provinciaux affectés à des programmes sociaux avec les
normes fédérales et provinciales, la Convention relative aux Droits de l’Enfant des Nations Unies et autres chartes
internationales;
4. Implanter des programmes d’éducation universels dès la petite enfance et majorer de 14 % annuellement le nombre de places
dans les garderies, afin de soutenir le droit de tout enfant à avoir accès aux soins et à l’éducation dans le cadre d’un
programme de prévention de la pauvreté;
5. Assurer la participation accrue des femmes dans toutes les instances décisionnelles nationales et provinciales afin de
normaliser les politiques sociales;
6. Assurer le renforcement et la participation directe des citoyens à l’évaluation de l’Entente-cadre pour l’union sociale entre le
gouvernement fédéral, les provinces et les territoires;
7. Assurer que les services sociaux de base ne soient pas érodés par des baisses d’impôt à tous les paliers de gouvernement;
8. Axer la législation et les politiques d’assistance publique sur des mesures concrètes permettant aux parents de pouvoir
subvenir aux besoins essentiels de leurs enfants – une approche qui réduirait de manière substantielle la pauvreté infantile.
– 21 –
5th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE CHILD
ADDENDUM TO THE MONTREAL DECLARATION
ON CHILDREN AND POVERTY
Recommendations for the
Federal and Provincial Governments of Canada
PREAMBLE
Strong empirical evidence demonstrates that child poverty rates have grown since 1989 in Canada when Parliament unanimously
passed a resolution to eradicate child poverty by the year 2000. Over the past 10 years there has been a steady erosion and
dismantling of the social programs and services in Canada. Financing is needed to establish family centred policies and sustain
basic social services. Strategies and programs to eliminate child poverty will improve the prosperity of Canadians as a whole.
We declare that the federal and provincial governments of Canada must:
1. Take all steps necessary to implement and maintain social services which reflect the commitments of the UN Convention on
the Rights of the Child and ensure compliance;
2. Create and enforce social development and welfare standards for minimum levels of education, health, childcare, housing and
income;
3. Ensure that all federal and provincial funding and budgets for social programs are tied to Canadian federal and provincial
standards, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international standards;
4. Set up publicly funded universal programs for early childhood education from age one and increase the number of childcare
spaces by 14% each year to support the rights of the child to early childhood care and development as a program for poverty
prevention;
5. Ensure that more women participate in national and provincial decision making bodies in order to mainstream social
programming;
6. Ensure that there is a strengthening and direct citizen input into the evaluation of the Social Union Framework Agreement
between Federal Government and provinces and territories;
7. Insure that basic public social services including education, health and social services are not undermined by tax cuts at all
levels of government;
8. Focus public policy initiatives and legislation on concrete measures to ensure that parents can provide for the basic needs of
their children, an approach which would substantially reduce child poverty.
– 22 –
Les enfants et la pauvreté :
l’impact des choix économiques, sociaux et politiques
Le choix de ce thème pour le 5e Congrès international sur l’enfant découle du fait indéniable que la pauvreté est un
fléau omniprésent et dévastateur dont les principales victimes sont les enfants. Bien que certaines initiatives aient été
mises de l’avant pour aborder ce problème d’envergure internationale (Sommet mondial pour les enfants, Convention
relative aux droits de l’enfant), les efforts pour éradiquer la souffrance des enfants ont, pour la plupart, donné des
résultats mitigés. Globalement, plus d’un demi-milliard d’enfants continuent de vivre dans la pauvreté et d’être
victimes de malnutrition, de maladie, d’analphabétisme, d’exploitation et d’abus. Pire encore, des millions d’enfants
meurent à chaque année en raison de notre échec collectif à engendrer les changements nécessaires en matière de
politiques sociales et d’actions concertées pour résoudre adéquatement ces problèmes.
Plusieurs instances gouvernementales, organisations sans but lucratif, organismes de charité et individus ont
effectivement relevé le défi d’améliorer les conditions de vie des enfants partout dans le monde, mais avec plus ou
moins de succès et d’efficacité. Les conférenciers présents au congrès ont donc été invités à procéder à une analyse
approfondie de l’impact que peuvent avoir certains choix économiques, sociaux et politiques sur la pauvreté et la
situation des enfants. Le présent recueil de textes regroupe les réflexions et interventions de nombreux chercheurs et
experts réputés dans le domaine. Nos conférenciers de marque ainsi que les nombreux hommes et femmes ayant
présenté leurs idées, observations et résultats de recherche ont transmis aux participants du Congrès une quantité
importante d’informations que nous jugeons essentiel de partager avec vous.
Étant donné la grande quantité et la qualité des exposés soumis, nous avons opté de regrouper les textes retenus en
trois sections distinctes :
1. Le visage de la pauvreté
2. Les enfants et la pauvreté dans le monde
3. L’impact des choix économiques, sociaux et politiques
Nous espérons que le contenu de ces présentations se révèlera non seulement intéressant pour le lecteur mais
contribuera également à stimuler davantage de réflexions, de recherches et d’actions susceptibles de mener à un
véritable changement pour le bénéfice et l’amour de nos enfants.
– 23 –
Child Poverty:
The Impact of Economic, Social and Political Choices
The 5th International Conference on the Child chose to focus on the theme of Children and Poverty because of the
inescapable fact that poverty is the most devastating and pervasive human condition that victimizes, above all,
children. Despite noble attempts to tackle this pernicious international problem (World Summit for Children,
Convention on the Rights of the Child), efforts to eradicate much of the suffering endured by children have, for the
most part, proved elusive. Over half a billion children, worldwide, continue to live in impoverished conditions, subject
to malnourishment, diseases, illiteracy, exploitation and abuse. Worst of all, millions of children die each year as a
result of our collective failure to adequately address these issues and bring about the needed policy changes and
concerted action.
Undeniably, the challenge to improve the living conditions of the world’s children has, indeed, been assumed by a
variety of government bodies, NGOs, charitable institutions and individuals with varying degrees of success and
effectiveness (or lack of them). Consequently, presenters at the Conference were asked to examine those economic,
social and political choices that can impact tremendously on the question of poverty and the plight of children. The
present collection of papers in this publication represents the reflections and actions of some of the world’s foremost
thinkers and experts on the subject. Our distinguished keynote speakers and the many men and women who presented
their thinking, observations and fieldwork provided conference participants with a wealth of information which we
take the opportunity to share with you.
Given both the vast quantity and quality of material submitted, we felt it opportune to create three sections into which
papers were grouped:
1. The Reality of Poverty
2. Children and Poverty Throughout the World
3. The Impact of Economic, Social and Political Choices
We hope that the content of these presentations will not only prove interesting to the reader but also stimulate further
thinking, research and action that will bring about real change for the love of our children.
– 24 –
SECTION
1
LE VISAGE DE LA PAUVRETÉ
Selon Sadig Rasheed, directeur à l’UNICEF, la pauvreté infantile est une réalité tout aussi
prédominante et pernicieuse aujourd’hui qu’elle l’était 13 ans auparavant lors de l’adoption de la
Convention relative aux droits de l’enfant. Bien que certains progrès aient été réalisés – plus
d’enfants sont nourris et éduqués –, il n’en demeure pas moins qu’aujourd’hui, encore 12 millions
d’enfants meurent à chaque année de maladies qui pourraient être évitées tandis que des centaines
de millions sont sous-alimentés ou ne fréquentent pas l’école. Le Dr Rasheed, dans son allocution,
fait ressortir l’importance de pouvoir compter sur un soutien financier accru de la part des pays
développés ainsi que sur un engagement ferme à tout mettre en œuvre pour bâtir « Un monde digne
des enfants. »
Nicole Lebrun met en lumière le lien entre pauvreté infantile et éducation afin de démontrer
l’importance d’une bonne éducation de base comme partie intégrante de toute initiative visant à
éliminer la pauvreté. Jim Ife et Louise Morley examinent la relation entre la reconnaissance des
droits des enfants et la pauvreté infantile en émettant l’hypothèse que la vision de l’enfance et des
droits des enfants telle que véhiculée par les gouvernements, les institutions et le public peut, dans
les faits, contribuer à perpétuer la pauvreté infantile. Des suggestions sont offertes sur la manière
dont les professionnels peuvent adopter et mettre en pratique une approche fondée sur les droits des
enfants. Dans son exposé, Kristin M. Ferguson met l’accent sur la situation lamentable des enfants
de la rue/travailleurs juvéniles qui, en général, proviennent de familles et de communautés démunies
dont la capacité d’influer sur la migration des enfants vers la rue est fort limitée. Sa thèse est que le
capital social – de concert avec les facteurs qui y sont associés, tels que la participation à la société
civile et les réseaux sociaux – fonctionne comme un pont entre le microsystème (l’individuel) et le
macrosystème (le structurel). Son texte représente une tentative de faire la synthèse de l’ensemble de
la littérature portant sur les enfants de la rue et la notion de capital social. La présentation de
Micheline Mayer traite de la pauvreté infantile en tant que facteur utilisé dans le signalement
d’enfants à risque auprès des services de protection de la jeunesse. La conclusion de son analyse est
que la pauvreté joue un rôle majeur comme facteur de risque de mauvais traitements, notamment
l’abus et la négligence, pour les enfants.
Plusieurs textes analysent le phénomène de la pauvreté en rapport avec le développement de l’enfant,
le niveau d’implication des parents et l’environnement familial. Pierre Nolin décrit les effets du
milieu socio-économique sur le développement cognitif des enfants. Son étude démontre qu’il n’y a
pas de corrélation significative entre la pauvreté et le rendement des enfants à diverses épreuves
neuropsychologiques, à l’exception des fonctions se rapportant à l’impulsivité/désinhibition. Sarah
Dufour, dans son texte, examine le rôle des pères de milieux défavorisés dans la promotion de la
santé mentale de leurs enfants et conclut qu’il n’existe pas une seule, mais plusieurs sous-cultures de
la paternité en milieu urbain défavorisé. Un lien intéressant entre la pauvreté et le SAP (Syndrome
d’Aliénation Parentale) est établi par Maria Stergiou, qui soutient qu’une étude formelle du
phénomène est nécessaire en raison du fait que plusieurs enfants aliènent leur lien avec l’un des
parents (le père généralement) et, ce faisant, se retrouvent souvent à perdre le soutien financier
auquel ils ont droit.
– 26 –
THE REALITY OF POVERTY
According to Sadig Rasheed, a director of UNICEF, child poverty is as pervasive and pernicious a
reality as it was 13 years ago when the UN adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. While
some progress has been made to feed and educate more children, it remains that, today, 12 million
children still die each year from preventable diseases and hundreds of millions are malnourished
and out of school. Dr. Rasheed, in his address, stresses the need for more financial support on the
part of developed countries as well as a firm commitment for sustained action in creating a “World
Fit for Children”.
Nicole Lebrun brings to light the connection between child poverty and education, arguing their
needs to be a basic level of education as part of any attempt to eliminate poverty. Jim Ife and Louise
Morley explore the idea of children’s rights and child poverty and suggest that the ideas of
childhood and the ideas of children’s rights as perpetuated by governments, institutions and people
can, indeed, perpetuate child poverty. Suggestions are made as to how professionals can take a
rights-based perspective and practice. In her paper, Kristin M. Ferguson emphasizes the plight of
urban street-working children who, generally, come from impoverished families and communities
that do little to precipitate or prevent such child street migration. She contends that social capital—
together with its related factors, such as civic participation and social networks and relationships—
function as a bridge between the microsystem (the individual) and the macrosystem (the structural).
Her work attempts to synthesize the existing literature with regards to street children and the notion
of social capital. Micheline Mayer’s paper looks at child poverty as a factor used in signalling
children at risk with child protection agencies. She concludes that poverty plays a major role in
putting children at risk of being abused and neglected.
Several of the papers presented describe the phenomenon of poverty with regards to children’s
functioning and development, parental involvement and the family context. Pierre Nolin describes
the effects of socio-economic conditions on the cognitive development of children. In his research, it
was concluded that there is no significant correlation between poverty and children’s score on
certain tests. The only link was made with impulsivity. Sarah Dufour, in her paper, examined the
role of fathers from underprivileged areas in promoting the mental health of their children and
concluded that there is not one but several sub cultures. An interesting link between PAS (Parental
Alienation Syndrome) and poverty was made by Maria Stergiou who maintains that a formal study
on the subject is needed as many children become alienated from a parent (usually the father) and,
in the process, often lose the financial support to which they are entitled.
– 27 –
OPENING ADDRESS
A WORLD FIT FOR CHILDREN
B Y : S ADIG R ASHEED , P H . D .
DIRECTOR , P ROGRAMME DIVISION
UNICEF
It is a delight to be here with you at this conference, addressing a topic that can hardly be more
timely or apt.
Twelve years ago, at the World Summit for Children, the world leaders vowed to give every child a
better future. Since then, and 13 years after the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child (CRC), that commitment has yet to be delivered on—and we are simply failing our children.
It is not deniable that some progress has been made. Children and their cause are more visible today;
millions of young lives have been saved; more children than ever are in schools; more children are
actively involved in decisions affecting their lives; and important treaties have been embraced to
protect children.
But the failings are more glaring. A brighter future for all has proved elusive, and overall gains have
fallen short by far of national obligations and international commitments.
Six hundred million children in developing countries are living in the most dehumanizing, grinding
poverty imaginable—condemned to a vicious circle of poverty, deprivation, abuse, exploitation and
hopelessness.
◆
12 million children still die every year from perfectly preventable diseases;
◆
170 million are malnourished;
◆
Over 120 million—two-thirds of them girls—are not in school;
◆
246 million child labourers, toil in hazardous jobs that put their physical, mental and moral wellbeing at great risk and jeopardy;
◆
More than half of the world’s children still have no access to safe water and sanitation;
◆
300,000 are fighting in wars, thousands have died and millions were maimed.
For all the millions of young lives that have been saved and the opportunities that have been created,
we have failed to reach most of the key survival and development goals that were set at the World
Summit for Children.
Simply put: a world that condemns half of its children to failure is not a world fit for children—and
for this to happen in a $30 trillion plus global economy is neither acceptable nor morally justifiable.
Poverty is a denial of human rights.
Human development cannot be accelerated and the vicious circle of poverty cannot be broken
without appropriately investing in children. The cry: “Poverty reduction must start with children”
cannot be uttered more often or loudly.
– 28 –
A reliable indicator of a country’s level of development is the way it treats its most vulnerable
members—and child development indicators are the best proxy for human development. Children
are humanity’s future, and that future remains in our hands as never before. Poor children usually
grow up to raise poor children of their own—and reducing child poverty, therefore, is indispensable
to beginning to reduce poverty. No effort to reduce poverty can succeed without first ensuring the
well-being of children and the realization of their rights.
The economic and social benefits of investing in children have been extensively documented—and we
have the knowledge, the means and the strategies to give children the best possible start in life and
quality basic education, and help navigate the complex passage from adolescence to adulthood.
Giving children access to an integrated package of basic social services of good quality is one of the
most efficient and effective steps in combating poverty; and allowing children to grow to their full
potential free of dysentery, malnutrition, illiteracy and deprivation.
Education—and girls education in particular—is a cornerstone of such investment, and for poverty
reduction. Evidence abound that educated girls grow up to make decisions that reduce poverty in
their own lives and the lives of their children. Giving a girl a head start will contribute to long-term
economic growth and poverty reduction. If children are the exit door from poverty, girls’ education
is the key to that door.
So, why the dismal record, why so many goals of the World Summit for Children have gone
unfulfilled, in the face of this shared conviction?
The answer is that there is a growing gap between official rhetoric and policy practice; and we have
grossly under invested in children.
At the 1995 World Summit for Social Development, the industrialized and developing countries
forged a compact to allocate 20 percent of the national budget and 20 percent of the donor aid to
basic social services to ensure universal coverage of basic social services of good quality. However,
developing countries are currently devoting only about 12 percent of their national budgets for that
purpose, while developed countries earmark only 11 percent of their Official Development
Assistance (ODA).
The effects of these under-investments on children are magnified by the overall decline in ODA
flows; the crushing burden of external debt; gender-based violence and discrimination; armed
conflicts; environmental degradation; natural disasters; and the devastating spread of HIV/AIDS.
The UN Millennium Summit has affirmed both the moral imperative and affordability of the
eradication of the worst manifestations of poverty by endorsing the International Development
Targets on child poverty, education and health—including the goal of halving the proportion of
people living in abject poverty by 2015. The stark reality, however, remains that most developing
countries will fall short of the 2015 targets unless there is a significant increase in external assistance
and a major infusion of debt relief and cancellation.
A firm commitment on the part of all is urgently needed:
◆
Developing countries need to allocate more resources to basic social services; cut down on defence
expenditure and redirect it to basic social services; improve policies; make governance more
– 29 –
responsive to use resources more effectively and efficiently. Children must be put at the heart of
the budget allocation process;
◆
Developed countries need an additional $50 billion a year in external resources until 2015 to meet
these requirements. Industrialized countries need to increase ODA substantially; augment debt
forgiveness well beyond current HIPC initiative; and introduce favourable trade systems (this
could generate $500 billion by 2015).
An additional $50 billion represents an increase that is no more than 1/5 of 1% of the combined
GNP of the industrialized countries. Even with this increase, total ODA would still amount to 0.42%
of the combined GNP of these countries—a far cry from the 0.7% global target, which remains
necessary to provide capacity building, infrastructure and other vital aspects of development. While
this is not unattainable, it would require unprecedented and sustained action. Encouraging as they
are, the pledges made at Monterrey fall much short of this additional investment.
For the first time ever, the UN General Assembly met from May 8 to 10 this year in a Special Session
entirely devoted to discussing children issues. Over 60 heads of state and government;
representatives from 170 countries; NGOs; representatives of the private sector; parliamentarians;
religious leaders; representatives of UN agencies; educators; the media; and children assessed the
progress made for children since the World Summit and adopted a strong-oriented action document
in which they pledged to create a “World Fit for Children”.
UNICEF—the Secretariat of the Special Session on Children—has joined global partners to mobilize
a “Global Movement for Children” to ensure that the momentum of the summit is kept on and
ensure that leaders at all levels, not only government leaders, but persons representing every part of
civil society, from NGOs, religious groups, peoples’ movements, academia, media, families and the
children themselves, deliver on the promise for children.
Coming on the heel of the Special Session, your conference will further reinforce the overarching
message that leaders everywhere (including yourselves) must deliver on their commitments to invest
in children and realize their rights as a matter of urgency and top priority; and that poverty
reduction must start in earnest with children.
The Organization for the Protection of Children’s Rights (O.P.C.R.) deserves commendation for
organizing this conference and for galvanizing your leadership to combat child poverty and put
children first.
The task of ensuring that all children fully enjoy their rights appears daunting, but with your
dedication, commitment and mobilizing power, dear friends, we can make that happen!
I wish your conference and deliberations every success.
– 30 –
ATELIER / WORKSHOP 201
MONDIALISATION DE LA PAUVRETÉ ET ÉDUCATION DE BASE
P A R : N ICOLE L EBRUN , P H . D .
PROFESSEUR , D ÉPARTEMENT DES SCIENCES
U N I V E R S I T É DU Q U É B E C À M O N T R É A L
MONTRÉAL , Q UÉBEC , C ANADA
DE L ’ É D U C A T I O N
La pauvreté est devenue un phénomène mondial parmi les plus marquants de cette dernière
décennie. Ses effets sont désastreux et les premières victimes sont, sans contredit, les enfants. La
pauvreté atteint des proportions inimaginables dans certaines parties du monde et, pour la contrer,
elle interpelle un vouloir politique, économique et social concerté. Parmi l’ensemble des
interrogations qu’elle soulève, l’une mérite d’être davantage explorée : c’est la place que doit occuper
l’éducation de base ainsi que les orientations qu’elle doit poursuivre dans un environnement où
sévissent des conditions de misère humaine extrême. Aussi, cet exposé désire apporter des éléments
de réflexion sur les liens entre la pauvreté et l’éducation de base ainsi que sur les considérations
d’ordre socio-économique, politique et institutionnel que cette dernière pose avec beaucoup d’acuité
dans les pays en voie de développement. L’étude de ces différents paramètres devra être prise en cause
dans la lutte contre la pauvreté des enfants pour que celle-ci dépasse le seuil du simple constat et
devienne un objectif et une priorité suprêmes. On verra enfin quelles sont les conditions et les
exigences d’une éducation de base pour tous dans un contexte d’élimination de la pauvreté et de
développements que l’on souhaite équitables, durables et de qualité.
La pauvreté : un phénomène mondial
Comme le souligne Goldsmith (2001), même après 50 ans d’explosion et de développement, la
pauvreté n’a pas encore disparu. En effet, plusieurs observateurs constatent que le développement
économique, l’échange et le commerce international ne semblent pas avoir enrayé les méfaits de la
pauvreté. Au contraire, les richesses sont de plus en plus concentrées et mal distribuées; les inégalités,
au lieu de s’amenuiser, s’accroissent; la prospérité des peuples est davantage compromise. Les
chiffres qui suivent parlent d’eux-mêmes :
◆
en Indonésie, la pauvreté a augmenté de 50 % depuis 1997;
◆
en Corée du Sud, elle a doublé au cours de la même période;
◆
en Russie, elle s’est élevée de 21,9 % à 32,7 % entre 1996 et 1998 seulement;
◆
la même évolution peut être relevée dans l’Amérique du Sud comme dans les Caraïbes, etc.
(Goldsmith & Bureau international du travail, 2001).
La pauvreté est également constatée dans les pays industrialisés. Ainsi, on souligne que, tant aux
États-Unis que dans les pays de l’Union Européenne, près de 15 % de la population vivent au-dessous
du seuil de pauvreté. Les premières victimes sont certes les enfants puisque, au cours de l’an 2000, en
Angleterre par exemple, le nombre d’enfants vivant dans un état de pauvreté a triplé depuis 1968,
passant de 1,4 millions à 4,4 millions. (Goldsmith, 2001). Au Canada, même si l’on rapportait en
– 31 –
1998 le taux de pauvreté le plus bas enregistré depuis 1992, soit 19,2 %, il demeure, selon le Conseil
national du bien-être social (2001), que près de un enfant sur cinq vivait dans la pauvreté.
Parallèlement à ce premier constat, l’aide officielle au développement a connu, selon la Conférence
mondiale sur l’éducation pour tous (Jomtien, Thaïlande, 1990), une diminution drastique au milieu
de la dernière décennie. Ce qui fait dire à certains observateurs que la pauvreté s’est mondialisée,
progressant en cela au même rythme que la prospérité. On peut chercher longtemps des raisons qui
viennent expliquer cette déplorable situation mais, comme le soulignent Latouche (2001) et Polanyi
(2001), la société dans laquelle nous vivons est de plus en plus enchâssée dans des relations
économiques, la mondialisation étant une extension géographique inéluctable d’une économie
désenchâssée du social.
Notion et rapports à la pauvreté
La pauvreté est également, sans nul doute, un problème complexe, multidimensionnel et en liens
étroits avec d’autres maux aussi dévastateurs. Complexe, puisque tant les causes et les effets que le
niveau de pauvreté sont délicats et difficiles à établir (Gresle et al. 1990). Multidimensionnel, puisque
la pauvreté est tributaire de différents aspects du contexte, du milieu et de la société en général. Elle
recouvre des dimensions d’ordre économique, social, culturel, politique, etc., si larges et si
intrinsèquement liées que l’on s’interroge à savoir si la pauvreté est la cause ou la conséquence de
l’autre et vice versa. Grande détresse matérielle, absence de standard de vie, niveau de pauvreté, etc.,
autant d’éléments sujets à des manipulations d’ordre économique, politique ou social. La pauvreté
peut ainsi être considérée à plusieurs niveaux.
Le danger est directement lié à la perception du fait qu’être pauvre, ce n’est pas
seulement manquer des choses les plus nécessaires à la vie. C’est aussi, de
manière immédiate, n’avoir aucune part aux biens, services, droits et activités
dont la possession définit l’appartenance au corps civique. (Goldsmith, 2001,
p. 20)
Toutefois, l’extrême pauvreté, celle qui touche les plus démunis et ceux qui vivent dans des
conditions parfois inhumaines, est particulièrement concentrée en Afrique, dans les groupes de pays
situés au sud du désert du Sahara. En effet, près de la moitié des 673 millions d’habitants de l’Afrique
subsaharienne subsistent avec moins d’un dollar par jour (Paradis, 2002).
Sur les 50 pays les plus pauvres du monde, classés selon l’indicateur du
développement humain (IDH) du PNUD, 33 sont situés en Afrique
subsaharienne. (…) le continent est la première victime du creusement des
inégalités dans le monde. (Rekacewicz, 2000, p. 2)
Encore là, les données sont très révélatrices des conditions de vie dans lesquelles vivent plus
particulièrement les enfants, souvent touchés par la malnutrition, les maladies, l’illettrisme, le taux
élevé de mortalité infantile, les problèmes sanitaires, la faible espérance de vie, etc.
– 32 –
Malnutrition des enfants
Dans ce monde d’abondance, de haute technologie et de progrès, près de 800 millions de personnes
souffrent de la faim dans le monde (ONU, 2002). La sous-alimentation ne s’estompera pas de sitôt
puisqu’elle est toujours en croissance en Afrique; environ 10 millions par an et 435 millions
d’Africains d’ici 2010 (Natsios, 2001). Assurer la sécurité alimentaire et améliorer le développement
humain et économique sont devenus des tâches majeures pour ces pays. Comme le rapporte Paradis
(2002), les Africains ne peuvent satisfaire leurs besoins fondamentaux parce qu’ils n’ont pas accès à
l’eau, à des installations sanitaires et à l’éducation de base.
Victimes et orphelins du sida
Parmi les maladies épidémiques qui affectent la population africaine, le sida est devenu une des
principales cause de décès; en 1996, 14 millions de personnes en Afrique vivaient avec le VIH ou le
sida (PNUE, 1999). Il y aurait actuellement plus de 12,1 millions d’orphelins du sida en Afrique. Il
semble exister un rapport étroit entre la pauvreté et la mort causée par le sida. Comme le souligne
l’Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS), la pauvreté exerce son influence sur tous les stades de la
vie humaine. Elle conspire avec les maladies les plus meurtrières et les plus douloureuses pour rendre
misérable l’existence de tous ceux qui en souffrent. Contrairement aux pays riches et industrialisés,
le sida tue systématiquement tous ceux qu’il frappe en Afrique, les médicaments étant peu ou pas
accessibles du tout, en raison soit de leur coût, soit de leur manque de disponibilité sur le marché.
Travail et exploitation des enfants
Pour subvenir aux besoins familiaux ou encore pour apporter de l’aide, les enfants sont de plus en
plus confrontés à travailler dès leur jeune âge. Dans le monde, on estime à quelque 250 millions le
nombre d’enfants astreints au travail dans les pays en voie de développement (culture commerciale
de cacao, café, caoutchouc, coton, etc.); un enfant sur huit, soit 179 millions d’enfants effectuent un
travail dangereux (esclavage, servitude, prostitution, enfants-soldats, pornographie, etc.); au Brésil,
plus de 556 000 enfants, surtout des filles, travaillent comme domestiques (OIT, 2002).
Guerres et participation à des conflits armés
Les conflits armés sont omniprésents dans certaines partie du monde, entraînant dans leur sillage
son lot de souffrances et de détresse humaine. Rien qu’en Afrique, on rapporte plus de 120 000
garçons et filles de moins de 18 ans qui participent à des conflits armés, et certains de ces enfants
n’ont pas plus de 7 ou 8 ans. Cela, c’est sans compter tous les déplacements qui en découlent,
déplacements tant à l’intérieur qu’à l’extérieur du pays d’origine, demandes d’asiles dans d’autres
pays, camps de réfugiés ou réfugiés de retour au pays. Une grande pauvreté caractérise tous ces
milieux de vie et l’aide internationale ne suffit plus.
Niveau de scolarisation
La pauvreté a des incidences sur le niveau de scolarisation et de fréquentation de l’école et vice versa.
Plus de 113 millions d’enfants sont exclus de l’école dans le monde, dont 2/3 de filles; la moitié de
tous les enfants africains ne vont qu’à l’école primaire; plus de 850 millions d’adultes analphabètes
de par le monde. À cet égard, nous partageons l’avis de Bruckner (2002), à savoir qu’un système
– 33 –
d’éducation riche et performant demeure une des activités humaines fondamentales qui doit
échapper à l’économie de marché.
Éducation de base pour tous : une priorité et un défi
Force est de constater que non seulement l’éducation est souvent le dernier domaine où l’on investit
après les secteurs de l’énergie, du transport et de l’agriculture (George & Sabelli, 1994), mais que le
projet d’éducation de base continue de ne représenter qu’une part insignifiante de l’aide au
développement de chaque pays (UNESCO, 2002). Pourtant l’UNESCO réaffirmait récemment que
non seulement l’accès à l’éducation de base est un droit fondamental humain, mais elle brise le cycle
de la pauvreté et constitue une des clés du développement économique et social. Aussi, l‘éducation
de base mis de l’avant par la Conférence mondiale de Jomtien (Thaïlande, 1990) désirait répondre
aux besoins éducatifs fondamentaux de l’être humain à la fois en contenus éducatifs et en outils
d’apprentissage essentiels, permettant ainsi à tout apprenant de développer toutes ses facultés.
Malgré ces objectifs qui faisaient de l’éducation de base une des grandes priorités du développement,
il semble qu’un net recul ait été constaté et plus particulièrement, c’est l’Afrique subsaharienne qui
enregistre le ralentissement le plus marqué, puisque l’aide y a fondu d’environ un tiers. Et pourtant,
comme le rapporte les données suivantes, la situation est urgente :
◆
en Afrique sub-saharienne, 4 enfants sur 10 restent exclus de l’école primaire;
◆
moins des 3/4 des élèves atteignent la cinquième année du cycle primaire. Pourtant, les études
démontrent que six années d’éducation primaire sont nécessaires pour acquérir un savoir durable
en lecture et en calcul;
◆
seuls 19 % en moyenne des jeunes sont inscrits dans le secondaire (moins de 10 % pour cinq autres
pays dont la Guinée, le Burkina Faso, Tchad, Mozambieu et Niger) (Actualités, 2002).
À ce rythme, on peut facilement imaginer que l’enseignement supérieur reste très marginal. Malgré
le renouvellement des engagements à l’égard de l’ÉPT d’ici 2015 (enseignement primaire obligatoire,
amélioration de la qualité de l’éducation, promotion de l’acquisition des compétences, etc.) pris lors
du Forum mondial sur l’éducation (Dakar, Sénégal, 2000), il semble toujours que sur 155 pays en
voie de développement :
◆
36 ont atteint l’objectif d’une éducation primaire universelle;
◆
31 vont probablement atteindre cet objectif, au vu des taux actuels de progrès;
◆
88, c’est-à-dire plus de la moitié, risquent de ne pas atteindre les cinq années d’ici 2015, sauf si des
progrès rapides sont enregistrés (UNESCO, 2002).
Assurer l’éducation de base pour tous demeure ainsi un enjeu et un défi de taille qui doivent tenir
compte d’un ensemble de considérations d’ordre politique, économique, social et scolaire.
Des considérations de différents ordres
L’accessibilité à l’éducation, le niveau d’estime de soi, le degré de motivation, etc., sont généralement
reconnus comme des conditions de scolarisation importantes. Toutefois, tout un ensemble de
– 34 –
facteurs concourent à l’atteinte ou pas de ces conditions. Aussi, la figure suivante illustre bien
l’ensemble des diverses considérations qui ont des incidences sur le niveau de scolarisation des
individus.
Dans les pays industrialisés et scolarisés, on sait depuis longtemps que les considérations reliées à
l’environnement pédagogique ont des répercussions importantes sur le niveau de scolarisation. Le
contexte scolaire, la relation pédagogique, la pénurie de matériel ou du matériel inadéquat, les échecs
répétitifs, etc., constituent autant de facteurs qui influencent grandement la qualité de
l’enseignement.
(…) si les filles manquent de nourriture ou d’argent pour les frais scolaires,
elles peuvent être amenées à se prostituer pour de l’argent ou de la nourriture,
entraînant dans son cycle des risques de sida et de grossesses. (George et
Sabelli, p. 79)
De la même façon, des considérations d’ordre politique et institutionnel aussi globales que l’exercice d’une
démocratie participative, le non-respect des droits et des libertés, la corruption et le détournement
des fonds, etc., que des facteurs ciblés comme l’absence ou le niveau de fiabilité de données ou
d’informations ou encore le statut de la femme ou les politiques familiales, sont autant de
considérations qui ont une forte influence sur le niveau de scolarisation.
– 35 –
De tous les obstacles à surmonter pour parvenir à l’éducation pour tous,
instaurer la parité entre garçons et filles à l’école est un des plus redoutables.
Le chemin qui mène à l’éducation est généralement semé d’embûches plus
nombreuses pour les filles que pour les garçons. Les filles qui sont issues de
familles ou de minorités ethniques pauvres ou qui vivent à la campagne ou
dans des zones de conflit sont souvent doublement désavantagées. Or,
éduquer les filles est le meilleur moyen de promouvoir la croissance
économique et le bien-être social. (UNESCO, 2002)
Finalement, des considérations d’ordre socio-économique et socioculturel ne sont pas à négliger.
La perception ou les représentations que se font le milieu familial et social de l’importance de l’école,
les coûts directs reliés à la scolarisation tels l’achat de matériel scolaire, sont d’autres facteurs non
moins importants.
Même si l’école est gratuite, les coûts connexes des uniformes, des livres, des
transports et des frais d’examen font qu’il est difficile de continuer d’y envoyer
les enfants. (Satterthwaite, 2001, p. 40)
Universaliser l’accès à l’école, favoriser la réussite scolaire et assurer un enseignement de qualité
demeurent les grands défis de l’heure. Comme le souligne Khor (2001, p. 278), « nous devons
imaginer des politiques écologiquement saines et socialement équitables, propres à satisfaire
nos besoins essentiels – nourriture, eau, santé, éducation et information – et nous battre pour les
faire adopter ».
Une question de synergie entre les différents impératifs
Aussi, la réussite des projets reliés à l’éducation de base dépend en grande partie de la capacité à
traiter des problèmes interdépendants. Mis à part l’investissement de fonds et d’aide internationale
dans les projets reliés à l’éducation, il faut obligatoirement une synergie entre les politiques et les
stratégies mises de l’avant et les conditions d’accessibilité de l’éducation de base et de réussite des
élèves. Comme le souligne Latouche (2001, p. 260), les espoirs de recomposition du tissu social ne
peuvent provenir que de la réinsertion de l’économique dans le social, dans un enracinement local.
Chacun des pays africains doit développer ses propres stratégies pour assurer et maintenir une
éducation de base pour tous et contribuer ainsi à lutter contre la pauvreté.
Cependant, ils ont en commun des éléments fondamentaux sur lesquels doivent s’appuyer tout
changement et tout développement, à savoir :
◆
une contextualisation des changements apportés en adaptant ou en élaborant entre autres des
programmes et du matériel pédagogiques;
◆
une action partagée et concertée pour l’élaboration de projets nationaux et/ou locaux qui
améliorent les conditions de scolarisation;
◆
une considération des besoins des différents acteurs, tant au niveau des intervenants en
éducation qu’au niveau des élèves considérés;
◆
un développement et un soutien de la profession enseignante (formation initiale et continue);
– 36 –
◆
une prise en compte de la recherche en éducation et de données significatives pour les pays
d’Afrique;
◆
accès à l’information, à l’instrumentation didactique et aux nouvelles technologies.
Dans certains pays, le manque de données sur les résultats scolaires ou sur les mesures pouvant être
concrètement appliquées nuit aux efforts de planification. L’arrivée des nouvelles technologies rend
possible l’accès à l’information et aux données mais représentent des défis de taille pour assurer,
accroître et soutenir un mode de développement qui soit économiquement, socialement
écologiquement et politiquement viable à long terme.
Concertation, adaptation et amélioration sont trois mots clés si l’on désire effectuer des
développements que l’on souhaite équitables, durables et de qualité. L’ensemble de ces
développements nécessitera des changements majeurs dans bon nombre de politiques, de
programmes et de projets institutionnels tant à l’externe qu’à l’interne pour assurer ainsi une
éducation de base pour tous.
Les pays devront appliquer les réformes qui conviennent, notamment allonger la durée de l’année
scolaire et en assouplir le déroulement, mettre en place des modalités de recrutement et de gestion
des enseignants qui répondent mieux aux besoins des populations locales, développer le recours aux
langues vernaculaires, investir davantage dans les manuels scolaires et support pédagogiques et
dernier point, qui n’est pas le moins important, supprimer les droits de scolarité. (UNESCO, 2002)
Références bibliographiques
Actualités 2002. L’éducation reste inaccessible pour des millions d’africains. Paris : UNESCO.
Conseil national du bien-être social 2001. Rapport du Conseil National du Bien-être Social. Profil de la pauvreté infantile, 1998. Canada :
Ministre des Travaux publics et services gouvernementaux Canada :
George, S., Sabelli, F. 1994. Crédits sans frontières. Paris : Éditions de la Découverte.
Goldsmith, T. 2001. Mondialisation de la pauvreté. L’Écologiste, 2(1), p 19-23.
Gresle, F., Panoff, M., Perrin, M., Tripier, P. 1990. Dictionnaire des sciences humaines. Paris : Nathan.
Khor, M. 2001. « La mondialisation, fléau du Tiers Monde. » In G. E. Goldsmith & J. Mander (dir.). Le procès de la mondialisation.
263-278. Paris : Fayard.
Latouche, S. 2001. « La mondialisation démystifiée ». In G. E. Goldsmith & J. Mander (dir.). Le procès de la mondialisation. 7-27, Paris :
Fayard,
Natsios, A. 2001. « La prospérité d’un pays dépend des investissements consacrés à la population ». Perspectives économiques, 6(3),
p. 10-18
Odaga, A., Heneveld, W. 1995. Girls and schools in Sub-Sahara Africa. Washington : Banque internationale pour la reconstruction et le
développement.
Paradis, D. 2002. « Pourquoi l’Afrique? ». La Presse, Montréal, juin, cahier A, 15.
Perreault, D. (s.d). La scolarisation des filles en Afrique de l’Ouest. Montréal : UQÀM.
Polanyi, K. 1983. La grande transformation aux origines politiques et économiques de notre temps. Paris : Gallimard.
Programme des Nations Unies pour l’environnement (2000). L’avenir de l’environnement mondial 2000. Bruxelles : De Boeck.
Rekacewicz, P. 2000. « La pauvreté dans le monde ». Le Monde diplomatique, mai 2000.
– 37 –
Satterthwaite, D. 2001. « Les facettes de la pauvreté, dans les zones rurales et dans les villes ». Perspectives économiques, 6(3), p. 10-18
UNESCO 2002. Dossier d’information sur l’éducation pour tous. Les plans d’action nationaux. Paris : UNESCO
UNESCO 2002. Bulletin d’information sur les activités de l’Éducation pour tous dans le monde. no. 41. Paris : UNESCO
UNESCO 2002. Dossier d’information sur l’éducation pour tous. Le coût de l’Éducation pour tous. Paris : UNESCO
UNESCO 2002. L’éducation pour tous : un objectif à notre portée. Paris.
UNESCO 2002. La semaine de l’Éducation pour tous. Paris : www.unesco.org
– 38 –
HUMAN RIGHTS AND CHILD POVERTY
B Y : J IM I FE , P H . D .
P R O F E S S O R A N D H E A D , S C H O O L OF S O C I A L W O R K & S O C I A L P O L I C Y
C U R T I N U N I V E R S I T Y OF T E C H N O L O G Y
PERTH , W ESTERN AUSTRALIA , A USTRALIA
The aim of this paper is to explore the idea of children’s rights and child poverty within a broader
framework of human rights. It suggests that one of the reasons for the continuing marginalisation
of children’s rights is the way we have constructed the idea of human rights and a corresponding
human rights discourse.
Our ideas of rights are inextricably connected with our ideas of citizenship. It is from our definitions
of citizenship—what it means to be a citizen—that our definitions of rights emerge. This is one of the
reasons why the idea of human rights can be so problematic. We are used to thinking of rights as
consequences of citizenship, and we understand citizenship primarily in relation to the nation state;
the rights of a Canadian citizen, an Australian citizen, and so on. It is by belonging to a particular
nation state that we are ascribed our rights, and it is through the mechanisms of the nation state
that those rights are protected or realised. However the idea of human rights is that we have rights not
on the basis of our national citizenship, but simply on the basis of our being human; wherever we
were born and whatever our national citizenship, we inherit the same basic set of human rights.
There are two dimensions in which this idea of human rights extends the traditional citizenship
construct. One is the idea of existential rights, arising simply (but profoundly) from our common
humanity, and the other is the notion of global citizenship, seeking to extend the idea of citizenship
beyond the boundaries of the nation state.
The idea of existential rights requires the human rights discourse to address fundamental questions
about our humanity. Human rights become a more-or-less codified expression of that humanity,
beyond national or cultural boundaries. By focussing on our rights as humans, instead of our rights
as Canadians, Americans, Chinese, Australians, Indians, or whoever, we are seeing rights as being
generated from our humanness, rather than from aspects of our national identities. It is a more
profound and philosophical understanding of rights that raises the debate about rights above the
arena of national political discourse.
The other dimension on which human rights extend the idea of ‘rights’ beyond the nation state is
the idea of global citizenship. Human rights become particularly important in the era of
globalisation. As the nation state loses its autonomy in the face of global capitalism, and as national
borders become less relevant as boundaries of commerce, trade, policy or the movement of people, it
becomes necessary to look at notions of global citizenship, from which we derive a set of rights based
not on the nation state, but on our belonging to the global commons. This is one of the greatest
challenges of globalisation, and it is also why many of the critics of globalisation use the idea of
human rights as one of their principal arguments. By showing how economic globalisation denies
people human rights they are not arguing against a global perspective; rather they are using one
– 39 –
global discourse, namely human rights, to challenge another, namely globalisation. In this sense,
what we are seeing at the global level is nothing new. It is the conflict between an exclusively
economic and profit-driven view, and a view that says people and their welfare come first so that the
economy should serve the needs of people rather than people serving the needs of the economy. This
conflict has pervaded public policy debate at the national level for some time, and what we now see
if its reinvention at the global level.
The question of how we construct human rights in a globalised world, in such a way that still
respects and values cultural and other diversity, has become a major arena for debate. Elsewhere Ife
has argued how conventional constructions of human rights have been too narrow in scope, which
has led to the diluting of the power of human rights, and also to the criticism of human rights as
being a western construct, serving the needs of western capitalism. It is true that the human rights
discourse of the last two centuries has been dominated by western voices, but this is true of many
discourses, and does not invalidate the idea of human rights. Indeed, such a criticism is itself racist
and culture-bound, in that it ignores the fact that ideas of human rights have been important in all
major religious and cultural traditions, though those ideas have been expressed and constructed in
different ways. The task now is not to condemn human rights as a western idea, but rather to
deconstruct the western domination of mainstream human rights discourse and to articulate
alternative more inclusive versions of the idea of human rights and global citizenship, in ways that
respect not only the individualist liberal traditions of western societies, but also the more collectivist
and organic traditions of others.
The confining of rights to national citizenship suggests one of the reasons why refugees, asylum
seekers, illegal immigrants and migrant workers represent such a ‘problem’ in many countries at the
present time. They are non-citizens of the state in which they find themselves, so their rights are not
as well understood or protected. If global citizenship, or human rights, were more strongly
recognised, defined and protected, the treatment of refugees would be very different. It is their noncitizen status that poses the problem, and there is an imperative to develop a stronger human rights
regime if we are ever to come to terms adequately, at a global level, with the ‘refugee problem’.
Similar arguments can be applied to children’s rights. Commonly, children do not have full
citizenship rights, because they are defined, at least implicitly, as non-citizens. Many countries claim
to have ‘universal suffrage’, yet they do not allow their children to vote. Children are not allowed to
own property, operate businesses, and so on. Of course there are reasons for this withholding of
rights, but the fact remains that by doing so we define children as less than full citizens, and this
then encourages us to believe that our normal expectations of citizens’ rights don’t really apply to
children. The lesser citizenship status implies fewer rights. This even applies at the global level of
human rights; a number of the rights stated in the Universal Declaration would be readily dismissed
with the phrase ‘of course that doesn’t really apply to children’. But if human rights don’t apply to
children, this implies that children somehow aren’t fully human. If children are human, and if
human rights belong to all human beings, then this suggests that the construction of human rights
needs to be undertaken in a rather different way, to include children as fully human beings with the
full range of consequent rights.
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Another way in which we have denied children’s rights through the way human rights are
constructed is by the dominance of civil and political rights in the understanding of ‘human rights’ in
the mainstream media and popular discourse. There are several reasons for this, including the
influence of western individual liberalism in human rights discourse, a reluctance by governments to
admit that economic, social and cultural rights are ‘human rights’ thereby requiring expensive
government action, and the dominance of legal definitions of human rights with the implication
that human rights should be confined to rights that can be guaranteed through legal mechanisms.
The fact remains that for most people ‘human rights’ means civil and political rights, or first
generation rights. When the media label a country as having a ‘poor human rights record’ they do
not generally mean a country with inadequate health or education systems, rather they mean a
country lacking freedom of speech, fair trials, protection from intimidation and torture, and so on.
When we think of the abuse of children’s rights, however, we often mean the abuse of their economic
social and cultural rights. It is true that some children’s civil and political rights are violated, for
example when children are locked up, tortured, or forced to take up arms. But the violation of
second generation rights, or economic social and cultural rights, is, in simple numerical terms, much
more significant. This includes the children whose right to education is being denied, whose right to
adequate food, shelter and clothing is denied, those with inadequate health care, and, perhaps most
significantly, it includes child poverty. Poverty is a human rights abuse; it violates rights stated in the
Universal Declaration and the Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, and is at the heart
of many of the other denials of human rights, in such fields as health, housing and education. The
dominance of civil and political rights in the public discourse therefore marginalizes children’s
claims to human rights.
Another reason for the marginalisation of children’s rights is the dominance of the public sphere as
the context for human rights protection. The traditional western understandings of human rights
have been human rights in the public domain: the right to free speech, to freedom of assembly, to
join a trade union, to vote, and so on. However children’s rights are often violated in the private or
domestic sphere; this is particularly the case with child abuse, but in addition it must be emphasised
that child poverty, poor health care, and so on are largely personal private experiences, not ‘out there’
in the public domain. A similar argument has been at the heart of the feminist critique of human
rights; that traditional understandings of human rights, in the public sphere, are typically the rights
of men, while the human rights abuse of women (e.g. rape, domestic violence) takes place in the
domestic sphere. Hence traditional constructions of human rights have favoured the protection of
the human rights of men, and devalued the protection of women’s rights. The same can be said of
children; traditional western human rights discourse has constructed human rights and human
rights protection largely in the public world of the adult, rather than the private world of the child.
The argument thus far suggests that one of the causes of the marginalizing of children’s rights lies
in the way that human rights have been constructed. But there is a more fundamental way that the
construction of human rights denies the rights of children, and that is in the very process of that
construction itself. Human rights are not objective and value-free, and cannot be measured,
discovered or empirically verified. Rather, rights must be understood as discursively constructed, as
being in a state of definition and redefinition. Human rights are what we claim, for ourselves or for
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others, arising from our understanding of our common humanity. In this sense they are bound by
context, by time, place and culture. How we see human rights now is not quite the same as we did at
the time of the Universal Declaration, and is different again from how we will see them in another
fifty years. Similarly, the way human rights are constructed in one culture will be different from how
they are constructed in another culture. They are, in that sense, relative. But in another sense they are
universal, in that human rights are about what we would claim should apply to all human beings,
not just our own nation, tribe of community. Thus, for example, a Chinese construction of human
rights is not just about the rights of the Chinese; rather it is about how the Chinese view the rights
of all human beings. It is a discourse about universals, even though the ways those universals are
constructed will vary. The attempts to reach a universal understanding of human rights, the most
significant perhaps being the Universal Declaration, are attempts to dialogue and reach a consensus
about what those rights might be.
The common criticism of such attempts to define human rights has been that the discourse has been
dominated by western voices. This has been the case, for example, with critiques of the Universal
Declaration, in that it was largely western governments and politicians that were involved in its
drafting and its adoption on behalf of the peoples of the world. This problem, however, is now being
addressed, and non-western voices are increasingly being heard in the debates about human rights.
Writers from Africa, Asia, Latin America and from Indigenous Peoples are all now forcing those of us
in the west to rethink our understandings of human rights, and to construct them in a more
inclusive and less Euro-centric way. However the debate about human rights remains a debate
among the privileged. It is dominated by lawyers, politicians, academics, journalists, senior
bureaucrats, and a few activists from groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights
Watch. But while it is no longer exclusively western voices who frame the human rights debate, it is
still almost exclusively the voices of the powerful. Those whose human rights are violated, the poor,
those lacking formal education, and indeed the overwhelming majority of humanity have no say in
deciding what should constitute human rights; there has been a lack of a power analysis, or an
understanding of how structural factors such as class, gender and economic power impact on the
construction and realisation of human rights. The human rights discourse remains a discourse of
the powerful about the powerless, and as such is itself a form of human rights abuse, denying people
the right to be part of something as fundamental as the definition of their human rights. And of
course children are almost totally removed from the process. Statements of human rights are drawn
up by adults, and so statements of children’s rights are statements of rights defined by adults, to be
effectively imposed on children. In the case of child poverty we are, in a sense, talking about a double
disadvantage because rights are defined firstly by adults, and secondly by adults who are far removed
from the personal experience of that poverty; in other words, the rights of poor children are defined
by rich adults. Given the discursive nature of human rights, the critical question becomes who
controls the discourse, and children’s voices are effectively marginalised in that process. If we are
serious about doing something about children’s rights, we need to do something about the way
human rights themselves are constructed.
An important imperative is to move the debate away from rights as defined, guaranteed and
protected by the nation state, to a stronger human rights discourse, where human rights are defined,
guaranteed and protected at a global level. This began with the Universal Declaration and the
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establishment of UN treaties and human rights bodies, and also spawned the strong growth of
NGOs such as Amnesty International. However with the exception of the European Union in recent
years there has been little extension of the recognition of international human rights, and some
countries, such as the United States and Australia, seem to be in retreat in this regard. At a time of
globalisation, when global economic forces are increasingly shaping the lives of everyone, it is
imperative that human rights also be seen as crossing national boundaries and applying to all. It
must be borne in mind that many of the children who suffer from poverty and other human rights
abuses are among those with no apparent national citizenship rights—children in refugee camps and
detention centres, the children of migrant workers, and so on. To grant such ‘stateless’ people clear
and unambiguous rights to an adequate income, health, housing, education and so on would be a
major initiative towards relieving child poverty and recognising children’s rights. So the more
general campaign for human rights should be of vital concern for those committed to the rights of
children. Indeed, human rights belong together, and it is short-sighted to campaign for the rights of
only one oppressed group—whether children, women, workers, refugees, Indigenous People, people
with disabilities, or whoever—and to ignore the others. Children’s rights will inevitably improve with
the success of more generalised human rights campaigns. And children’s human rights, in a
globalised world, will only be guaranteed if there are strong global safeguards.
There is a need to incorporate a more holistic view of human rights, which no longer privileges civil
and political rights and which includes as well economic social and cultural rights, and also the socalled ‘third generation’ collective rights such as environmental rights and the right to benefit from
economic development. These rights should not displace civil and political rights, but rather should
sit alongside them so that human rights are understood more broadly in their application. One of
the factors most contributing to the dominance of civil and political rights within human rights
discourse is the dominance of the law and the legal profession. Civil and political rights are more
readily guaranteed through legal mechanisms, courts, litigation and legal covenants than are other
human rights, and in a society dominated by lawyers and legal paradigms it is understandable that
such views of human rights should dominate. Economic social and cultural rights, however, are
more readily guaranteed through state or non-state programs of health, housing, social security and
so on, where other professions play the more dominant role as ‘human rights workers’. Although
legal practitioners are, of course, vitally important in human rights work, the dominance of the law
as the dominant human rights profession has effectively narrowed the focus of human rights, often
away from the areas of most concern to children and children’s rights. A broadening of the
disciplinary base to human rights practice is therefore an important priority in reconstructing a
more inclusive and child-friendly form of human rights.
So to begin thinking about the idea of rights in a broader sense we must start with what is
fundamental to the idea of human rights. Earlier we mentioned the idea of human rights resting on
the basis of a common humanity—that within all cultural traditions, however differently expressed,
lies an underlying principle of respect for human beings. This concept of existential rights—rights
which are universal, not because the law proclaims them, but because they assume basic attributes
common to all humanity, regardless of cultural difference—is important for the project of
broadening the disciplinary base of human rights. It is important because it allows us to focus on the
commonality of all human beings, as opposed to our differences. This is not to say that difference is
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unimportant, on the contrary, it is only through looking at commonality that our differences can be
respected. And this is not just to talk about difference between cultures; it is also to talk about
difference between men and women, and between adults and children. Only through our experience
of being human can we overcome the injustices attached to these differences—so it is our humanity
that must first be instrumental in constructing human rights.
From this idea of a basic humanity we can then construct a concept of human rights that begins
with our experience of being human and moves towards a dialogical process of construction. By
respecting difference through what is common to us all we are able to create a space so that
marginalised voices can be heard. Until children can be included in the discursive process of human
rights definition, they will continue in their status as non-citizens and will not achieve their rights.
But it is not a simple matter of saying ‘children must be able to define their rights’. Often they
cannot, and often they are simply not in a position to be able to do so effectively. In order to
understand how such a child-based construction of rights can be achieved, it is important to look at
the construction of human rights in more detail.
Conflicting claims of rights can be problematic, but the conflict can itself point to solutions. For
example, we might claim that it is the right of every child to be born into a peaceful world with no
poverty, and that this right should become the basis of policy. This right might be seen as conflicting
with the right of adults, living in poverty, to have children. To accept one of these claims as overriding the other would be either to condemn children to live in poverty so that their parent’s rights
can be satisfied, or to condemn parents to a childless life so that child poverty can be eliminated. But
a system that truly respects human rights will respect both these apparently conflicting rights, and
will therefore seek to ensure that they do not conflict by working towards a world where no parents
will be in poverty. From the basic conflict arises an imperative for more fundamental change. The
basic principle is one where the human environment is of primary consideration, both at the social
and ecological level—that human rights are not only about that which we protect from violation, but
they are that which we realise through social and environmental policy. A further expansion of
human rights has been achieved by the Green Movement in its emphasis on the importance of intergenerational rights, namely that we have a moral obligation to protect the rights of future
generations. This, together with the extension of human rights obligations to cover past violations
(e.g. compensation for Holocaust victims and for the forced removal of Indigenous children from
their families) represents an important, and recent, temporal extension of the idea of human rights.
The framework that we propose for discussing children’s rights is broad, suggesting that child
poverty requires analysis of structural issues at all levels, coupled with an understanding, through
our own humanity, of the human experience at these levels. Part of this analysis of child rights
concerns two sets of constructions, namely the construction of rights, and the construction of the
child, or of childhood. Both are contested, and it is important that both contestations be included
in the framing of children’s rights. The rights of children cannot be understood in isolation from
other human rights; rather they belong within the overall understanding of the rights of all people,
of whatever age. But also the rights of children cannot be understood separately from the broader
construction of childhood; as has been well demonstrated, the idea of the child and of childhood is
not static, but changes significantly in different historical periods and across different cultures. The
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intersection of these two contested areas, human rights and childhood, is what makes the idea of
children’s rights particularly fraught. Those wishing to articulate, and to defend, the rights of
children therefore need to do so within these two contexts, recognising that both the idea of ‘rights’,
and the idea of ‘children’ are not objective realities, but are culturally and socially determined, are
contested, and change over time. Bold claims of ‘the rights of the child’ that are not grounded in a
careful analysis of both the contested nature of rights and the contested nature of childhood, are
likely to be of little value. If we are concerned about children’s rights, then, we must be concerned
with more than just simple claims of rights; we must also look at how those fit with the broader
discursive practices around the idea of childhood and the idea of rights.
It is unrealistic to expect that children alone will be in a position to define their rights effectively.
Simply for one group to claim it has certain rights is not sufficient for that claim to be substantiated;
human rights require a broader consensus, within the community, that the claimed right should be
exercised, respected and protected. But it is equally untenable to suggest that only adults should
define the rights of children; such a claim would be to disenfranchise children and would deny those
very rights that we may wish to define. The definition of the rights of children must involve both
adults and children, in interaction, and so require collective rather than individual definition. This,
indeed, is true of all human rights, and especially the rights of those of disadvantaged or vulnerable
groups: the rights of Indigenous People, the rights of women, the rights of people with disabilities,
and so on: in each case, the definition of those rights involves both the articulation of their rights by
the group concerned and also the engagement of the wider society. The rights of Indigenous People,
for example, are obviously a matter for Indigenous People themselves to define and articulate, but
they are also a matter for the non-Indigenous population, who will be called on to respect those
rights and to help them to be realised. The same is true of children’s rights; they require the
participation both of children and adults in the discursive framing of the rights and of how they are
to be implemented.
We have laboured this point because it is critically important, and too often ignored in debates about
human rights. It is not simply a matter of asking children to define their rights, or of having adults
define those rights on behalf of children. It is necessary that both sets of voices be heard, and allowed
to dialogue, and so no progress can be made in regard to children’s rights until there are discursive
spaces that enable this to occur. For this reason, we need to pay attention to the places where such
interaction between children and adults takes place, typically in the family, in the education system,
in the work place (in some cultures in particular) and, for a smaller number of children, in the
context of child welfare, child development, child protection or juvenile justice agencies.
Because human rights require not only one person to claim them but others to respect them, it is
misleading to understand them as attaching to individuals, in the traditional western sense. It is
important to hear the so-called ‘Asian critique’ of human rights as being a critique of the exclusively
individualistic idea of rights, which, if rights are indeed discursively constructed, makes little sense.
From the discursive approach argued above, human rights are essentially collective: they can only be
defined in a collective context, and they can only be realised collectively. This means that children’s
rights are a matter for us all, not only for children, and if we are to understand child rights we need
to think not just of the individual child whose rights may be validated, but of the way in which
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children and non-children interact, communicate and seek together to make sense of the world—and
not just the world of childhood. Human rights are advanced by dialogue and by collective action, not
by individuals pursuing individual claims. And this dialogue must be understood in structural
terms; it does not take place in a vacuum, but is influenced by class, race, gender, and culture, which
can privilege one voice over another, and perpetuate power imbalance. The structural dimension of
age, naturally, is most important in talking about children’s rights, but factors such as class, race and
gender are also important, and the definition of human rights must take place in an environment
that recognises these structural issues, and does not seek to ignore or deny their influence.
Otherwise it will be the perceived rights of the privileged that are most clearly stated and defended,
rather than the rights of the most disadvantaged.
The main point of the above argument is that human rights cannot be understood in isolation from
their context; indeed, it is the social, political, cultural and institutional context that actually
determines human rights, and the way those rights can be realised. This is also true for the human
rights of children. It suggests that concentrating on statements of child rights, affirmations,
conventions and legislation is only a relatively small part of the story, and if we allow our concerns
for rights to be circumscribed within those boundaries our understandings and our practice will be
limited. Rather, the implication is that the rights of children must be thought about as being defined
in all areas of practice and of discourse.
What, then, does this mean for child poverty? It means that we must take a broader, more systemic
perspective than simply saying that children have a right not to live in poverty, though this is clearly
important. It means that, alongside the contested constructions of ‘rights’ and of ‘children’ we have
to examine a third contested construction, namely ‘poverty’. Constructions and definitions of
poverty vary according to culture, history, societal norms, and the standpoint and ideology of the
definer. There is insufficient space in this paper to detail the controversies around poverty definition
and measurement, but the idea of poverty is as slippery, and as contested, as that of human rights
and that of childhood. It is important to understand how these three contested constructions,
human rights, childhood and poverty interact, if we are to be able to say and do something
significant about child poverty.
Poverty is a denial of fundamental human rights, and the continued existence of mass poverty
amounts to human rights abuse on a large scale. Children in poverty are doubly disadvantaged: not
only do they suffer the effects of poverty itself, but because of their marginal citizenship status they
also do not have access to the discourses of power (that perpetuate poverty), and hence become
passive victims without the chance to be active participants. To address adequately the problem of
child poverty, then, requires a multi-faceted approach. While it is essential to commit resources to
addressing child poverty through adequate income distribution and social security, this will not be
sufficient to resolve the problem of child poverty. We also need to attend seriously to the issue of
children’s citizenship rights, how they are defined, who defines them, how they are realised, and how
they are protected. This requires an active concern with the discursive spaces in which the ideas of
‘childhood’ and ‘human rights’ are constructed. It is not simply a matter of writing and
promulgating charters of rights, though such statements are important. It is also a matter of
practice: the way we go about interacting with and about children, what happens in schools, in
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families, in Churches, Mosques, Synagogues and Temples, in government agencies and NGOs. It is
also about the media and popular culture, with the dominant portrayal of children as helpless
victims, rather than as active participants with citizenship rights and obligations. In all these
activities, the ideas of childhood and the ideas of children’s rights are constantly being shaped and
reshaped, and it is this construction that leads governments, people and institutions to behave the
way they do, and to perpetuate child poverty.
There is no simple answer as to how the issue of child poverty might be addressed, given this
perspective of the discursive construction of rights. Rather a number of avenues suggest themselves,
and the approach is significantly broader than the more traditional advocacy of charters of rights
and provision of resources, though these of course remain important. One avenue is to emphasise
rights-based practice across all the professions concerned with children: teaching, social work, health
professions, recreation, police, the law, and so on. The extent to which these professional discourses
are based on a human rights approach will vary, and the task of introducing or strengthening a
rights perspective in all these professions is a major priority. Another is to problematise the
construction of childhood. In academic circles it is well accepted that childhood, as we now
understand it, is a relatively recent construction, and that in different cultures and at different times,
children and childhood have been understood and treated very differently. However this view is not
commonly shared within the general population, where the construction of childhood is taken as a
given, as non-problematic, and as ‘natural’. Childhood is not a natural state: it is highly conditioned
by culture, and if this were more generally understood within the population it would enable
fundamental questions about children and citizenship to be asked, in ways that do not currently
occur in the wider community. In this regard there is a particular challenge in terms of dealing with
the media: it is the voices of the media, and of the wider realm of popular culture, that help to define
childhood as non-problematic, and to define the child as passive object rather than as active subject.
Challenging media stereotypes is never easy, but at least some practitioners are in positions where
they can attempt this ambitious project.
Another obvious direction for practice is to encourage the genuine involvement of children
themselves in decisions that affect them, and in the definition and understanding of their rights.
This is part of the wider agenda of viewing children as active subjects rather than passive objects.
This can happen in different ways and in different locations, and is an important component of
rights-based practice, one of the tenets of which is that people have a right to a say in defining and
realising their rights. Further, a society that respects human rights is an active, participatory society,
where people are not only defining but are also exercising their rights, and hence practice that is
based on human rights must involve the encouragement of broad participation in decision-making
and in action. This is inherent in a community development approach to practice, emphasising
collective understanding and collective action. Community development principles can be included
in practice across a wide variety of fields, and community development is an important component
of the rights-based approach to practice.
Our argument in this paper has been that children’s rights must be understood within the broader
and contested field of human rights, and that children’s rights will be enhanced by engagement with
the wider human rights debates. Human rights themselves are contested, and the perspective we
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have taken is to understand them as discursively and organically constructed rather than as ‘natural’,
existing as things-in-themselves, to be protected by law alone. This emphasises the role of all people,
including children, as active subject agents in the defining, realising and protection of rights, rather
than passive objects who have rights defined for them and imposed upon them by an elite. The
construction of childhood, and of the child, has been important in determining the marginal
citizenship status of children, and this has negatively impacted on children’s rights. Child poverty,
which is a fundamental denial of children’s rights, must therefore be understood from this
perspective, and must be the subject of a much broader range of practices than are often associated
with discussions of ‘the rights of the child’.
Such a project involves further developing a rights-based practice by broadening the human rights
discourse across different disciplinary areas at the same time as adopting a strong community
development perspective. This is a major challenge, but perhaps a greater challenge is to move away
from the idea of rights belonging to individuals or particular groups, and to see them as being
created by all humanity, whatever culture, race, gender, age or ability. The act of seeking happiness
by avoiding suffering must not be seen as the privilege of a few individuals, but as an existential right
of all human beings, and viewing human rights in such a way implies an understanding that the act
of seeking such happiness must not be done at the expense of another human being. Constructed in
this way, child rights become human rights, which must not only be legislated, but also be created,
affirmed and realised through every dimension of human existence—from the deeply personal to the
highly political.
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SOCIAL CAPITAL AND CHILD LABOR IN THE MESOSYSTEM:
IN SEARCH OF COMMUNITY-BASED SOCIAL INDICATORS OF RISK
B Y : K RISTIN M. F ERGUSON , M . S . W .
SOCIAL WORK DEPARTMENT
U N I V E R S I T Y OF T E X A S AT A R L I N G T O N
SOCIAL WORK FACULTY
T HE A U T O N O M O U S U N I V E R S I T Y OF N U E V O L E O N
D U A L D E G R E E D O C T O R A L P R O G R A M IN C O M P A R A T I V E S O C I A L W E L F A R E P O L I C Y
ANNANDALE , V IRGINIA , U.S.A.
AND
SOCIAL WORK
Abstract
One of the most pressing global challenges in social development is the increasing prevalence of
urban street-working children. Existing empirical precedents suggest that child street workers are
more likely to come from impoverished families. Nevertheless, the relationship between family
financial capital and child labor is not entirely direct, as not all poor families use their children as
complementary sources of household income. Previous research on street children has tended to
focus on individual and familial risk factors, overlooking the role of the community in precipitating
or preventing child street migration. Thus, this paper seeks to synthesize the existing literature
related to both street children and the notion of social capital as a means to establish an empirical
foundation for future research to explore the possible relationship between the two concepts.
Social Capital and Child Labor in the Mesosystem:
In Search of Community-Based Social Indicators of Risk
One of the most pertinent global challenges in social development is the increasing prevalence of
urban street-working children. A review of the theoretical literature suggests that the families of
origin of street-working children may possess certain qualities that either contribute to the
migration of children to the streets as child laborers, or indeed, prevent it. Empirical precedents also
reveal that child workers are more likely to come from impoverished families, who lack access to the
basic social supports and public services to provide for the well-being of their children. However, the
relationship between economically disadvantaged families and street migration is not as direct as
one may believe, as not all impoverished families use their children as a primary or secondary source
of family income. Subsequent to synthesizing past research, which suggests that most streetworking children tend to come from economically disadvantaged families residing within
impoverished communities, it remains unclear why some impoverished families use their children as
street-working child laborers, while other families—from the same community and similar socioeconomic conditions—choose not to.
Systematic review of the research also reveals a lack of empirically based mesolevel factors related to
the phenomenon of street-working children. This area of investigation merits further attention,
since traditional focal points in research with this population have been the intrapersonal and
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familial risk factors, as well as the structural push factors, such as poverty. However, little continues
to be known about the interfamilial and family-community relationships and how these may
facilitate or inhibit the movement of children into the streets. In response to the gaps identified in
the literature, this paper presents the synthesized findings from the street children and social capital
literature and seeks to provide the empirical framework for future studies to explore the
phenomenon of street children within a unique context: in the children’s communities of origin.
Several critical, unanswered questions are posed as well to instigate further reflection and research
regarding the possible relationship between the movement of children into the streets, as child
laborers, and the intra- and extra-familial interactions and relationships within their communities
of origin.
Empirical Review: The Street Children Phenomenon
Empirical precedents relating to the street children phenomenon present a myriad of structural,
familial and intrapersonal risk factors that propel children to the streets, either to live or work, or
both. The literature overwhelmingly suggests that street migration is a process in which a variety of
push-pull factors interact to expel children from families and communities to the streets (Arriagada,
1995; Connolly, 1990; Copping, 1998; De la Barra, 1998; Kefyalew, 1998; Lane, 1998; Martínez &
Silva, 1998; Ordoñez, 1998; Peralta, 1995; Raffaelli, 1996; Veale, 1998). However, there is
considerable disagreement and conflicting empirical evidence regarding which factors, or precise
combination of factors, are responsible for the movement of children into the streets as child
laborers.
Description of Literature Review Method Utilized
To determine the scope of empirical literature related to the street children, I adopted the systematic
review method (SR) and focused on three areas: the incidence with which the concept “street child”
appeared in the empirical literature, the method which was utilized in examining the phenomenon
and the quality of empirical research that explored the relevant variables related to the street children
phenomenon (Larson, Pastro, Lyons, & Anthony, 1992). Consistent with the procedures of a
comprehensive SR, I utilized five strategies to locate all existing peer-reviewed studies related to
street children within the following disciplines: social work, sociology, psychology, cultural
anthropology, public health, nursing and the medical field. First, I searched a variety of
bibliographic databases from 1979 to the present, including FirstSearch, OVID, Social Work
Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts and Wilson from 1979 to the present. The year 1979 was chosen as
the lower limit since the majority of empirical studies regarding street children have been performed
subsequent to the United Nations International Year of the Child in 1979, when this international
organism brought street children to the global development agenda (Ennew & Milne, n.d.). Second,
I conducted manual searches of all peer-reviewed literature pertaining to street children over the past
decade (1990 to present) in both dissertations and relevant journals, including: International Social
Work, Child Abuse and Neglect, Children and Youth Services Review, Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare and
Journal of Child and Family Studies. In this case, the year 1990 was selected as the cutoff point, since it
marks the year in which the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child entered into force
within the international realm. This landmark also stimulated global research on the street children
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phenomenon (UNICEF, 1990). Third, I adopted the snowball technique to locate additional studies
and dissertations cited in the bibliographies from pertinent journal articles. Fourth, I reviewed other
related studies of several eminent researchers who have established themselves over the last two
decades within the area of street children. Finally, I consulted a series of annotated bibliographies
produced by international street children organizations such as UNICEF, Street Kids International,
the Street Children Initiative of the Word Bank, and Covenant House International.
In order to discern between pertinent and non-pertinent empirical literature related to my
phenomenon of interest, I established four selection criteria for including studies in my literature
review group: 1) the study examined micro, meso and/or macro factors contributing to the streetworking child phenomenon; 2) the study utilized qualitative, quantitative and/or mixed methods
used to study the street children phenomenon; 3) the study reported on risk factors and/or
protective factors that distinguish street-working populations from street-living populations; and
4) the study presented findings relevant to social welfare policy for street-working and street-living
populations. The SR and related selection criteria used to review existing empirical literature on the
street children phenomenon produced 15 pertinent studies.
Subsequent to creating my cohort of relevant studies, I then tabulated all works to facilitate
comparisons and contrasts among studies. To evaluate the quality of empirical research within my
selected cohort, I categorized all studies according to the following criteria: year of study, region,
purpose, definition of population, research and sample methods utilized, sample size, response rate,
mode of administration of instrument(s), existence of a comparison group, statistical analysis
adopted, and eco-systemic level within which the street children phenomenon was studied. (See
Table 1 for more detailed information on all the studies included in the street-children phenomenon
review cohort.)
Synthesis of Methodological Approaches
All of the studies reviewed were performed within the timeframe specified by the initial search, that
is, subsequent to the United Nations International Year of the Child in 1979. With reference to the
regional breakdown of the studies, one was from three countries in Africa (Canagarajah & SkytNielsen, 1999), one from Great Britain (Morrow, 1996), one from the United States (Thompson,
Safyer, & Pollio, 2001) and one—a cross-cultural comparative analysis of universal predictors of child
labor—from Kenya, Belize, Samoa and Nepal (Munroe, Munroe, & Shimmin, 1984). The remaining
eleven studies (Connolly, 1990; DIF, 1992, 1999; DIF, UANL, & UNICEF, 1997; Ortíz, 1999; Ortíz
Nahón, 2000; Peralta, 1992, 1995; Trussell, 1999; Tyler, Tyler, Echeverry, & Zea, 1991; Wittig, 1994)
were from different Latin American countries, including: Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala and
Honduras. In the absence of community-based risk factors within the empirical literature about the
Latin American region, I chose not to limit my search to the Latin American region but amplified it
to include studies from the international realm.
Eight of the fifteen studies reviewed sought to understand the causality of child labor and identify
the structural, familial and intrapersonal determinants of children’s work (Canagarajah & SkytNielsen, 1999; DIF, 1992; DIF, UANL, & UNICEF, 1997; Munroe, Munroe, & Shimmin, 1984; Ortíz,
1999; Ortíz Nahón, 2000; Trussell, 1999; Wittig, 1994). One study (DIF, UANL, & UNICEF, 1997)
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aimed to systemize these predictive factors into practical profiles, both of high-risk children, who
manifest symptoms of street behavior, as well as of the families at-risk of expelling their children to
the streets. On the other hand, Wittig (1994) adopted a more theoretical perspective and proposed
testing dual theoretical frameworks to assess whether cultural or structural determinants provided a
more thorough explanation of the migration of children to the streets as child laborers. Five of the
studies from the cohort aimed to provide descriptive quantitative and qualitative accounts of the
street children phenomenon, ranging from their precise numbers and types of labor, to their general
characteristics and support networks within the street environment (Connolly, 1990; DIF, 1999;
Morrow, 1996; Peralta, 1992, 1995). Finally, two studies (Thompson, Safyer, & Pollio, 2001; Tyler et
al., 1991) sought to reframe the negative connotation of “risk factors” into “protective factors” and
thus assess which behaviors contributed to such outcomes as family reunification and street
survival.
All of the studies, with the exception of the United States-based study carried out by Thompson and
colleagues (2001), adopted the universally known typology proposed by UNICEF, which categorizes
street children along a continuum according to their degree of involvement in and acculturation to
street life (high-risk—street-working—street-living). These ten studies all classified “street-working
children” as those children involved in both formal and informal economic activities, yet who
maintain ties to their families of origin and generally sleep at home. On the other hand, “streetliving” children were those children who have abandoned their homes and adopted an alternative
street lifestyle. Within this cohort of studies, Peralta (1992, 1995) further divided “street-working
children” into independent street workers and family street workers, claiming that the two subgroups
differ substantially in types of labor performed, level of risk or harm in the streets, and precipitating
factors contributing to their status. A point of varying contrast among these studies relates to the
operationalization of chronological age of “street-working children.” According to Munroe and
colleagues (1984) child laborers are children ages 3 to 9; as per Canagarajah and Skyt-Nielsen (1999),
child laborers constitute the population of children, ages 7 to 14; and as defined by DIF (1992,
1995), DIF, UANL, and UNICEF (1997), Tyler and colleagues (Tyler et al., 1991) and Wittig (1994),
child laborers are any child or youth under the age of 18. In contrast with these ten studies, the
Thompson, Safyer, and Pollio study (2001), elaborated a parallel typology consistent with the nature
of the street children phenomenon in the United States. For the purposes of their study, “runaway
youths” included three groups: runaway-homeless youths, throwaway youths and independent
youths.
The most widely utilized research design among the cohort of studies consisted of a qualitative,
descriptive analysis in which researchers applied a variety of data-gathering techniques. For instance,
Connolly (1990) utilized participant observation, informal interviewing of street children and daily
journal entries in Colombia and Guatemala. In Mexico, DIF (1992) used direct observation and
interviews with key informants in at-risk neighborhoods. Morrow (1996) examined writing samples
from school-aged children and performed follow-up, semi-structured interviews with subjects in
Great Britain. Munroe and colleagues (1984) carried out spot-observations of sample children across
four countries. Ortíz (1999) and Trussell (1999) spent numerous years in the streets of Mexico City
and Juarez City, respectively, performing extensive ethnographic studies of the lives and testimonies
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of Mexican street children. Finally, Peralta (1992, 1995) performed extended field observations and
flexibly structured interviews with street children in several Mexican cities.
Conversely, three studies adopted a quantitative survey design, complemented with differing degrees
of qualitative data including: direct and/or participant observation, log records by persons related to
study subjects, and semi-structured interviewing of key informants (DIF, UANL, & UNICEF, 1997;
Ortíz Nahón, 2000; Wittig, 1994). In two studies, secondary data analysis was used to examine five
existing empirical studies from three countries in Africa (Canagarajah & Skyt-Nielsen, 1999) as well
as thousands of case records from the United States’ national, automated information system of
comprehensive data on the homeless and runaway children—the Runaway Homeless Youth
Management Information System (RHYMIS) (Thompson, Safer, & Pollio, 2001). All but four studies
utilized a comparison group to contrast differences among street children’s gender, ages, cities,
countries, and degrees of acculturation to the street lifestyle (Canagarajah & Skyt-Nielsen, 1999;
Connolly, 1990; DIF, 1992; Morrow, 1996; Munroe, Munroe, & Shimmin, 1984; Peralta, 1992, 1995;
Thompson, Safyer, & Pollio, 2001; Trussell, 1999; Tyler et al., 1991; Wittig, 1994).
Aside from the two studies that used secondary data analysis, non-probability, purposive sampling
constituted the most common sample method among the studies (Connolly, 1990; DIF, 1992, 1999;
Monroe, 1996; Munroe, Munroe, & Shimmin, 1984; Ortíz, 1999; Peralta, 1992, 1995; Trussell, 1999;
Tyler et al., 1991; Wittig, 1994). DIF, UANL, & UNICEF (1997) utilized a combination of probability
and non-probability sampling. Target intersections, where subjects would be interviewed, were
clustered and then randomly sampled. Subjects were then chosen based on convenience sampling.
Ortíz Nahón (2000) used random sampling from the total population of street children in Oaxaca
City, as defined by an Oaxacan NGO working with street children throughout the city. Sample sizes
across all empirical (non-secondary data analysis) studies were varied, ranging from small:
15 (Trussell, 1999) and 38 (Ortíz Nahón, 2000) to extremely large: 1244 (Wittig, 1994). The average
sample size across remaining empirical studies was roughly 150 subjects: 139 (DIF, UANL, &
UNICEF, 1997); 192 (Munroe, Munroe, & Shimmin, 1984); 103 (Peralta, 1992); 195 (Peralta, 1995);
and 94 (Tyler et al., 1991). With the exception of the study performed by Tyler and colleagues (Tyler
et al., 1991), all other researchers failed to report response rates. Descriptive statistics and
frequencies were used to analyze the majority of the studies (Canagarajah & Skyt-Nielsen, 1999; DIF,
1992, 1999; DIF, UANL, & UNICEF, 1997; Munroe, Munroe, & Shimmin, 1984; Ortíz Nahón, 2000;
Peralta, 1992, 1995). Morrow (1996) utilized content analysis of the student essays to explore the
typology of children’s labor, while Connolly (1990), Ortíz (1999) and Trussell (1999) constructed
case histories of the street children who participated in the studies. Multivariate analyses—including
logistic regression, ANOVA and Chi-Square tests—were used in three studies (Thompson, Safyer, &
Pollio, 2001; Tyler et al., 1991; Wittig, 1994).
Eleven of the fifteen total studies adopted a microsystemic approach in examining the street
children phenomenon, assessing both intrapersonal and familial risk factors contributing to street
migration (Connolly, 1990; DIF, 1999; DIF, UANL, & UNICEF, 1997; Morrow, 1996; Ortíz, 1999;
Ortíz Nahón, 2000; Peralta, 1992, 1995; Thompson, Safyer, & Pollio, 2001; Trussell, 1999; Tyler et al.,
1991). One study, performed by DIF (1992) in Mexico, explored the relationship between the
surrounding community context and the phenomenon of street-working children within the
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mesosystem. Finally, three studies (Canagarajah & Skyt-Nielsen, 1999; Munroe, Munroe, &
Shimmin, 1984; Wittig, 1994) assessed the street children phenomenon at the macrosystemic level,
researching the influence of country-level variables, such as Gross National Product, percent urban,
teacher-student ratio and child school enrollment rates; cultural variables, such as parental
perceptions of “childhood” and “child labor” and presence of punitive or permissive child labor laws;
and structural variables, such as percent of impoverished families in a given community, number of
barriers to access public education, and unemployment and underemployment rates within families.
Methodological Limitations of Previous Research
Aside from the multiple similarities among studies, as well as the methodological strengths within
the cohort of studies highlighted in the previous section, there were also several limitations. First of
all, departing from the assumption that methodologically sound studies are embedded within
empirically supported theoretical frameworks, it is of concern that ten of the fifteen studies were
performed in the absence of an explanatory theoretical model. In these studies, researchers applied
qualitative, descriptive methods isolated from a supporting theoretical framework. Thus, data
acquired from the arbitrary selection of data-collection techniques and presented as unconnected
case histories of street children are questionable, since theory was neither the driving force in the
selection of methods, nor the guiding framework by which results were analyzed and interpreted.
Only five studies (Canagarajah & Skyt-Nielsen, 1999; Munroe, Munroe, & Shimmin, 1984; Ortíz
Nahón, 2000; Tyler et al., 1991; Wittig, 1994) elected the research methods, data-gathering
techniques and statistical analyses to interpret the data in tandem with existing theoretical
knowledge.
Multiple studies presented problems with threats to the internal validity. For instance, many studies
incorporated comparison groups of other street children populations, albeit in the absence of
clarification regarding the equivalency among the groups (Canagarajah & Skyt-Nielsen, 1999;
Connolly, 1990; DIF, 1992; Morrow, 1996; Munroe, Munroe, & Shimmin, 1984; Peralta, 1992, 1995;
Thompson, Safyer, & Pollio, 2001; Trussell, 1999; Tyler et al., 1991; Wittig, 1994). Not one study
utilized a non-street-living and/or working (normative) control group, to which the street
populations studied could be adequately compared. Also compromising the internal validity of the
studies was the absence, in every case, of triangulation to cross-check both instruments and results.
It may be difficult, as well, to generalize the findings from the studies in this cohort to the general
population of street children due to several threats to the external validity of the studies. Only two
of the fifteen total studies used probabilistic, random sampling (DIF, UANL, & UNICEF, 1997; Ortíz
Nahón, 2000). All other studies employed non-probabilistic, purposive sampling techniques or
recruited subjects from single, non-representative shelters, programs or street-based work sites.
Second, the presence of several threats to the internal validity of the studies constitutes another
problem with the generalizability of the cohort studies. In the absence of methodologically rigorous
research designs, which apply multiple methods to compare and contrast results, it is difficult to
claim full external validity of the studies.
As discussed above, there is considerable harmony among studies in the operational definitions used
to distinguish between street-living and street-working children (Canagarajah & Skyt-Nielsen, 1999;
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Connolly, 1990; DIF, 1992, 1999; DIF, UANL, & UNICEF, 1997; Morrow, 1996; Munroe, Munroe, &
Shimmin, 1984; Ortíz, 1999; Ortíz Nahón, 2000; Peralta, 1992, 1995; Trussell, 1999; Tyler et al.,
1991; Wittig, 1994). Nevertheless, there is considerable disagreement among researchers regarding
the ages, specific economic activities, and inclusion or exclusion of the female gender within the
street children population. The poorly conceptualized distinction among groups of street-working
children—often in the absence of existing theory—leads to considerable disparities in results as well
as hinders valid comparisons among studies regarding the specific findings. In addition, the rigid
categorization of children in “either/or” categories ignores the existing assumption that many street
children oscillate between categories or progress from one category to the next throughout the
course of their lifetimes (Lusk, 1989). A one-time snap-shot of the street children population can be
misleading, as it categorizes the children according to their economic activity in that particular
instance. It also provides a one-dimensional view of the population of street children—as child
laborers—and ignores the holistic nature of the lives of these children, many of whom are embedded
in support systems comprised of peers, family, community and institutions.
Finally, as mentioned in the preceding section, the studies largely concentrate on individual and
family microfactors contributing to the migration of children to the streets as child laborers
(Connolly, 1990; DIF, 1999; DIF, UANL, & UNICEF, 1997; Morrow, 1996; Ortíz, 1999; Ortíz Nahón,
2000; Peralta, 1992, 1995; Thompson, Safyer, & Pollio, 2001; Trussell, 1999; Tyler et al., 1991).
However, the use of purely descriptive methods and data analyses renders the results as
individualized case histories, divorced from existing theoretical explanations. With reference to
mesofactors, the existing literature across all countries lacks systematic evidence regarding the
community-level precipitating factors that contribute to the migration of children toward the street
as child laborers. One exploratory study carried out by DIF (1992) aimed to identify the situational
factors present within communities with high concentrations of street-working children. Yet in the
absence of a supporting theoretical framework, random selection of communities, and
methodologically valid data-collection instruments, the results from this community diagnostical
assessment remain mere descriptive anecdotes by arbitrarily selected community members. Finally,
three studies sought to identify the existing structural and cultural macro risk factors related to the
street children phenomenon (Canagarajah & Skyt-Nielsen, 1999; Munroe, Munroe, & Shimmin,
1984; Wittig, 1994). Nevertheless, in the absence of normative control groups, random sampling,
and mixed methods to cross-check the findings, it is difficult to draw comprehensive and
generalizable conclusions regarding the impact of macrolevel variables on the lives of the street
children population.
Each of these limitations discussed above poses a threat to both the methodological rigor of the
individual studies and the generalizability of the findings to the general population of street
children. Nevertheless, the multiple commonalities among studies presented in the preceding
section facilitates some rudimentary comparisons among studies, which in turn, increases the
general level of understanding regarding both the determinants of children’s work and the
characteristics of the distinct street children populations. I will now turn to an extensive review of
the common variables across cohort studies utilized to assess the movement of children into the
streets as child laborers.
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Synthesis of Empirical Findings
For the purposes of this review, the findings are categorized within three main sections:
1) intrapersonal and intrafamilial micro risk factors; 2) community meso risk factors; and
3) structural and cultural macro risk factors.
Intrapersonal and Intrafamilial Micro Risk Factors
The systematic research review offers a basic foundation of the individual and familial precipitating
factors–or microfactors–associated with the movement of children into the streets, as child workers.
Across every study in the microsystemic cohort, all authors cited academic failure and/or school
dropout as a hallmark factor contributing to street migration (Connolly, 1990; DIF, 1999; DIF,
UANL, & UNICEF, 1997; Morrow, 1996; Ortíz, 1999; Ortíz Nahón, 2000; Peralta, 1992, 1995;
Thompson, Safyer, & Pollio, 2001; Trussell, 1999; Tyler et al., 1991). Once children have broken
formal ties with the educational system, the street environment often becomes the prime source of
socialization and education in their lives. Two authors, Peralta (1992, 1995) and Trussell (1999)
observed an educational difference between the street-living and street-working population in that
street-working populations were more likely to have abandoned the formal educational system,
while street-living populations were more prone to never have formally incorporated in it. According
to the tripartite typology of homeless youth in the United States, Thompson and colleagues
(Thompson, Safyer, & Pollio, 2001) found that of the three groups of homeless youth (runawayhomeless, throwaway and independent), the throwaway population—who shares considerable
characteristics with the street-living population in Latin America—was significantly more likely than
the other two groups to have dropped out of school.
More than half of the studies (Tyler et al., 1991; DIF, UANL, UNICEF, 1997; Ortíz, 1999; Peralta,
1992, 1995; Thompson, Safyer, & Pollio, 2001; Wittig, 1994) found drug and alcohol use to be
another microfactor related to street migration. However, studies by DIF (1999), Peralta (1992, 1995)
and by Trussell (1999) found drug abuse to be extremely low in the street-working populations,
while prevalent among children who had moved into the streets full time.
Gang involvement and delinquent behavior were found to be intrapersonal factors that contributed
to children’s movement into the streets as well (Connolly, 1990; DIF, UANL, UNICEF, 1997; Ortíz,
1999; Thompson, Safyer, & Pollio, 2001; Trussell, 1999). Nevertheless, due to the lack of normative
control groups and random sampling of subjects, the lines of causality between gang involvement
and street migration are not clear. It is unknown whether the children took to the streets as a result
of gang and delinquent activity, or rather, once in the street environment, migrated toward the social
support that street gangs traditionally offer to isolated youth.
Originating from a family experiencing economic hardship was the most common intrafamilial
factor associated with street migration, cited by all authors except Thompson and colleagues
(Thompson, Safyer, & Pollio, 2001), who did not include socio-economic status of the family as a
study variable. Findings regarding the oft-cited, related factor of broken families or single-parent
homes as a predictor of street migration, however, are not so clear. Existent in the street children
literature is the profile of at-risk families. Supported by her fieldwork in the Latin American region
as well as her use of secondary data from UNICEF and other international organizations, Arriagada
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(1995) developed a practical typology of families who are at risk of propelling one or more of their
children into the streets, as child laborers. The profile of an expulsive family includes the following
characteristics: mono-parental family type with female head of house, low parental educational
levels, residing in a neighborhood categorized as “impoverished” or “in extreme poverty,” having
three or more children under the age of 15 years, and having at least one child in the streets, either
working, living, or both.
Within the cohort of microsystemic studies, Connolly (1990), Ortíz (1999), Peralta (1992, 1995),
Trussell (1999), Tyler and colleagues (Tyler et al., 1991) found that the majority of their subjects
originated from unconventional and/or one-parent families. In contrast, DIF, UANL, and UNICEF
(1997) and Ortíz Nahón (2000) found that almost all children surveyed—97% and 84%, respectively—
originated from structured, two-parent families. The remaining three studies (DIF, 1999; Morrow,
1996; Thompson, Safyer, & Pollio, 2001) failed to include family type as a relevant variable of study.
Neglect and abuse were two other pertinent intrafamilial variables across the studies in this cohort.
Connolly (1990), Ortíz (1999), Peralta (1992, 1995), Thompson, Safyer, and Pollio (2001), Trussell
(1999), and Tyler and colleagues (Tyler et al., 1991) found that the majority of street children
interviewed came from families that were characterized by hostility, neglect, abuse and lack of
affection. This suggests that many children may leave home in an effort to improve their immediate
situation.
Community Meso Risk Factors
The findings from the systematic review method lead to few comprehensive and generalizable
conclusions about the influence of meso risk factors on the migration of children to the streets as
child laborers, as only one study proposed to explore community-level variables. In 1992, DIF
performed an unprecedented empirical study, which aimed to operationalize and systematize the
structural factors characteristic of expulsive zones in northern Mexico. DIF initiated the study in
two expulsive zones in the state of Nuevo León, with the goal of executing a longitudinal research
project to include other communities, as well as to track progress of the communities previously
surveyed. However, due to the lack of human and financial resources to sustain and replicate the
study on an annual basis, the external validity of the research project remains questionable, as it
would be difficult to generalize the results from two communities to the population of expulsive
communities at large.
In spite of the low external validity of this particular diagnostical community study, the data
gathered within the two expulsive zones in the greater metropolitan area of Monterrey, Nuevo León,
reveal that these communities, indeed, are analogous–in terms of social organization and structural
composition–to the marginal communities researched and typified by Lewis (1965, 1968), Wilson
(1987) and Sampson (1992, 1999). For instance, some of the characteristics that the expulsive zones
from northern Mexico share with the communities cited in the theoretical literature include: low
socio-economic status, precarious housing conditions, insufficient public services, high
unemployment and low quality of life. In both communities in the DIF study, there was a high
concentration of families in the lower and marginal socio-economic statuses. Housing conditions
were also found to be marginal, with an overwhelming absence of legal property titles, and a high
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rate of overcrowding within dwelling units. Both communities also lacked adequate public services
and transportation systems as well as urban social infrastructure and local institutions.
Contamination was high in the two communities as well. Residents in each community could be
categorized in one of three labor categories: unemployed, underemployed or precariously employed.
Likewise, DIF found that both communities had high levels of child laborers. Finally, residents in
both communities responded in a similar, negative manner to questions relating to neighborhood
quality of life (DIF, 1992).
Structural and Cultural Macro Risk Factors
The relationship between the migration of children and youth to the streets and the related
structural and cultural macrofactors was addressed by three of the authors in the review cohort
(Canagarajah & Skyt-Nielsen, 1999; Munroe, Munroe, & Shimmin, 1984; Wittig, 1994). Two of the
three studies found that children who reside in impoverished communities are more likely to work
than those who live in communities pertaining to higher socio-economic statuses (Canagarajah &
Skyt-Nielsen, 1999; Wittig, 1994), while the remaining study by Munroe, Munroe, and Shimmin
(1984) did not address structural poverty as a variable. This finding is consistent with other
empirical precedents, which suggest a strong relationship between the poverty levels within a
country and/or region and the street children phenomenon. Due to globalization, Third World
indebtedness, and national economic crises, many developing countries have been left with few other
alternatives than to restructure their national economies, which has triggered a marked increase in
the poverty indices within many sectors of the population (De la Barra, 1998; Wittig, 1994). In a
study regarding the effects of a country’s external debt on the well-being of child and youth
populations within the Latin American region, Bradshaw and colleagues (1993) found that the
economic indebtedness of many countries generated both a direct and indirect negative impact on
the levels of nutrition, well-being and survival of children and youth. Additionally, according to
empirical research from the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNICEF, it is common
for child and youth workers in Latin America to contribute between 20 and 25% of their families’
total household income. The incomes derived from child labor in many countries within the region
often times maintain the families above the poverty line (ILO, 1998; UNICEF, 1997).
The three studies pertaining to the macrolevel cohort also address cultural explanations of
children’s work. Munroe, Munroe, and Shimmin (1984) found that in cultures where two parent
working families are the normative familial structure, mothers tended to adopt a more laissez-faire
style of socialization in their child-rearing practices and depended less on their children as
complementary sources of household income. Similarly, both the Canagarajah and Skyt-Nielsen
(1999) and the Wittig (1994) studies found that other cultural factors—education level of the parents
and religious practices—were related to the use of children as child laborers. Parents who were both
more educated and practicing Protestants were found to use their children less in the labor market,
favoring formal education as a full-time activity for their children. Yet in cultures where “child labor”
was accepted as a culturally normative activity pertaining to childhood, children tended to work
more (Canagarajah & Skyt-Nielsen, 1999; Munroe, Munroe, & Shimmin, 1984; Wittig, 1994).
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Discussion of Systematic Review Method and the Street Children Phenomenon
The systematic review of findings related to the street children phenomenon facilitates the detection
of a series of trends that are apparent across studies as well as geographical regions. First of all, there
exists a highly uneven distribution of child workers in impoverished countries, impoverished
communities and impoverished families. This finding, evident across multiple studies, has sparked
both numerous speculation and debate among researchers within the field. According to Connolly
(1990), the phenomenon can be best understood within the context of marginalization theory: “As
long as governments fail to respond to human need while ignoring the socio-economic causes of
marginality, more children will be forced to roam the streets” [to satisfy their basic personal and
family needs] (1990, p. 147). Similarly, Janowsky (1991) proposes that uncontrolled urban growth, a
lack of governmental planning, the presence of legal obstacles, and oppressive bureaucracies have
created a structural system in which the poor find themselves obligated to exercise their creativity in
looking for new means to satisfy their basic human needs. One of these survival strategies includes
the utilization of one or more of their children as the principal source of household economic
income.
In spite of the existing theoretical explanations, the lines of causality between child labor and
poverty remain unclear and several questions continue unanswered: 1) Are poor households more
likely to reside in communities and/or geographical regions with sluggish economies, or do these
regions have sluggish economies precisely because there is a high concentration of poor families
with limited human and financial capital residing there? And 2) Are children poor because they work
(and thus, sacrifice basic education and other vocational opportunities so as to later, formally
incorporate into the labor market) or do they work precisely because they are poor? Because many
studies fail to control for the effects of financial capital (income) and human capital (education)
within families and communities, it is difficult to draw comprehensive conclusions as to which
factors play a primary role in contributing to the migration of children to the streets to work, and
which factors have merely been confounded by income and education variables.
Second, across all cohort studies, formal socialization institutions such as family and school appear
to play a preventative role in hindering street-working children from progressing along the street
children continuum to become street-living children. The findings reveal that street-working and
street-living populations differ significantly in their relationships to both institutions; the former
group maintaining ties to both the family nucleus and the educational system. Nevertheless, it
remains unclear in the existing literature how these institutions mitigate the effects of risk factors on
children and prevent socially marginalized street-working children from evolving into socially
excluded street-living children. Related questions that remain unanswered include: 1) Do these two
institutions of socialization have an effect on inhibiting the high-risk (non-street-involved) group of
children from progressing along the continuum to become street-working and/or street-living
children? and 2) Do the families of origin of non-street working (normative) and street-working
children differ in ways that contribute to the movement of children to the streets, or, once in the
streets, perpetuate their existence there?
Finally, it is evident that neither of the two existing theoretical frameworks used to explain the street
children phenomenon—cultural and structural models—is alone capable of fully explaining the
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movement of children to the streets. Findings across the review cohort appear to be divided along
cultural-structural lines in which some factors are best accounted for by cultural explanations, while
others are best understood by structural explanations. Determinants such as poverty and inadequate
access to social supports and basic public services are most consistent with structural explanations
of child labor. Educational levels of the parents, child labor policies within a country and social
norms relating to the degree of acceptability of children’s work may best be understood by cultural
explanations. Nonetheless, the absence of a comprehensive theoretical framework to explain the
phenomenon of street children creates space for new and alternative theoretical models to
contribute to—and build upon—existing knowledge. The crucial unanswered questions here include:
1) What alternative theoretical frameworks—or combination of theories—could better explain the
phenomenon of street children? and 2) Are community-level indicators of risk largely omitted from
the empirical literature on street children precisely due to the absence of an adequate meso-level
theoretical framework to facilitate the assessment, analysis and interpretation of such factors?
Implications for Future Research
Child workers are more likely to come from impoverished families, who lack access to the basic social
supports and public services to provide for the well-being of their children (Connolly, 1990; DIF,
UANL, & UNICEF, 1997; Ortiz Nahón, 2000; Peralta, 1992, 1995; Wittig, 1994). However, the
relationship between families living in poverty and the movement of children into the streets, as
child laborers, is not entirely direct, as not all poor children work. It thus remains unclear how and
why some impoverished families use their children as street-working child laborers, while other
families—from the same community and similar socio-economic conditions—choose not to.
Review of the literature has also revealed a lack of community-based social indicators of risk related
to the street children phenomenon. This area of investigation deserves further scrutiny, as
traditional points of departure in research with this population have been the intrapersonal and
familial risk factors, as well as the structural push factors, such as poverty. It remains unclear how
different interfamilial and family-community relationships may either precipitate or prevent the
movement of children into the streets, as child street workers.
Social workers are aware of the influential role of the community in shaping as well as in hindering
the intra- and interpersonal well-being of its members. The ways in which individuals interact with
others and with their communities at large through social networks and relationships can have
important effects, both on a micro level—through increasing one’s sense of contentment and
belonging—as well as on a macro level—through strengthening and developing communities
(Morrow, 1999). The World Bank highlights the active, participatory role of the community in global
poverty reduction and social development initiatives, emphasizing the fundamental importance of
social relationships:
The characteristics of social relationships—within and among groups and
organizations—influence the content, goals, and implementation of
development programs. The quality of people’s social relationships influences
their sense of well-being. And social relationships and networks are resources
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that help people pursue their livelihood and solve development problems
(2000, p. 11-12).
In an effort to further explore and understand the social relationships among community members,
sociologists, anthropologists, and lately, social workers have aimed to develop a working definition
of the concept of social capital. Their definition has its origins in Putnam’s (1993)
reconceptualization of the term to represent a principal asset of communities, rather than a
characteristic inherent to individuals, as Coleman (1988) had originally defined the term. According
to Putnam (1995), social capital encompasses the features of social organization such as networks of
cooperation, community norms regarding local institutions and social infrastructure, and civic
engagement that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit. In the following
section, a synthesis of the research on social capital is presented as an alternative theoretical
framework through which the street children phenomenon can be explored.
Empirical Review: Social Capital
Review of the literature reveals a lack of empirical precedents that explore the effects of social capital
on the migration of children into the streets, as street workers. An ample body of literature across
multiple disciplines does exist, however, suggesting the influence of social capital on the general
well-being of children and adolescents. Multiple studies offer evidence that social capital is a strong
predictor of children’s development and general well-being (Coleman & Hoffer, 1987; Furstenberg &
Hughes, 1995; Garbarino & Sherman, 1980; Johnson, 1999; Morrow, 2000; Putnam, 2000; Sampson,
Morenoff, & Earls, 1999; Stevenson, 1998; Swanson Ernst, 2001; Teachman, Paasch, & Carver, 1996;
Teachman, Paasch, & Carver, 1997). In a comprehensive analysis of the effects of social capital on
children’s welfare, including over fifty years of data, Putnam (2000) found that community-based
social capital, after poverty, is the most reliable determinant of such outcomes as youth idleness and
delinquency, dropping out of high school, low-weight babies and teen pregnancy. Nevertheless, in
the absence of direct empirical support to speculate the effects of social capital on the migration of
children into the streets, as child laborers, this section will review and synthesize the existing
empirical data concerning social capital and children’s general well-being. This information, in turn,
may provide new insight into the reasons behind why some families use their children as a
complementary form of household income—often sacrificing the formal academic preparation
offered by educational institutions, while other families—from the same community environment
and similar socio-economic conditions—chose to pursue more normative standards of children’s
development (e.g., formal schooling, recreational play, formal labor-market insertion, etc.).
In the previous section on the empirical precedents of the street children phenomenon, three trends
emerged from the systematic review of the first literature. First, street-working children are
disproportionately concentrated within impoverished families and communities. Second, formal
agents of socialization, such as family and the school system, appear to play a preventive role in
hindering that street-working children evolve into street-living children, although the processes are
unclear. Finally, to date both cultural models and structural models constitute the two predominant
explanatory frameworks used to understand the migration of children into the streets as child streetworkers. Nonetheless, without a mesolevel theoretical framework to examine family-community
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relations, it remains unclear in what capacity the interactions and relationships that occur in the
mesosystem may be contributing to the movement of children into the streets as well. By exploring
first the effects of social capital on children’s general well-being within the empirical literature, this
section aims to place the street children phenomenon within the context of social capital theory as
an explanatory framework. I propose this theory as a means to better understand the mesolevel
interactions between families and the mediating structures of the surrounding community, and
their possible influence on the movement of children into the street as child laborers.
Description of the Literature Review Method Utilized
As utilized to review the empirical literature concerning street children, I continue to use the
systematic review method (SR) as my guiding framework to evaluate and synthesize the existing
research related to social capital (Larson et al., 1992). For the concept of social capital however, I have
modified both my strategies to locate all relevant, peer-reviewed studies regarding social capital, as
well as my selection criteria to include or discard a particular study for the purposes of this research
project. The methodology used to locate empirical studies across multiple disciplines related to child
welfare—social work, sociology, psychology, public health, social welfare policy and the medical
field—consists of five basic steps. First, I maintained constant the databases used in the literature
search for empirical studies related to street children. The selected databases include: FirstSearch,
OVID, Social Work Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts and Wilson. I chose to search these
bibliographic databases from 1980 to the present, as the majority of the social capital literature has
been developed over the past two decades (Bourdieu, 1985; Coleman, 1988, 1990; Putnam, 1993,
1995, 2000).
Second, I manually searched both dissertations and academic journals related to social capital over
the past decade (1990 to the present). Selected journals include both political and economic literary
sources, as well as psychological and sociological sources: American Journal of Political Science, American
Behavioral Scientist, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, The American Prospect, Political Science and Politics,
Journal of Community Practice, Child Development, Critical Public Health, American Sociological Review and
Sociologia Ruralis. Third, I utilized the snowball technique with this concept, as well, to identify
additional studies and references cited in the bibliographies from the articles I had previously
selected.
Fourth, I identified three key pioneer theorists and empirical researchers in the area of social capital,
whose names resurfaced in close to all studies, namely, sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, sociologist James
Coleman and Harvard Professor of Public Policy, Robert Putnam. During this phase, I conducted
extensive literary searches on each of these three authors for their additional works. Finally, I
consulted several annotated bibliographies and working paper series related to social capital
compiled and produced by the Social Capital Initiative under the auspices of the World Bank, available
online at: http://www.worldbank.org.
The methodology I adopted to discern between relevant and non-relevant empirical literature
concerning social capital consisted of four selection criteria. I included the study in my review cohort
if: 1) it examined either family social capital and/or community social capital and their effects on
individual and/or collective well-being; 2) it utilized quantitative, qualitative and/or triangulation of
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research methods to assess levels of social capital; 3) it identified indicators of social capital at the
family and or community levels; and 4) it produced findings relevant to social welfare policy
regarding the influence of social capital in determining positive outcomes for child welfare. The SR
I used to examine empirical literature on social capital produced 22 pertinent, peer-reviewed studies
that complied with these criteria.
Subsequent to locating the selected studies, I tabulated all works to facilitate comparisons and
contrasts among studies. I maintained the same evaluation criteria that I had utilized to assess the
quality of empirical research related to the street-children phenomenon, with the exception of one
minor alteration. For the systematic review of the social capital literature, I replaced the eco-systemic
level within which the street children phenomenon was studied for the context within which social
capital was measured (family level, community level, or both). Aside from this modification, all other
criteria were the same: year of study, region, purpose, definition of population, research sample
methods utilized, mode of administration of instrument(s), sample size, response rate, existence of a
comparison group, and finally, the statistical analysis adopted. (See Table 2 for more detailed
information on all of the studies included in the social capital review cohort.)
Synthesis of Methodological Approaches
All of the studies, with the exception of three, were conducted within the original timeframe
established for the literature searches. The first exception constitutes a two-decade secondary data
analysis of pooled General Social Surveys from 1972 until 1994. I included this study in the selected
research for review, given its longitudinal nature and exhaustive examination of individual
influences and how they shape and form community social capital. Second, the study by Coleman
and Hoffer (1987), performed in 1969, was also included in the review. Given that it constitutes an
eminent precedent within the social capital literature and a contribution to the operationalization
of family social capital, I opted for considering it in the review cohort. Finally, the study by Maccoby,
Johnson and Church (1958) exploring the effects of community social capital on juvenile
delinquency was included in the review as well. Although the study was performed in 1954, it is an
empirical work that many contemporary social capital studies cite as a reference. I speculate that
many subsequent works, which investigate the effects of social integration and cohesion on youth
deviance, have built upon the theoretical propositions and operationalizations of social capital from
this initial study.
Regarding the regional location of the studies in the review cohort, 17 were performed in the United
States (Boisjoly, Duncan, & Hofferth, 1995; Brehm & Rahn, 1997; Butler Flora & Flora, 2000;
Coleman & Hoffer, 1987; Falk & Kilpatrick, 2000; Furstenberg & Hughes, 1995; Garbarino &
Sherman, 1980; Johnson, 1999; Maccoby et al., 1958; Portney & Berry, 1997; Putnam, 2000; Runyan,
Hunter, Socolar, Amaya-Jackson, English, Landsverk, Dubowitz, Browne, Bangdiwala, & Mathew,
1998; Sampson et al., 1999; Stevenson, 1998; Swanson Ernst, 2001; Teachman et al., 1996, 1997).
Additionally, two studies were conducted in India (Krishna & Uphoff, 1999; Pantoja, 1999), one in
the mountainous region of Peru (Diaz, Drumm, Ramirez, & Oidjarv, 2000), one in Great Britain
(Morrow, 2000) and one in Australia (Onyx & Bullen, 2000). Although the majority of the empirical
precedents regarding social capital have originated in the United States, I chose not to limit the
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review studies exclusively to this region. Given that the present study will be conducted in
Monterrey, Mexico, it is important that the social capital indicators be relevant to the Mexican
culture and society. Many of the international studies on social capital have modified existing U.S.
indicators to reflect the actual realities of the countries under study. By assessing the differences
between U.S.-based social capital indicators, and those developed abroad, I was able to gain insight
into how my empirical predecessors have developed new—and modified existing—social capital
indicators to reflect the political, economic, cultural and social contexts of their countries under
study.
One of the twenty-two studies explored the effects of family social capital on different educational
outcomes in children (Coleman & Hoffer, 1987). In contrast, fourteen of the twenty-two cohort
studies sought to examine how the concept of community social capital is related to diverse
outcomes in both individual and collective well-being (Boisjoly et al., 1995; Brehm & Rahn, 1997;
Butler et al., 2000; Diaz et al., 2000; Falk & Kilpatrick, 2000; Garbarino & Sherman, 1980; Krishna &
Uphoff, 1999; Maccoby et al., 1958; Morrow, 2000; Onyx & Bullen, 2000; Pantoja, 1999; Portney &
Berry, 1997; Putnam, 2000; Swanson Ernst, 2001). Lastly, seven studies included analyses of both
family and community social capital in an effort to better understand the characteristics,
dimensions and effects that each plays on individual and collective well-being (Furstenberg &
Hughes, 1995; Johnson, 1999; Runyan et al., 1998; Sampson et al., 1999; Stevenson, 1998; Teachman
et al., 1996, 1997).
With reference to the conceptualization of social capital, Coleman and Hoffer (1987) were unique in
distinguishing internal family social capital from other forms of social capital. To them, family social
capital constituted the relationships between parents and their children. The notion of relationships
was operationalized by quantifying the amount of time and effort that parents spent with their
children per week. In the eight studies that explored both family and community social capital, the
notion of parent-child relationships appears to be the common definition for family social capital.
Furstenberg and Hughes (1995), Johnson (1999), and Teachman and colleagues (1996) all define
family social capital as the intra-familial relationships and interactions between children and their
parents. In contrast, Sampson and colleagues (1999) and Stevenson (1998) conceptualized family
social capital in terms of children’s and parents’ extra-familial relationships and interactions with
the surrounding community. The remaining three studies that explored both dimensions of social
capital defined family social capital in terms of the positive social and economic returns on parents’
investments in their children. For instance, Boisjoly and colleagues (1995) and Runyan and
colleagues (1998) used family social capital to connote the tangible and abstract benefits (money,
time, support and advice) that children receive from their parents, while Teachman and colleagues
(1997) described family social capital as the filter through which parents’ financial and human
capital is transmitted to, and used by, their children.
Conversely, community social capital was defined by the majority of the studies assessing this
collective dimension of capital as the interactions between individuals and their communities
through social relationships and support networks (Brehm & Rahn, 1997; Falk & Kilpatrick, 2000;
Furstenberg & Hughes, 1995; Maccoby et al., 1958; Morrow, 2000; Onyx & Bullen, 2000; Pantoja,
1999; Putnam, 2000; Swanson Ernst, 2001; Teachman et al., 1996). There was ample disparity in the
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conceptualization of the term among the remaining studies examining community social capital.
Two studies defined the concept as the community assets and tangible benefits accrued from
collective engagement (Krishna & Uphoff, 1999; Runyan et al., 1998); two referred to the term as the
active participation of residents in the collective well-being and development of the community
(Diaz et al., 2000; Portney & Berry, 1997); one study conceptualized community social capital as the
social infrastructure available in a given community (Butler et al., 1995); one study used community
social capital to connote the quality of life in neighborhoods (Johnson, 1999); and finally, one study
referred to this dimension of capital as the degree of neighborhood risk (Garbarino & Sherman,
1980).
Performing secondary data analysis as the preferred research design, eight of the twenty-two total
studies utilized existing findings from surveys including the General Social Survey (GSS), the Panel
Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), Census surveys, Roper Social and Political Trends Surveys and
the National Educational Longitudinal Survey (NELS) to assess the effects of social capital on
individual and collective outcomes (Boisjoly et al., 1995; Brehm & Rahn, 1997; Furstenberg &
Hughes, 1995; Putnam, 2000; Runyan et al., 1998; Swanson Ernst, 2001; Teachman et al., 1996,
1997). Seven studies adopted the quantitative research design with several different modes of survey
administration. Six of these studies used a cross-sectional survey design with experimental and
control groups and administered surveys in-person via interviews (Coleman & Hoffer, 1987; Diaz et
al., 2000; Maccoby, 1958; Portney & Berry, 1997; Sampson et al., 1999; Stevenson, 1998). In the
remaining quantitative study, Butler and colleagues (2000) sent surveys to study participants via
mail.
Conversely, three studies employed qualitative methods, using distinct data-gathering techniques.
Falk and Kilpatrick (2000) performed a whole-community case study using an array of ethnographic
techniques, while Johnson (1999) conducted qualitative interviews and small group discussions with
high-school youths. Morrow (2000), on the other hand, organized structured activities (written
essays of neighborhoods, photographs taken by children, and group discussions) to assess the levels
of social capital present in children’s neighborhoods.
Finally, four studies combined quantitative and qualitative designs in a triangulation of research
methods. Garbarino and Sherman (1980) used both quantitative surveys with families and semistructured interviews with key informants to assess levels of neighborhood risk. Krishna and Uphoff
(1999) administered quantitative surveys to families as well as conducted focus groups at the village
level and performed direct observation. Onyx and Bullen (2000) administered surveys to randomly
selected participants in communities, community centers and public spaces, as well as organized
exploratory discussion groups among academics and community practitioners. Lastly, Pantoja
(1999) administered household surveys and conducted focus groups, stakeholder workshops and
unstructured interviews with community key informants.
The majority of the studies adopting the secondary data analysis research method utilized a fullpopulation sampling method. Brehm and Rahn (1997) included all respondents located in the GSS
Cumulative File during the period from 1972 to 1994. Furstenberg and Hughes (1995) included all
surveys from a twenty-year longitudinal study of young African American mothers and their
children in Baltimore. The original sample of pregnant teens used for this study was a purposive,
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hospital-based sample, yet the principal researchers affirm that the sample closely resembled the
total population of African American women in Baltimore at that time. Swanson Ernst (2001) also
employed a full-population sampling method, selecting all 159 census tracks within the county
under study. Finally in both of Teachman and colleagues’ (1996, 1997) studies, researchers used the
total population of eighth grade students in 1988 to establish the baseline sample from which two
subsequent biannual follow-up measures would be taken. In the remaining three studies using
secondary data analysis as the preferred research design, Boisjoly and colleagues (1995) employed a
nonprobability sampling method consisting of all PSID families with children present in the year
1980, while Runyan and colleagues (1998) included all children sharing common characteristics of
unfavorable environmental factors that put them at risk of child abuse. Researchers had previously
defined the specific environmental risk factors for the purposes of their study. Finally, Putnam
(2000) amassed a century of demographic and market data from diverse, standardized national
surveys and as a sampling technique, triangulated among as many independent sources as possible.
With respect to the seven studies adopting quantitative research designs, four used a randomly
selected sample of either families or communities, depending on the study’s unit of analysis (Butler
et al., 2000; Coleman & Hoffer, 1987; Diaz et al., 2000; Sampson et al., 1999). The three remaining
quantitative studies by Maccoby and colleagues (1958), Portney and Berry (1997) and Stevenson
(1998) used nonprobability, purposive sampling methods, in addition to all three of the qualitative
studies (Falk & Kilpatrick, 2000; Johnson, 1999; Morrow, 2000) and three of the four studies using
mixed methods (Krishna & Uphoff, 1999; Onyx & Bullen, 2000; Pantoja, 1999). In the final study
employing mixed methods, Garbarino and Sherman (1980) selected a pair of neighborhoods from
the results of a multiple regression screening analysis (based on three, previously defined selection
criteria), within which families were randomly sampled from a pool of families with kids under
18 years of age.
Sample sizes across all studies using secondary data analysis were generally large: 3,311 families
(Boisjoly et al., 1995); 32,380 surveys (Brehm & Rahn, 1997); 252 children (Furstenberg & Hughes,
1995); the U.S. public from 1900-2000 (Putnam, 2000); 667 two to five-year-olds (Runyan et al.,
1998); 159 census tracts (Swanson Ernst, 2001); 16,014 eighth grade students (Teachman et al.,
1996); and 10,889 eighth grade students (Teachman et al., 1997). Within the empirical studies, the
sample sizes were smaller, yet also quite varied. Several studies had small samples: 99 (Morrow,
2000); 112 (Garbarino & Sherman, 1980); and 200 (Johnson, 1999). Others used medium-sized
samples: 718 (Butler et al., 2000) and 789 (Diaz et al., 2000). Three studies had quite large samples:
4000 (Coleman & Hoffer, 1987); 5000 (Portney & Berry, 1997); and 8782 (Sampson et al., 1999).
Only four of the twenty-two studies reported response rates, which ranged from 65.3% to 75%
(Brehm & Rahn, 1997; Butler et al., 2000; Maccoby et al., 1958; Sampson et al., 1999). With respect
to the use of comparison groups, fifteen of the twenty-two studies in the review cohort contrasted
differences among groups in the effects of social capital on individual, familial and community
outcomes (Boisjoly et al., 1995; Butler et al., 2000; Coleman & Hoffer, 1987; Diaz et al., 2000;
Garbarino & Sherman, 1980; Krishna & Uphoff, 1999; Maccoby et al., 1958; Morrow, 2000; Onyx &
Bullen, 2000; Pantoja, 1999; Portney & Berry, 1997; Runyan et al., 1998; Stevenson, 1998; Teachman
et al., 1996, 1997).
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Descriptive statistics and frequencies were used in nine studies to report basic statistics (Boisjoly et
al., 1995; Butler et al., 2000; Diaz et al., 2000; Falk & Kilpatrick, 2000; Garbarino & Sherman, 1980;
Maccoby et al., 1958; Portney & Berry, 1997; Putnam, 2000; Sampson et al., 1999). The majority of
the review studies used different multivariate regression analyses, including hierarchical multiple
regression, ordinary least squares regression and logistic regression with a variety of control
variables, including human capital, financial capital, and family social capital (Boisjoly et al., 1995;
Coleman & Hoffer, 1987; Furstenberg & Hughes, 1995; Garbarino & Sherman, 1980; Johnson, 1999;
Krishna & Uphoff, 1999; Pantoja, 1999; Putnam, 2000; Runyan et al., 1998; Sampson et al., 1999;
Stevenson, 1998; Swanson Ernst, 2001; Teachman et al., 1996, 1997). Two studies used structural
equation modeling with latent factors relating to constructs of social capital (Brehm & Rahn, 1997;
Onyx & Bullen, 2000), while two studies used principal components factor analysis (Swanson Ernst,
2001; Teachman et al., 1996). Two of the three qualitative studies conducted frequency counts of
thematic elements via conversation analysis using the NUD*IST software (Falk & Kilpatrick, 2000)
and content analysis (Morrow, 2000).
Methodological Limitations of Previous Research
As portrayed in the preceding section, there are multiple similarities among the empirical literature
concerning social capital. Research designs and techniques for both the data collection and analysis
for individual studies were selected within the explanatory framework of social capital theory.
Additionally, researchers generally took adequate measures to strengthen the internal validity of
their studies: sample sizes were mostly large, numerous studies adopted random sampling
techniques and acquired data via multiple sources, and the majority of studies incorporated
comparison or control groups. Furthermore, there existed high systematization across studies in
their measurements of social capital among groups. The majority of studies used Onyx and Bullen’s
Social Capital Index, an instrument consisting of 36 items (eight specific independent factors and one
general, secondary factor), with a Cronbach’s alpha of .84 and with each item contributing to the
scale in a statistically significant manner. Together, the eight factors explain 49.3% of the total
variance. Thus, the Social Capital Index constitutes a reliable and validated instrument to measure
social capital in the empirical realm.
Notwithstanding the methodological strengths identified among studies, there were also some
limitations. First, there is extensive discord among researchers regarding the actual component
factors comprising social capital as well as how one operationalizes these components to measure
them. For instance, researchers appear to be split by the relationships-benefits divide presented above.
In a little over half of the studies, social capital was defined as the relationships or interactions between
children and their families (family social capital), or between individuals and their communities
(community social capital) (Brehm & Rahn, 1997; Coleman and Hoffer, 1987; Diaz et al., 2000; Falk
& Kilpatrick, 2000; Furstenberg & Hughes, 1995; Johnson, 1999; Maccoby et al., 1958; Morrow,
2000; Onyx & Bullen, 2000; Pantoja, 1999; Putnam, 2000; Sampson et al., 1999; Stevenson, 1998;
Swanson Ernst, 2001; Teachman et al., 1996). In contrast, the remaining studies tended to
conceptualize social capital in terms of the benefits or assets that it provides to those individuals,
families and communities who invested in this social resource (Boisjoly et al., 1995; Butler et al.,
1995; Garbarino & Sherman, 1980; Krishna & Uphoff, 1999; Portney & Berry, 1997; Runyan et al.,
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1998; Teachman et al., 1997). Thus, it appears that social capital is considered both an end (tangible
benefits), as well as a means to arrive at that end (social relationships). This conceptual duality of
social capital further complicates comparisons of findings among studies, as researchers are
departing from unique original conceptualizations of the term.
Likewise, studies vary with respect to which components researchers select to operationalize the
notion of social capital. For instance, Onyx and Bullen (2000) constructed an empirically grounded
definition of social capital. Their Social Capital Index consists of eight specific factors: community
participation, social agency, trust, neighborhood connectedness, family and peer relations, tolerance
of diversity, value of life, and work connections. This definition, comprised of eight components of
social capital, clearly constitutes the most extensive of all. On the other hand, other researchers have
elected some of these factors to measure social capital, or rather, selected entirely distinct
components, which are often divorced from existing theoretical explanations and/or empirical
precedents. Butler and colleagues (2000) aimed to measure social capital on the community level, yet
defined the concept as “entrepreneurial social infrastructure,” using indictors such as legitimacy of
alternatives, diversity of internal and external networks, and expansive mobilization of internal
community resources. Brehm and Rahn (1997) chose to focus solely on civic engagement and
interpersonal trust to represent social capital. Krishna and Uphoff (1999) measured social capital as
the cognitive and institutional assets that produce tendencies for reciprocal collective action.
Morrow (2000), on the other hand, focused on some of Onyx and Bullen’s factors, while
incorporating additional measures: trust, reciprocal support, civic engagement, community identity,
and social networks. Pantoja (1999) operationalized the notion of social capital by assessing the
social and cultural coherence of a society, its social norms and values, and the local institutions and
social infrastructure embedded in the community. Swanson Ernst (2001) also adopted a structural
framework to measure social capital, examining the patterns and functions of formal and informal
networks, institutions and organizations in a given community. Teachman and colleagues (1996)
observed the density of interactions among parents and between parents and educational
institutions in communities. To Runyan and colleagues (1998) social capital represented the specific
benefits that people accrued from their individual and collective relationships within their families
and communities. Sampson and colleagues (1999) focused on three factors, which are loosely
derived from social capital theory: intergenerational closure, informal social control, and
reciprocated exchange. Lastly, Portney and Berry (1997) used social capital to connote “strong
democracy” and sought to quantify the institutions within communities, which allotted residents
the opportunities to participate with voice and action in the decision-making process. It is evident
across studies that the social capital literature still lacks a reliable and validated conceptual template
with consistent and systematic indicators to operationalize the term and compare findings from
multiple studies.
Review of the literature concerning social capital also reveals the presence of contradictory empirical
precedents with respect to the theory’s propositions. For instance, Putnam suggests that the scarcity
or altogether absence of social capital is a hallmark characteristic of socially disorganized
communities. Likewise, he claims that due to a “viscous circle”—that low levels of mutual trust and
social cohesion lead to high levels of crime, which in turn result in even lower levels of mutual trust
and cohesion—these disorganized areas are precisely the communities that find themselves
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overwhelmed with social problems and in tandem, lacking the needed social capital to stimulate and
facilitate collective action towards positive solutions. Furthermore, Putnam purports that due to the
underlying lack of social capital within the mesosystem and thus, the unlikely possibility of
generating, acquiring and developing this social resource, communities of this particular type
remain trapped in poverty and marginalization, and plagued by social problems and deviant
behavior (Putnam, 2000).
Existing literature does, however, reveal numerous studies that find social capital within marginal
areas, or ghettos, manifested in the intra- and extra-familial social support networks and elaborate
systems of interfamilial bartering (Diaz et al., 2000; Furstenberg & Hughes, 1995; Johnson, 1999;
Krishna & Uphoff, 1999; Onyx & Bullen, 2000; Pantoja, 1999; Runyan et al., 1998; Stevenson, 1998).
Nevertheless, these social assets are often loose and fragmented, insufficient in quantity for residents
to ultimately overcome their poverty, or even immeasurable by upper-middle class, contemporary,
U.S.-based social capital indicators (e.g., Internet use, GreenPeace membership, and newspaper
reading). Other researchers propose that social capital does, indeed, exist in abundance within
impoverished communities. However, it tends to be loose and fragmented, which may help to
explain why social capital—within impoverished communities—is often unsuccessful in improving
the collective well-being of residents or increasing the quality of life within the community (Krishna
& Uphoff, 1999; Pantoja, 1999; Portes & Landolt, 1996).
The limitations discussed in this section may hinder the comparison of results across studies as well
as thwart both the development of a widely used instrument and the systematization of a common
set of indicators to measure social capital in the empirical realm. Until findings can be consistently
and validly compared across studies, the generalizability of social capital will remain in its infancy.
However, the multiple similarities across studies in some of the basic determining components of
social capital facilitate the integration of like defining factors as well as the theoretical development
and advancement of the social capital framework. I will now present some of the commonalities
among the cohort of studies in terms of how the notion of social capital has been operationalized
and measured on two different levels within the empirical realm.
Synthesis of Empirical Findings
For this review cohort of social capital literature, the findings are grouped within two general
categories: 1) indicators of family social capital and 2) indicators of community social capital.
Indicators of Family Social Capital
Among all of the cohort studies, eight examined the effects of family social capital on individual
outcomes for children and youth. Using Coleman and Hoffer’s (1987) High School and Beyond study of
4,000 randomly selected high school students as an empirical precedent, numerous subsequent
studies have followed Coleman’s initial operationalization of family social capital into five main
components, each with a separate set of measures. Family structure comprises the first component
of family social capital. All eight studies used this component of family social capital as a predictor
of outcomes in children and youth. High levels of consistency existed, as well, among the indicators
used across studies to measure family structure: single-parent vs. two-parent household, absence vs.
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presence of a paternal figure—either biological or stepfather, and both parents vs. one parent work(s)
outside the home (Coleman & Hoffer, 1987; Furstenberg & Hughes, 1995; Johnson, 1999; Runyan et
al., 1998; Sampson et al., 1999; Stevenson, 1998; Teachman et al., 1996, 1997).
Second, six of the eight studies sought to examine the quality of intra-familial parent-child relations.
Common indicators used to measure this component of family social capital include: number of
times the parent helps the child with homework per week, number of sharing activities parent and
child participate in together per week, number of times per week parent verbally encourages the
child, and number of siblings in the household, which Coleman (1987) hypothesizes can dilute
adults’ attention to children (Coleman & Hoffer, 1987; Furstenberg & Hughes, 1995; Runyan et al.,
1998; Sampson et al., 1999; Teachman et al., 1996, 1997).
Third, six of the eight studies assessed the adult’s interest in the child as an additional component of
family social capital. Common indicators for this component were: the mother’s aspirations for
child, parents’ levels of empathy for the child’s needs, and parents’ attitudes towards children’s
behaviors (Coleman & Hoffer, 1987; Furstenberg & Hughes, 1995; Johnson, 1999; Runyan et al.,
1998; Teachman et al., 1996, 1997).
The fourth similar component representing family social capital across multiple studies consists of
the parents’ monitoring of their children’s activities. Five of the eight studies operationalized this
component via the following measures: number of school meeting the parents attend; number of
child’s friends that parents know by sight or by name, and number of child’s friends’ parents that
parents know by sight or by name (Coleman & Hoffer, 1987; Furstenberg & Hughes, 1995; Sampson
et al., 1999; Teachman et al., 1996, 1997).
Finally, three of the eight studies explored the degree of extended family exchange and support as a
component of family social capital. Coleman and Hoffer (1987), Furstenberg and Hughes (1995)
and Stevenson (1998) adopted the following three indicators to measure this component: number of
extended family members who live in the home, number of times the family visits extended family
members, and the number of interactions the child has with extended family members.
Indicators of Community Social Capital
Twenty-one of the twenty-two studies in the review cohort examined community-level social capital
and its effects on outcomes of intrapersonal and collective well-being. Perhaps the most common
existing instrument to measure community social capital consists of the Social Capital Index,
developed and empirically tested by Australian researchers, Onyx and Bullen. The instrument
encompasses the following eight factors, which measure social capital at the community level:
1) participation in the local community (participation in formal community structures); 2) social
agency or proactivity in a social context (sense of personal and collective efficacy or personal agency
within a social context); 3) feelings of trust and safety (feelings that most people in the community
can be trusted); 4) neighborhood connections (informal interaction within the local area); 5) family
and friends connections (conversations with family and friends); 6) tolerance of diversity (views of
multiculturalism in community); 7) value of life (feelings of being valued by society); and 8) work
connections (feelings of team at work). Across all review studies, seven used this instrument—or
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portions of it—as a measure of community social capital (Diaz et al., 2000; Falk & Kilpatrick, 2000;
Krishna & Uphoff, 1999; Onyx & Bullen, 2000; Pantoja, 1999; Putnam, 2000; Runyan et al., 1998).
With specific reference to community social capital and its effects on children and youths’ wellbeing, Coleman (1988) proposes four general components of community social capital, which have
been adopted as meso-level measures of social capital across numerous studies in the review cohort:
1) social support networks, 2) civic engagement in local institutions, 3) informal social norms, and
4) trust and reciprocity. First, multiple studies measure the social support networks—or social
relationships—among individuals in a community as an indicator of community social capital
(Boisjoly et al., 1995; Butler et al., 2000; Diaz et al., 2000; Falk & Kilpatrick, 2000; Furstenberg &
Hughes, 1995; Garbarino & Sherman, 1980; Krishna & Uphoff, 1999; Maccoby et al., 1958; Morrow,
2000; Onyx & Bullen, 2000; Pantoja, 1999; Putnam, 2000; Runyan et al., 1998; Sampson et al., 1999;
Stevenson, 1998; Teachman et al., 1997). Second, the majority of studies also examines the quantity
and quality of relationships and interactions between parents and the social institutions within the
community as a component of community social capital (Boisjoly et al., 1995; Brehm & Rahn, 1997;
Butler et al., 2000; Diaz et al., 2000; Falk & Kilpatrick, 2000; Furstenberg & Hughes, 1995; Garbarino
& Sherman, 1980; Johnson, 1999; Krishna & Uphoff, 1999; Morrow, 2000; Onyx & Bullen, 2000;
Pantoja, 1999; Portney & Berry, 1997; Putnam, 2000; Runyan et al., 1998; Swanson Ernst, 2001;
Teachman et al., 1996, 1997). Third, many studies also include the presence of social norms and
sanctions that enforce them within the community as a strong indicator of community social capital
(Butler et al., 2000; Diaz et al., 2000; Falk & Kilpatrick, 2000; Krishna & Uphoff, 1999; Maccoby et al.,
1958; Morrow, 2000; Onyx & Bullen, 2000; Pantoja, 1999; Portney & Berry, 1997; Putnam, 2000;
Runyan et al., 1998; Sampson et al., 1999; Stevenson, 1998). Finally, various studies attempt to
explore the levels of trust and reciprocity among community members as a reflection of how much
social capital exists within the community (Brehm & Rahn, 1997; Diaz et al., 2000; Falk & Kilpatrick,
2000; Krishna & Uphoff, 1999; Maccoby et al., 1958; Morrow, 2000; Onyx & Bullen, 2000; Pantoja,
1999; Putnam, 2000; Runyan et al., 1998; Sampson et al., 1999; Stevenson, 1998).
Also consistent with the measures of social capital from Coleman and Hoffer’s (1987) original study,
several studies use the following three indicators to evaluate community social capital: 1) whether or
not the family attends church together regularly (Coleman & Hoffer, 1987; Runyan et al., 1998);
2) whether or not the child attends a Catholic School (Coleman & Hoffer, 1987; Teachman et al.,
1996, 1997); and 3) the number of times the child has changed schools in the past year (Coleman &
Hoffer, 1987; Teachman et al., 1996, 1997).
Discussion of Systematic Review Method and the Social Capital Literature
The study of social capital as a predictor variable in influencing individual and collective well-being
has provided new precedents regarding the role that this social resource plays in facilitating positive
outcomes for both individuals and families, as well as for communities. The systematic review
performed here has exposed three basic trends that are apparent across multiple studies, which merit
further attention in subsequent research.
Families with high social capital are more likely to produce children who fare positively in areas of
general well-being, including mental and physical health, educational attainment and formal labor
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market participation (Coleman, 1988, 1990; Coleman & Hoffer, 1987; Furstenberg & Hughes, 1995;
Johnson, 1999; Putnam, 2000; Runyan et al., 1998; Sampson et al., 1999; Stevenson, 1998; Teachman
et al., 1996, 1997). This consistent pattern across multiple studies and diverse academic disciplines
may be the result of two principle influences. First, ongoing stocks of human and financial capital
are made available to children through their family social capital. Second, social resources, contacts
and opportunities are presented to children due to their family’s stock of social capital. Synthesizing
the findings across studies, it is possible to create a profile of families with high social capital.
Empirical precedents suggest that these families have a two-parent family structure, with the
presence of a paternal figure, either biological or a stepfather. They are typically families
characterized by frequent parent-child interactions, high parental interest in children’s daily lives
and high parental monitoring of children’s activities. The parents of families with high social capital
are also embedded in surrounding social networks, comprised of both immediate and extended
family supports. Lastly, there is some evidence that regular church attendance by families, parochial
education at Catholic schools for children and minimal school changes for children are also
positively correlated with high family social capital.
Similarly, communities with high social capital are more likely to be more economically and socially
developed communities, as well as home to individuals who perceive a higher quality of community
life (Boisjoly et al., 1995; Brehm & Rahn, 1997; Butler et al., 2000; Diaz et al., 2000; Falk & Kilpatrick,
2000; Garbarino & Sherman, 1980; Krishna & Uphoff, 1999; Maccoby et al., 1958; Morrow, 2000;
Onyx & Bullen, 2000; Pantoja, 1999; Portney & Berry, 1997; Putnam, 2000; Swanson Ernst, 2001).
This premise may be partly due to both the tangible and intangible assets produced for collective use
from the social relationships and interactions, which occur at the community level. By integrating
the mesolevel findings concerning community social capital, a series of common characteristics
emerge that reflect communities with high levels of social capital. Generally, these communities are
home to residents who are active participants in community life and informal organizations. High
levels of trust and reciprocity exist among neighbors and the presence of informal social norms of
expected and desirable behavior replaces the need for more formal measures, such as legal sanctions
or repression by authority. These communities provide residents with access and opportunities to
participate in both formal and informal social support networks. Finally, residents in communities
with high social capital report a higher quality of life, are more inclined to tolerate diverse
populations and subcultures, and are generally more concerned with the collective efficacy of the
community as a whole.
Regarding the final trend, social capital, after poverty, is the best predictor of children’s welfare. This
social resource is an especially significant determinant of youth idleness and delinquency, high
school dropout rates, teen pregnancy and newborns’ birth weights. Nevertheless, while the presence
of poverty in the lives of children and youth has been identified as a negative predictive factor that
hinders their development—associated with such consequences as adolescent criminality, school
dropout, teen pregnancy and infant mortality—social capital, in contrast, is considered a positive
predictive factor that can prevent similar social problems in children and youth (Putnam, 2000).
Multiple studies suggest that a community’s social institutions and infrastructure as well as the
social support provided to residents via their participation in formal and informal social networks
are strongly associated with the healthy development of children and their achievement of positive
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future outcomes (Coleman & Hoffer, 1987; Furstenberg & Hughes, 1995; Garbarino & Sherman,
1980; Johnson, 1999; Maccoby et al., 1958; Morrow, 2000; Putnam, 2000; Runyan et al., 1998;
Sampson et al., 1999; Stevenson, 1998; Swanson Ernst, 2001; Teachman et al., 1996, 1997). This
pattern may be a result of the increased access to other forms of capital and human and social
resources in communities characterized by high social capital. The community’s collective stock of
social and human assets are, in turn, accessible and available to children and youth via their own
social contacts and relationships—and those of their families—with other community residents.
Subsequent to conducting the systematic review of the social capital empirical literature, the critical
questions that remain unanswered are: 1) Departing from the premise that social capital is a strong
predictor of children’s general well-being, is social capital, as well, a determinant of the streetworking children phenomenon?, 2) Based on empirical precedents that suggest differences in levels
of family social capital among children who fare positively and those who fare negatively on
indicators of general well-being, do families of street-working children and families without streetworking children differ in levels of social capital?, and 3) Considering two empirically founded,
microlevel predictors of street-working children—family financial capital and family human
capital—can family social capital help explain why some families encourage their children to pursue
street labor while other families with similar socio-economic statuses and parental educational levels
choose not to?
Implications for Future Research
After reviewing the theoretical literature and empirical precedents regarding both the phenomenon
of street-working children and the notion of social capital, I propose that it may be beneficial to
explore the phenomenon of street migration through a social capital lens. I base this supposition on
three principle premises: 1) that human behavior depends not only on the intrapersonal
characteristics of individuals and the surrounding structural influences, but also on both the social
relationships within which individuals are embedded and the characteristics of others with whom
they interact, such as family members, neighbors, and friends (Putnam, 2000); 2) that families and
communities with high levels of social capital are characterized by individual participation in social
support networks and the presence of collective norms regarding the socially acceptable and desired
behavior, which, in a sense, inhibit youth from behaving in ways that would impede the development
of other forms of capital, such as human, financial or cultural (e.g., participating in deviant activities
such as dropping out of school, consuming illicit substances, participating in gang activities or
engaging in sexual activities at an early age) (Coleman, 1988); and 3) of all the predictive factors
associated with children’s well-being, social capital—second only to poverty—has the highest
influence on children’s development and attainment of future outcomes (Putnam, 2000).
Furstenberg and Hughes (1995) highlight an important characteristic of social capital, which can
possibly facilitate increased understanding of the street-working children phenomenon. Social
capital—together with its related factors, such as civic participation and social networks and
relationships—function as a bridge between the microsystem (the individual) and the macrosystem
(the structural). Thus, due to its inherent, intermediate nature between systems, the social capital
framework can perhaps explain social phenomena that traverse the three systemic levels more
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accurately than micro or macro models alone. The movement of children from families and
communities to the streets, as child street workers, constitutes one of these multilevel social
phenomena.
The systematic review of the existing empirical literature concerning the street-children
phenomenon reveals various micro-, meso- and macrolevel determinants of the movement of
children into the streets. Studies suggest that street-working children largely come from families
with low financial and human capital, who often reside in communities with low physical and social
capital. While these oft-cited predictors of children’s informal street labor explain much of the
movement of children into the streets, a number of unanswered questions remain. It is still unclear
why some families with limited financial and human capital use their children as street-workers,
while other families with similar incomes and parental educational levels choose not to. This gap in
the existing knowledge presents social science researchers with an opportunity to explore additional
aspects of families and communities that may also be important determinants of children’s informal
street labor.
In the event that future studies can empirically demonstrate a difference in the levels of family
and/or social capital between families with street-working children and families with children who
do not work in the streets, we may indeed have a useful measure to guide child advocates, social
workers, and street children organizations, in practice, in moving from a palliative approach to a
preventive one to address street migration at its roots in the community. Likewise, if future research
succeeds in verifying that social capital can indeed be mobilized as a community resource that
prevents the migration of children to work in the streets, it may be possible to justify, with theory
and empirical precedents, the formulation of social policies that develop new and strengthen
existing community mechanisms to anticipate risk. This, in turn, will likely reduce the possibility
that certain populations of children migrate part- or full-time into the streets.
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Table 1
Empirical studies related to street-working children
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– 80 –
– 81 –
– 82 –
– 83 –
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Table 2
Empirical studies related to social capital
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– 86 –
– 87 –
– 88 –
– 89 –
– 90 –
– 91 –
– 92 –
LA PAUVRETÉ DES ENFANTS SIGNALÉS AUX SERVICES
DE PROTECTION DE LA JEUNESSE QUÉBÉCOIS
P A R : M ICHELINE M AYER , P H . D .
CHERCHEUSE SENIOR
I N S T I T U T DE R E C H E R C H E P O U R LE
DÉVELOPPEMENT SOCIAL DES JEUNES
(IRDS)
La pauvreté économique et la pauvreté sociale définissent des contextes de vie peu propices au
développement harmonieux des enfants et à l’exercice des capacités parentales. Une abondante
littérature de recherche démontre que la pauvreté constitue un facteur de risque important
d’émergence ou d’amplification d’un ensemble de problèmes, dont les problèmes de mauvais
traitements envers les enfants (voir entre autres Schumacher, Slep & Heyman, 2001, Ross & Roberts,
1999, Drake & Pandey, 1996, Garbarino & Kostelny 1992). Pourtant, la pauvreté des familles a
longtemps été occultée par rapport aux problèmes de comportement des parents (Swift 1995).
L’Étude d’incidence québécoise (ÉIQ)1, qui a permis de documenter les caractéristiques des enfants
signalés à la direction de la protection de la jeunesse, a démontré la détresse économique et sociale
des enfants et des familles signalées, et tout particulièrement de ceux qui sont concernés par la
problématique de négligence. L’analyse des données permet d’appréhender le rôle que joue la
pauvreté comme facteur de risque de mauvais traitements pour les enfants.
Description brève de l’Étude d’incidence québécoise
L’Étude sur l’incidence et les caractéristiques des situations d’abus, de négligence, d’abandon et de
troubles de comportement sérieux signalées à la direction de la protection de la jeunesse au Québec
(ÉIQ) a permis de documenter près de 10 000 signalements qui ont été adressés, du 1er octobre au
31 décembre 1998, aux services de protection québécois. Ces signalements ont été décrits à partir de
formulaires remplis par les intervenants.
Les objectifs de l’étude étaient d’estimer les taux d’enfants signalés aux services de protection en
fonction des diverses formes de mauvais traitements et de troubles de comportement et de décrire les
caractéristiques des problématiques signalées, des clientèles desservies et des services offerts dans les
premiers mois suivant le signalement. Parmi les 9 790 signalements reçus, 4 861 ont été retenus
concernant 4 674 enfants et 3 618 familles. Ces signalements retenus ont été jugés, suite à
l’évaluation en profondeur des intervenants, comme présentant l’une ou l’autre des situations
suivantes : les faits signalés sont fondés et la sécurité ou le développement de l’enfant est compromis,
les faits signalés sont fondés mais la sécurité ou le développement de l’enfant n’est pas compromis,
ou les faits ne sont pas fondés et il faut fermer le cas.
1
Tourigny, M., Mayer, M., Wright, J., Lavergne, C., Hélie, S., Trocmé, N., Bouchard, C., Chamberland, C., Cloutier, R., Jacob, M., Larrivée, M.-C. et
Boucher, J. (2002) (sous presse). Étude sur l’incidence et les caractéristiques des situations d’abus, de négligence, d’abandon et de troubles de
comportement sérieux signalées à la direction de la protection de la jeunesse au Québec (ÉIQ), Montréal, Canada : Institut de recherche sur le
développement social des jeunes.
– 93 –
L’analyse des données de l’étude permet de conclure que les caractéristiques des enfants et des
familles dont le signalement a été retenu traduisent une grande pauvreté économique et sociale.
Cette pauvreté est encore plus intense pour les enfants dont la sécurité ou le développement est
compromis.
La pauvreté des enfants et des familles signalées
On peut observer que les enfants et les familles dont le signalement est retenu par les services de
protection vivent souvent dans des conditions financières très précaires. Par exemple, la principale
source de revenu des familles des enfants dont la sécurité ou le développement est compromis est
l’aide sociale dans près de 50 % des cas (vs 8,7 % des familles de la population) ou un emploi à temps
partiel ou saisonnier dans près de 10 % des cas. Ainsi, on peut constater que près de 60 % des familles
des enfants en besoin de protection vivent dans des conditions de vie difficiles.
On note aussi que les intervenants mentionnent l’existence de plusieurs problèmes dans les familles
des enfants en besoin de protection : 2,3 problèmes en moyenne qui se présentent surtout sous forme
de problèmes économiques (39 %), de problèmes reliés à une séparation ou un divorce (33 %), de
consommation abusive de drogue ou d’alcool (30 %), de manque de soutien social (27 %), ou de
violence conjugale (25,3 %).
Les enfants dont le signalement est retenu mais dont la sécurité ou le développement n’est pas évalué
comme compromis sont aussi dans des situations précaires mais d’intensité un peu moins grande.
Ainsi, parmi ceux-ci, les enfants dont le signalement porte sur des faits fondés sont dans des
conditions financières difficiles dans 49 % des cas et sont considérés comme vivant dans des familles
affrontant des problèmes économiques dans 37 % des cas.
On peut en fait observer que la pauvreté caractérise, à des degrés variables, une forte proportion des
familles signalées.
Les indicateurs de pauvreté associés au risque de signalement retenu
L’étude d’incidence a permis d’analyser le risque d’avoir un signalement retenu que représentent
différentes combinaisons d’indicateurs socio-économiques.
L’analyse s’est centrée sur trois caractéristiques socio-économiques des familles qui sont
généralement associées au risque de mauvais traitements, soit le faible revenu (moins de 15 000 $ de
revenu familial ou l’aide sociale), la faible scolarité des parents (au moins un parent sans diplôme
secondaire) et la monoparentalité. Afin de mesurer les relations existant entre les différentes
combinaisons de ces indicateurs, des tableaux croisés ont été construits pour caractériser les familles
de l’ÉIQ et des tableaux croisés similaires ont été commandés à Statistique Canada pour décrire la
population dont ces familles sont issues. Huit groupes de familles ont donc été construits pour
refléter les différentes combinaisons possibles de ces indicateurs. Par exemple, le groupe « 1 »
concernait les familles bénéficiant d’un revenu de plus de 15 000 $, biparentales et fortement
scolarisée, alors que le groupe « 4 » concernait les familles biparentales avec un revenu faible et une
faible scolarité, et le groupe « 8 » les familles monoparentales avec une faible scolarité et un revenu
– 94 –
faible. Ces regroupements ont été mis en relation avec une variable dépendante définie comme le fait
d’avoir ou non au moins un enfant dont le signalement a été retenu.
Les résultats de l’analyse ont démontré que le faible revenu, la faible scolarité et la monoparentalité
sont des facteurs de risque dont l’effet varie selon les différentes combinaisons possibles. Par
exemple, si une famille biparentale, ayant un revenu de plus de 15 000 $ et dont les parents ont une
scolarité secondaire ou plus, ont une probabilité d’avoir un signalement retenu de 2,19 sur 1 000,
cette probabilité est de 40,8 sur 1 000 pour les familles monoparentales de faible scolarité et de faible
revenu. Entre ces deux situations extrêmes, on peut observer comment se présentent en terme de
risque, les différentes combinaisons possibles de caractéristiques socio-économiques. La situation
qui vient en deuxième place en terme de risque est la combinaison biparentalité, faible scolarité et
faible revenu (38,9 sur 1 000) alors que la combinaison monoparentalité, faible scolarité et revenu
plus élevé vient en troisième place, mais avec une différence appréciable (12,9 sur 1 000).
L’analyse démontre en effet que, pris individuellement, les trois indicateurs socio-économiques n’ont
pas le même poids dans la probabilité d’avoir un signalement retenu. Le revenu possède le poids le
plus élevé (5,34 plus de chance), suivi par la scolarité (4,00 fois plus de chance) et la monoparentalité
(2,51 plus de chance). Les différentes combinaisons permettent de tenir compte non seulement de
l’effet de chacune des variables mais aussi de la situation créée par les cas de figure variés de leurs
regroupements possibles.
La pauvreté plus intense des enfants négligés
L’analyse a aussi permis de constater que les enfants signalés ne sont pas tous également concernés
par le problème de la pauvreté économique et sociale. Les enfants signalés pour négligence sont les
plus affectés.
En effet, les enfants dont le signalement est retenu pour négligence vivent en plus forte proportion
que les enfants dont le signalement est retenu pour un autre motif de protection dans des familles
ayant un revenu de moins de 15 000 $ (62 % contre 33 %). Ils ont aussi plus fréquemment des parents
qui ont une scolarité faible, n’ayant pas de diplôme secondaire (65 % contre 36 %). De même,
leurs familles sont plus souvent perçues comme affrontant des problèmes économiques graves
par les intervenants (46 % contre 20 %) et ils vivent plus souvent en famille monoparentale (46 %
contre 34 %).
Conclusion
L’Étude d’incidence québécoise (ÉIQ) permet de constater que les enfants signalés appartiennent à
des contextes familiaux difficiles et de cerner l’importance que représentent la pauvreté économique
et la pauvreté sociale chez les familles qui sont signalées aux services de protection. On peut y
mesurer en effet le pourcentage de familles signalées qui vivent dans des situations économiques
précaires, la variété des problèmes qu’elles affrontent de même que le risque que représentent
diverses dimensions de la pauvreté dans l’incidence des mauvais traitements.
La pauvreté est-elle une cible d’intervention réaliste? Il apparaît inconcevable de demander aux
intervenants sociaux de s’attaquer directement à ce problème mais il apparaît parallèlement irréaliste
– 95 –
de penser prévenir les mauvais traitements sans tenir compte de cette dimension incontournable
du problème.
Quelle place occupe la lutte à la pauvreté économique et à la pauvreté sociale dans les interventions
à l’égard des enfants et des familles?
Bibliographie
Drake, B. et Pandey, S. (1996), Understanding the relationship between neighborhood poverty and specific types of child
maltreatment, Child Abuse and neglect, vol. 20, no. 11.
Garbarino, James, Kostelny, Kathleen (1992), Child maltreatment as a community problem, Child Abuse and Neglect, vol. 16,
p. 455-464.
Ross, D.P., Roberts, P. (1999), Le bien-être de l’enfant et le revenu familial : un nouveau regard au débat sur la pauvreté, Conseil
canadien de développement social, 52 p.
Schumacher, Julie A.; Slep, Smith Amy M., and Heyman, Richard E. ( 2001), Risk factors for child neglect. Agression and Violent
Behavior; 6(2-3): 231-254.
Swift, K. J. (1995), Manufacturing “Bad Mothers”: A Critical Perspective on Child Neglect, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 228 p.
– 96 –
LES EFFETS DU MILIEU SOCIO-ÉCONOMIQUE SUR
LE DÉVELOPPEMENT COGNITIF DES ENFANTS DE 5 À 12 ANS
P A R : P IERRE N OLIN , P H . D .
P R O F E S S E U R / C H E R C H E U R , D É P A R T E M E N T DE P S Y C H O L O G I E
G R O U P E D E R E C H E R C H E E N D É V E L O P P E M E N T D E L ’E N F A N T
U N I V E R S I T É D U Q U É B E C À T R O I S -R I V I È R E S
T R O I S -R I V I È R E S , Q U É B E C , C A N A D A
ET DE LA
FAMILLE (GREDEF)
Contexte théorique
La pauvreté n’est pas un phénomène rare en Amérique du Nord (McLoyd, 1998). Bien qu’il existe
différentes façons d’identifier le niveau socio-économique d’une famille, il semble tout de même se
dégager un certain accord autour de certaines variables pouvant mener à cette classification. Parmi
celles-ci, on compte l’occupation des parents, le niveau d’éducation des parents, le revenu familial, le
prestige lié à l’occupation professionnelle des parents et un certain style de vie (House, 1981). Ainsi,
le concept de niveau socio-économique est vu comme un phénomène multidimensionnel plutôt
qu’unidimensionnel. En sociologie, le niveau socio-économique est fonction de l’éducation, du
revenu et de l’occupation (Dutton & Levine, 1989).
Les études portant sur les effets de la pauvreté et du niveau socio-économique sur le fonctionnement
cognitif de l’enfant ont clairement démontré que le niveau socio-économique défavorisé est un
facteur de risque important pour le développement intellectuel (Palacio-Quintin, 1997). Cela a été
démontré pour différentes composantes de la cognition. C’est le cas de la créativité (Forman, 1979),
la perception (Willis & Pishkin, 1974), l’expression graphique (Gauthier & Richer, 1977; Gendron et
Palacio-Quintin, 1982), la pensée opératoire (Roy & Palacio-Quintin, 1984), la pensée logicomathématique préopératoire (Palacio-Quintin, 1992), l’intelligence et le langage (Duncan et al, 1994;
Smith et al, 1997; Zill et al, 1995). Un bon nombre d’études qui ont contrôlé le QI maternel, le niveau
d’éducation de la mère et d’autres caractéristiques de la mère (l’âge et les comportements durant la
grossesse) ont démontré des effets significativement négatifs sur les habiletés cognitives et verbales
(Korenman et al, 1995; Liaw & Brooks-Gunn, 1994; Smith et al, 1997). Par exemple, Duncan et al
(1994), à l’aide d’une étude longitudinale, ont montré que le revenu familial et le statut de pauvreté
prédisaient significativement le QI chez des enfants de cinq ans, et ce même après avoir contrôlé le
niveau d’éducation de la mère, la structure familiale, l’ethnie et d’autres facteurs.
Par ailleurs, d’autres études ont démontré que les enfants qui proviennent de milieux socioéconomiques pauvres performent significativement moins bien que les enfants non pauvres sur des
indicateurs de réussite scolaire, incluant les tests de rendement scolaire, la reprise de niveaux
scolaires, l’échec de cours, les placements en classes spéciales, le taux de graduation, le taux de
décrochage et le nombre d’années scolaires complétées (Coleman et al, 1966; Conger et al, 1997;
Entwisle & Alexander, 1990; Haveman & Wolfe, 1995; Hill et Duncan, 1987; White, 1982).
– 97 –
La synthèse de ces informations mène donc à l’identification d’un lien certain entre le niveau socioéconomique et la performance des enfants à différents tests d’intelligence et de fonctions cognitives.
Toutefois, la revue des écrits montre une certaine lacune en regard de l’ensemble des fonctions
évaluées dans une perspective neuropsychologique. La neuropsychologie s’intéresse principalement
aux relations cerveau/comportement. Les instruments d’évaluation de la neuropsychologie
permettent alors de confirmer la présence d’une atteinte cérébrale, mais plus encore, de décrire un
individu selon une perspective neurofonctionnelle. Les domaines les plus souvent couverts par cette
approche sont habituellement la somatosensation, la motricité, l’orientation spatio-temporelle,
l’agnosie, l’apraxie, l’attention, le langage (expression et compréhension), la mémoire à court terme,
la mémoire à long terme, l’intelligence, les fonctions cognitives supérieures (fonctions frontales) et
les fonctions exécutives. Or, les normes établies pour l’utilisation des épreuves neuropsychologiques
sont faites à partir d’échantillons pris au hasard et donc possiblement hétérogènes sur le plan du
niveau socio-économique. Il se pourrait même que les enfants de niveaux socio-économiques faibles
soient sous-représentés dans ces échantillons normatifs.
But et objectifs
Le but de la présente communication est de vérifier s’il est possible de différencier les enfants
provenant de milieux socio-économiques faibles par rapport à des enfants de milieux plus aisés. Plus
précisément, l’étude vise à vérifier si ces différences se retrouvent dans l’ensemble des fonctions
habituellement couvertes par une évaluation neuropsychologique ou si, au contraire, seulement
certaines fonctions sont davantage influencées par le niveau socio-économique. Enfin, l’étude vise à
recadrer l’utilisation des tests neuropsychologiques auprès de clientèles provenant de milieux socioéconomiques faibles si de telles différences existent entre les enfants.
Méthode
SUJETS
Groupe 1 : Les enfants du groupe 1 (n = 22) ont été recrutés dans les écoles de la région de TroisRivières (Québec, Canada). Ils constituent le groupe des enfants de niveau socio-économique faible.
Les salaires annuels bruts des familles de ces enfants sont tous inférieurs ou égaux à 25 000 $
canadiens. Ce groupe est composé de 12 garçons et 10 filles. L’âge varie de 5 à 11 ans.
Groupe 2 : Les enfants du groupe 2 (n = 36) ont également été recrutés dans les écoles de la région de
Trois-Rivières. Ils constituent le groupe des enfants de niveau socio-économique plus élevé. Le salaire
annuel brut de ces familles est d’au moins 30 000 $ canadiens. Il est composé de 19 garçons et
17 filles. L’âge varie de 5 à 12 ans.
Groupe 3 : Ce groupe (n = 29) est composé d’enfants qui sont en situation de maltraitance
(négligence et abus physique). Ces enfants ont été recrutés par les Centres jeunesse de la Mauricie et
du Centre-du-Québec. Il est composé de 22 garçons et 7 filles. L’âge varie de 5 à 11 ans.
Des analyses de variance et de distribution ont démontré que les trois groupes sont équivalents en ce
qui concerne l’âge, le niveau scolaire et le genre.
– 98 –
Instruments
L’évaluation neuropsychologique couvre l’ensemble des fonctions suivantes : la somatognosie, la
motricité, l’attention, la mémoire à court terme, la mémoire et l’apprentissage verbal et visuel, les
fonctions cognitives supérieures (fonctions frontales), les fonctions exécutives, le langage et
l’intelligence. Le nom des tests utilisés pour chacune des fonctions se retrouve au Tableau 1.
Procédure
L’administration de la batterie de tests neuropsychologiques nécessite environ 180 minutes selon les
enfants. Tous les tests ont été administrés de façon individuelle à tous les enfants et selon le même
ordre. Les enfants ont été évalués dans un local de leur école en deux ou trois rencontres d’environ
90 minutes.
Résultats
Le Tableau 1 présente les moyennes et écart types pour l’ensemble des variables de la batterie
d’évaluation neuropsychologique et ce, pour chacun des trois groupes. Des analyses de variance
(oneway) avec contrastes (test de Scheffe) ont été effectuées pour chacune des variables dépendantes
(résultats aux tests neuropsychologiques). Les résultats de ces analyses se retrouvent également au
Tableau 1.
Tableau 1
Moyennes et écarts types obtenus par les trois groupes à l’ensemble des mesures de l’évaluation neuropsychologique
– 99 –
– 100 –
Interprétation des résultats et discussion
De façon surprenante, les résultats de cette étude démontrent qu’il existe peu de différences entre la
performance des enfants de milieux socio-économiques faibles et ceux de milieux plus élevés. Les
seules fonctions qui se démarquent sur ce plan concernent toutes l’impulsivité/désinhibition. Les
enfants de milieux pauvres sont en effet significativement moins efficaces au test « Knock and Tap »
et au test de la Statut du NEPSY comparativement aux enfants plus à l’aise économiquement.
Ainsi, il semble que le niveau socio-économique influence peu le rendement aux différentes épreuves
neuropsychologiques. Ceci est intéressant par rapport à la mise en garde qui avait été faite au début
de ce texte. Celle-ci devient donc caduque suite aux analyses. Il semble donc possible d’utiliser
les normes des différents tests afin de vérifier si un enfant donné se situe au niveau de la norme de
son groupe d’âge, peu importe son niveau socio-économique, à l’exception de la composante
d’impulsivité soulignée plus haut.
Les résultats ne sont donc pas en accord avec les travaux précédents qui avaient clairement démontré
un effet du niveau socio-économique sur l’intelligence, le langage et autres fonctions cognitives
(Palacio-Quintin, 1997; Forman, 1979; Willis & Pishkin, 1974; Gauthier & Richer, 1977; Gendron et
Palacio-Quintin, 1982; Roy & Palacio-Quintin, 1984; Palacio-Quintin, 1992; Duncan et al, 1994;
Smith et al, 1997; Zill et al, 1995; Korenman et al, 1995; Liaw & Brooks-Gunn, 1994; Smith et al,
1997). Ceci est particulièrement étonnant. En s’appuyant sur l’idée que le niveau socio-économique
est multidimensionnel plutôt qu’unidimensionnel, il est possible de proposer que nos échantillons
ne couvrent pas l’ensemble des caractéristiques liées au niveau socio-économiques faibles des études
précédentes. Ainsi, notre échantillon est composé d’enfants francophones blancs provenant d’une
région relativement homogène sur le plan culturel. Les éléments liés à l’ethnie, souvent inclus dans
les travaux américains, sont évacués de la présente étude. Il y aurait donc lieu de poursuivre cette
étude en approfondissant davantage d’autres composantes pouvant définir le niveau socioéconomique. Dans cette lignée, il est reconnu que certains facteurs de santé rencontrés dans les
milieux socio-économiques faibles participent aux différences obtenues dans les études précédentes.
À titre d’exemple, plusieurs enfants de l’étude de Duncan étaient de petit poids à la naissance et
prématurés. Dans notre étude, il existe un nombre d’enfants prématurés, post maturés ou ayant des
troubles en classe et ce, de façon relativement comparable dans les trois groupes. Il est possible que
ces choix méthodologiques expliquent le peu de différences entre les enfants de niveaux socioéconomiques faible et élevé. Notre étude suggère qu’il faille faire attention à la généralisation des
résultats de telles études selon le milieu dans lequel nous travaillons.
Par ailleurs, il est fort intéressant de noter qu’il importe d’avoir un groupe de sujets témoins appariés
sur le plan du niveau socio-économique lorsque l’on étudie d’autres enfants à risque. Les résultats
démontrent en effet que des portraits différents peuvent être démontrés selon que, par exemple, les
enfants en situation de maltraitance sont comparés à des témoins de niveaux socio-économiques
faible ou élevé. Ainsi, les enfants maltraités ont démontré un rendement significativement inférieur
aux enfants de niveau socio-économique faible et élevé sur le plan de la motricité fine, de l’attention,
de la mémoire à court terme, des fonctions cognitives supérieures (abstraction) (tours et similitudes)
et du langage. Toutefois, les différences du groupe d’enfants en situation de mauvais traitements qui
concernent la mémoire verbale, le calcul arithmétique et le Q.I. estimé ne sont obtenues qu’en
– 101 –
comparaison aux enfants du groupe dont le revenu socio-économique est élevé. Ces résultats invitent
à la prudence et suggèrent de poursuivre la recherche dans ce domaine.
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classes and ages, Perceptual and Motor Skills, 38, 3, 883-890.
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– 103 –
LE RÔLE DES PÈRES DE MILIEUX DÉFAVORISÉS DANS LA PROMOTION
DE LA SANTÉ MENTALE DE LEURS ENFANTS 1, 2
P A R : S ARAH D UFOUR , P H . D .
COORDONNATRICE RECHERCHE
C E N T R E D ’ E X C E L L E N C E P O U R LA P R O T E C T I O N ET LE B I E N - Ê T R E
I N S T I T U T P O U R LE D É V E L O P P E M E N T S O C I A L D E S J E U N E S
DES ENFANTS
Dans une perspective de promotion de la santé mentale chez les enfants, il est essentiel de bien
comprendre le milieu familial et la contribution des pères. En effet, la conception actuelle de la
notion de santé mentale « oblige à prendre en compte non seulement la capacité des personnes de
s’adapter à leur milieu, mais également celle du milieu de fournir les meilleures conditions possibles
pour favoriser le développement optimal de la santé mentale » (Comité de la santé mentale du
Québec, 1994, p. 7). Une meilleure connaissance du point de vue des pères eux-mêmes sur leur rôle
dans la promotion de la santé mentale de leur enfant ouvre la porte à l’élaboration de programmes
mieux ajustés à la réalité et au vocabulaire des individus visés. Néanmoins, à ce jour, peu de
chercheurs se sont intéressés au sens donné à la paternité par les pères eux-mêmes (Lamb, 2000). Des
chercheurs soulignent en outre l’importance de l’étude des pères de milieux défavorisés, dont on
connaît peu la réalité (Cabrera et Peters, 2000; Marsiglio et Cohan, 2000). Les rares recherches auprès
de ces pères mettent l’accent sur des comportements négatifs, comme l’absence du père ou le nonpaiement des pensions alimentaires (Cabrera et Peters, 2000). La présente recherche s’intéresse à la
manière dont les pères d’enfants d’âge préscolaire de milieux défavorisés conçoivent leur rôle dans la
promotion de la santé mentale de leur enfant.
1. Méthodologie
1.1 Participants
Trente pères de familles biparentales, dont au moins un enfant est âgé entre trois et cinq ans,
participent à la recherche. Ils habitent deux quartiers urbains défavorisés appariés à partir du
pourcentage de familles sous le seuil de faible revenu et de la composition ethnique du voisinage. Les
pères participants sont des pères biologiques et des figures paternelles, la notion de figure paternelle
faisant référence à tout homme qui vit avec l’enfant depuis au moins un an. Seuls les pères d’origine
ethnoculturelle québécoise et maîtrisant la langue française ont été invités à participer à l’étude.
1
Cette recherche a été rendue possible en partie grâce à une bourse de formation du programme national de recherche et de développement en
santé (Santé Canada).
2
Une version préliminaire de cette communication a été présentée à Montréal en novembre 2000 par S. Dufour et C. Bouchard au premier
Symposium national sur la place et le rôle du père, dans le cadre des Journées annuelles de santé publique.
– 104 –
1.2 Procédure et instruments de mesure du volet quantitatif
La présente étude comprend deux volets, un premier quantitatif et un second qualitatif. Le premier
volet de la recherche tire profit des données d’une enquête indépendante où 250 parents (pères et
mères) répondaient à une batterie de questionnaires sur leur vie familiale. Suite à l’autorisation de la
Commission d’accès à l’information, la Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec a transmis sur
demande les renseignements nominatifs sur les ménages des secteurs ciblés comptant au moins un
enfant entre zéro et cinq ans. Le recrutement des participants a été réalisé auprès d’un échantillon
représentatif de cette population. Après une lettre avisant la famille de sa visite, une intervieweuse se
présentait en personne à la résidence familiale (taux de participation : 20 %). Les participants étaient
ensuite rencontrés à la maison et répondaient verbalement en face à face et à tour de rôle à une
batterie de questionnaires. Un montant de 20 $ était ensuite remis à la famille en guise de
compensation pour cette entrevue de deux heures.
L’un de ces questionnaires, le Questionnaire montréalais d’engagement paternel (QMEP) couvre
des sphères d’activités paternelles tant directes, comme les soins à l’enfant, qu’indirectes,
comme la planification. Ses 31 items visent l’évaluation de la fréquence absolue ou relative
de tâches ou d’actions accomplies par les pères dans huit dimensions : soins de base,
disponibilité/accompagnement, discipline/socialisation, évocation, planification/initiation,
soutien/affection, jeux et enseignement. La cohérence interne et la stabilité dans le temps sont
satisfaisantes (alpha de Cronbach = 0,82; r = 0,80 au test-retest à un mois d’intervalle). Les
indications de sa validité commencent à être disponibles. Notamment, deux groupes d’experts se
sont prononcés sur sa validité de contenu; la vérification des corrélations entre les réponses de
225 pères au QMEP et des variables associées théoriquement à l’engagement paternel confirme en
outre partiellement les hypothèses, formulées a priori. Enfin, le QMEP n’est pas corrélé à un
instrument de mesure de désirabilité sociale (voir Dufour et al., 1998, pour les étapes de
développement de l’instrument et ses corrélats).
La Mesure du sentiment de compétence parentale (MSCP) fait état de la perception qu’ont les
parents de leur propre compétence. La version utilisée est une adaptation québécoise (Bolté, 1994) de
l’instrument élaboré par Gibaud-Wallston (1977). La MSCP comprend 20 items; chacun d’eux est
évalué à partir d’une échelle de type Likert à six points. La cohérence interne du score global
(alpha = 0,81) et celle des scores aux trois échelles sont acceptables (alpha = 0,78 pour la satisfaction
parentale; 0,74 pour le sentiment d’efficacité; 0,72 pour la motivation/valorisation). La version
originale en langue anglaise est corrélée à une mesure d’estime de soi (r = 0,43; p < 0,01), et la version
modifiée de langue française est corrélée à une échelle d’attitude parentale mesurant le degré de
satisfaction du parent face à son enfant et à sa relation avec lui (r = 0,60). Des experts se sont
prononcés sur la validité de contenu (Bolté, 1994).
1.3 Procédure et protocole d’entrevue du volet qualitatif
Des 250 familles (pères et mères) ayant collaboré à ce premier volet, seuls les 116 pères d’enfants de
3 à 5 ans ayant accepté d’être recontactés constituent le bassin de participants pour le volet qualitatif
de la recherche. La mise en rang percentile des scores des participants au Questionnaire
d’engagement paternel et à la Mesure du sentiment de compétence parentale, complétés lors du
– 105 –
premier volet de l’étude, permettent de créer deux groupes contrastés (échantillon dit à variation
maximale, voir Patton, 1990) : a) un groupe de pères très engagés et ayant un très fort sentiment de
compétence (n = 28, taux de participation de 88 %) et b) un groupe de pères peu engagés ayant un
faible sentiment de compétence (n = 31, taux de participation de 50 %). Les pères sont contactés au
hasard jusqu’à ce que 15 personnes dans chacun des groupes acceptent de participer à l’entrevue3. La
rencontre a lieu à leur domicile ou à l’université, au choix du participant. L’entrevue, d’une durée
moyenne de 45 minutes, est enregistrée sur bande audio. Vingt-cinq dollars sont offerts aux pères en
guise de compensation.
Le protocole d’entrevue combine deux approches : le guide d’entrevue et l’approche standardisée à
questions ouvertes (Patton, 1980). Le protocole d’entrevue a été prétesté auprès de 10 personnes. La
version finale comprend six thèmes : la conception de la santé mentale des enfants, la conception du
rôle paternel, l’appréciation subjective du rôle paternel, les pratiques parentales, la perception du
quartier et enfin leurs demandes d’aide et leurs échanges.
1.4 Analyse des données
L’analyse des données se réalise en deux temps. Le matériel d’entrevue a d’abord été soumis à une
analyse descriptive thématique (voir Dufour, 2001, pour une description détaillée). Elle peut être
qualifiée d’analyse horizontale ou inter participants, dans la mesure où ce sont les réponses de
tous les participants à un même thème d’entrevue qui constituent le matériel analysé. Elle comprend
trois étapes :
(1) L’analyse de contenu (voir L’Écuyer, 1990; Patton, 1990), qui vise à organiser et à simplifier des
données complexes (le discours verbatim des participants) en thèmes ou catégories qui soient à
la fois significatives et gérables. Une grille de codification est élaborée pour chacune des
questions d’entrevues à partir d’une lecture récurrente du matériel d’entrevue.
(2) Le calcul de l’accord inter juges, où le tiers des entrevues sont soumises à un juge indépendant.
Les kappas varient entre 1 et 0,73 pour l’ensemble des questions d’entrevue (kappa
médian = 0,83).
(3) L’extraction des dimensions, qui permet de dégager un concept unificateur synthétique pour
chacun des thèmes d’entrevue. À titre d’illustration, le processus ayant mené à l’extraction de la
dimension « conception de la santé mentale » est décrit dans les prochaines lignes. Suite
à l’analyse de contenu, on constate que les catégories des grilles de codification « critères de
santé mentale » et « buts éducatifs » couvrent des univers conceptuels similaires s’étalant
sur un même continuum allant de l’encouragement de l’enfant à l’expression de
l’individualité/autonomie, d’une part, à l’apprentissage à la conformité aux normes/insertion
dans le milieu, d’autre part. Selon la conception dominante dans leur discours, chaque père se
situe à un de ces pôles ou dans la position mitoyenne.
3
Bien qu’il n’existe pas de règles formelles pour la taille des échantillons qualitatifs, plusieurs chercheurs considèrent la trentaine de participants
suffisante pour une recherche qualitative (Deslauriers, 1991; Miles et Huberman, 1994; Patton, 1980). L’analyse de contenu ayant montré que les
catégories de réponses saturaient, des entrevues complémentaires n’ont pas été jugées nécessaires.
– 106 –
L’élaboration d’une typologie de pères constitue la seconde étape de l’analyse des données. Elle a
pour objectif de dégager des profils de pères éducateurs à la santé mentale en établissant des liens
entre les divers thèmes d’entrevue. La typologie constitue une analyse verticale ou intra-participants,
dans la mesure où c’est l’agencement des réponses au sein d’une même entrevue qui constitue le
matériel analysé. Elle s’élabore en quatre étapes :
(1) L’établissement des profils individuels, qui précise pour chaque participant sa position sur les
six dimensions identifiées à l’étape précédente.
(2) Le calcul du degré d’association entre les participants, degré qui indique à quel point deux
participants se ressemblent ou sont différents sur les dimensions identifiées. Ce degré se situe
entre 0 et 6, 0 signifiant que les deux participants sont différents sur toutes les dimensions et
6 signifiant qu’ils sont semblables sur les six dimensions.
(3) Le regroupement des pères similaires, qui vise à réunir les pères qui se ressemblent le plus
(4, 5 ou 6 comme degré d’association) et à isoler les pères les plus différents (0 et 1 comme degré
d’association).
(4) L’analyse comparative des regroupements de pères, qui permet d’identifier les caractéristiques
dominantes de chaque regroupement de pères.
2. Résultats et discussion
Tel qu’illustré par le Tableau 1, l’analyse des données a permis l’élaboration d’une typologie
comprenant cinq profils regroupés en deux dimensions : les pères réactifs et les pères proactifs.
Tableau 1
Typologie de pères éducateurs à la santé mentale
2.1 Les pères réactifs
Le pater familias, ou père traditionnel, caractérise encore aujourd’hui le rapport à la parentalité d’un
grand nombre d’hommes (Quéniart, 2000; Le Camus et Zaouche-Gaudron, 1998; Pedersen, 1981).
Les rôles parentaux entre le père et la mère sont distincts et complémentaires dans ces familles. Avant
– 107 –
tout pourvoyeur économique, veillant à la sécurité et au bien-être de sa famille, le père traditionnel
appuie sa conjointe qui est la première responsable des soins et de l’éducation des enfants. Ce père
s’engage peu d’une manière directe auprès de ses enfants. Gardien des valeurs associées à la famille
traditionnelle, il représente l’autorité et, conséquemment, la discipline lui revient souvent d’office
alors que la mère prodigue soins et affection. D’une manière générale, les pères réactifs de la présente
étude leur ressemblent par leur faible engagement, par leur sentiment de compétence parental peu
élevé et par le fait qu’ils visent davantage l’insertion dans le milieu et la conformité aux normes pour
leur enfant.
La typologie développée comprend deux profils de pères réactifs : les hommes de famille et les pères
soucieux. Les hommes de famille sont généralement peu engagés et ils se sentent peu compétents dans
leur rôle parental. Leur rôle comprend, outre la disponibilité et l’affection, la socialisation et la
réponse aux besoins de base. Les hommes de famille disposent d’un répertoire assez restreint de
pratiques pour atteindre leurs buts éducatifs auprès de leurs enfants. Ils ne se sentent ni
particulièrement bien, ni particulièrement mal dans leur rôle. Ces pères conçoivent la santé mentale
des enfants soit essentiellement comme de l’insertion dans le milieu et de la conformité aux normes,
soit comme autant comme de l’insertion dans le milieu et de la conformité aux normes que
l’expression de l’individualité et de l’autonomie. Ils perçoivent leur quartier comme accueillant et
favorable au bien-être des enfants. Pour certains d’entre eux, leur rôle paternel n’est pas la source de
grands questionnements ou de difficultés immédiates qui se traduiraient par des demandes d’aide
mais ils connaissent bien les ressources de leur quartier; ils racontent cependant avec fierté les
prouesses de leur enfant à leur entourage (dits les candides). Les autres, hommes de questionnements,
n’hésitent pas à demander de l’aide et ils sont très au fait des ressources de leur environnement (dits
les inquiets).
Les pères soucieux conçoivent le plus fréquemment la santé mentale des enfants en terme d’autonomie
et d’expression de l’individualité. Tel que décrit plus haut, ils sont généralement du type inquiets pour
leurs demandes de soutien dans leur rôle parental. Comme ce participant, plusieurs d’entre eux ne
souhaitent pas imiter le modèle de leur propre père : « Mon père (…) m’a apporté son côté positif et
négatif. Puis moi de la façon que je vois les choses avec mon garçon (…) c’est de lui remettre le
flambeau en meilleur état que je l’ai reçu. (…) Les choses (…) que je savais qu’elles m’ont fait souffrir
ou que là je le sais qu’elles sont négatives, j’essaie de ne pas lui transmettre ça parce que je sais que ça
peut (…) nuire à son épanouissement personnel puis professionnel ». Les pères soucieux ne se sentent
ni particulièrement bien, ni particulièrement mal dans leur rôle parental. Ils considèrent enfin que
leur quartier est néfaste pour le bien-être des enfants.
2.2 Les pères proactifs
Au-delà du modèle traditionnel, une autre manière de s’engager auprès de leur enfant s’offre
maintenant aux pères. Un haut degré d’engagement direct auprès de l’enfant ainsi qu’un partage
équitable des responsabilités domestiques et éducatives avec la mère caractérisent ce qu’il est
convenu d’appeler les « nouveaux pères », les « pères engagés », les « pères poules » ou les « hommes
roses » (Quéniart, 2000; Pedersen, 1981). Alors que les pères réactifs de la présente étude ressemblent
aux pères traditionnels identifiés dans les écrits scientifiques, les pères proactifs ressemblent aux
nouveaux pères. Ils regroupent presque tous les pères engagés et ayant un fort sentiment de
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compétence de l’échantillon, la majorité des candides et tous les pratico-pratiques (des hommes concrets
dont les demandes d’aide sont motivées par la recherche d’une solution à des difficultés
immédiates). Les seuls pères dont la définition du rôle comprend à la fois l’affection, la disponibilité
et la socialisation sont proactifs. Enfin, ce groupe inclut tous les pères qui rapportent une
appréciation subjective très positive de leur rôle.
Trois profils de pères proactifs se dégagent des analyses : les pères accommodants, les pères guides et les
pères pragmatiques. Les pères accommodants conçoivent la santé mentale des enfants soit essentiellement
comme de l’insertion dans le milieu et de la conformité aux normes, soit comme autant comme de
l’insertion que l’expression de l’individualité et de l’autonomie. Ils sont des candides dans leurs
échanges et leurs demandes d’aide concernant leur rôle parental. Ils conçoivent leur rôle
exclusivement en terme de disponibilité et d’affection, responsabilités auxquelles certains pères
ajoutent la réponse aux besoins de base de l’enfant. Les pères accommodants sont généralement très
engagés, ils se sentent très compétents dans leur rôle parental et ils vivent particulièrement bien ce
rôle. Ils considèrent aussi qu’ils doivent constituer des modèles pour leurs enfants.
Fortement engagés, les pères guides se sentent très compétents dans leur rôle parental et ils vivent
particulièrement bien ce rôle. Ces pères conçoivent la santé mentale des enfants surtout en terme
d’autonomie et d’expression de l’individualité. Ils disposent d’un éventail relativement diversifié de
pratiques pour exercer leur rôle parental. Ces pères se conçoivent comme des conseillers pour leur
enfant : « être père, c’est (…) être un guide et non pas le diriger ou le laisser aller complètement ». Leur
genre d’échanges et demandes d’aide en font des pratico-pratiques ou des candides. Les pères de ce profil
ont une réflexion étoffée sur leur rôle parental et ils présentent une bonne capacité d’introspection.
Enfin, ces hommes perçoivent leur quartier ni comme particulièrement favorable, ni comme
particulièrement néfaste au bien-être des enfants.
Les pères pragmatiques utilisent un éventail fort diversifié de pratiques éducatives. Plusieurs précisent
qu’ils ne veulent pas reproduire le modèle de leur propre père. Ils perçoivent aussi leur quartier soit
neutre, soit néfaste pour le bien-être des enfants. Leur rôle parental se définit comme la disponibilité,
l’affection et la socialisation. Certains soulignent l’importance d’être un modèle pour ses enfants.
L’équité au sein de la fratrie constitue une autre préoccupation pour certains pères pragmatiques. Ils
sont soit neutres, soit positifs dans leur appréciation subjective de leur rôle. Leurs demandes d’aide
et leurs échanges sont caractéristiques des pratico-pratiques et des candides. Enfin, pour les pères de ce
profil, la santé mentale d’un enfant est constituée autant par l’insertion dans le milieu et la
conformité aux normes que par l’expression de l’individualité et l’autonomie.
2.3 Vers un modèle de la genèse du rôle paternel en milieux défavorisés
Les différents profils de pères évoqués peuvent enfin être vus sous l’angle de leur niveau de
développement. La perception que les pères ont de leur rôle varie en complexité, aussi bien en ce qui
a trait aux dimensions qu’ils y reconnaissent qu’aux actions qu’ils rapportent (Figure 1). Cela n’est
pas sans rappeler la définition du développement humain proposée par Bronfenbrenner (1979,
p. 27) : « human development is the process through which the growing person acquires a more
extended differented, and valid conception of the ecological environment, and becomes motivated
– 109 –
and able to engage in activities that reveal the properties of, sustain, or restructure that environment
at levels of similar or greater complexity in form and content ».
Les divers profils présentent donc une complexification et un sentiment de maîtrise de
l’environnement croissants; ils évoluent en outre d’une manière analogue aux transformations
historiques du rôle paternel (voir Lamb, 1995). Cette transformation implique des changements
durables dans les caractéristiques de la paternité. Elle constitue un processus dynamique non
linéaire, avec des périodes de transition (représentées par les boucles à la Figure 1), suivies de période
de stabilité dans la conception dominante, suivies d’une nouvelle transition, etc. Ces transitions
impliquent des questionnements, des chocs de valeurs et elles sont souvent accompagnées de
changements sociaux importants, par exemple l’entrée massive des femmes sur le marché du travail.
Figure 1
Modèle de la genèse du rôle paternel en milieux défavorisés
Selon le modèle proposé, les diverses étapes de la genèse du rôle paternel impliquent une vision de
plus en plus complexe du rôle paternel ainsi qu’un sentiment de maîtrise de plus en plus élevé sur
l’environnement. En appliquant ces principes pour spéculer sur la prochaine transformation du rôle
paternel, on peut envisager une nouvelle génération de pères : les pères politisés, caractérisés par leur
empowerment psychologique. Selon Zimmerman et Warschausky (1998, p. 6), « empowered
individuals would be expected to feel a sense of control, understand their sociopolitical
environment, and become active in efforts to exert control ». En fait, de tels pères existent déjà au
sein de l’échantillon de la présente étude. Par exemple, un père a mobilisé des adultes du quartier afin
d’aménager une aire de jeux conviviale et sécuritaire pour les enfants du voisinage. Particulièrement
en milieux défavorisés, cette perception de son propre pouvoir en tant que parent semble une
– 110 –
piste prometteuse pour diminuer les effets potentiellement néfastes de l’environnement sur le
développement des enfants
Conclusion
En s’intéressant au rôle actif que les pères se donnent dans la promotion du bien-être de leur enfant,
la présente étude s’inscrit clairement dans le cadre théorique dit de la « paternité générative » (voir
Hawkins et Dollahite, 1997; Snarey, 1993). Les résultats suggèrent aussi qu’il n’existe pas une seule,
mais des sous-cultures de la paternité en milieu urbain défavorisé. Ces pères ne constituent pas un
groupe homogène, ce qui supporte la proposition selon laquelle il existerait, outre les variations
transculturelles, des variations intraculturelles dans la conception du rôle paternel.
En permettant l’identification de divers types d’éducateurs à la santé mentale, les résultats de cette
recherche fournissent enfin quelques pistes intéressantes pour la promotion de l’engagement
paternel auprès de pères de milieux défavorisés mais sans difficultés particulières. Une meilleure
connaissance des cibles vers lesquelles se dirigent les efforts de promotion ou d’éducation permet en
effet de planifier plus efficacement les interventions. Des recherches subséquentes pourraient
vérifier si les profils identifiés se retrouvent dans d’autres contextes.
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Bronfenbrenner, U. 1979. « The Ecology of Human Development : Experiments by Nature and Design ». Cambridge : Harvard
University Press.
Cabrera, N. J., C. S. Tamis-LeMonda, R. H. Bradley, S. Hofferth et M. E. Lamb. 2000. « Fatherhood in the Twenty-First Century ».
Child Development, vol. 71, no. 1, p. 127-136.
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Snarey, J. 1993. How Fathers Care for the Next Generation : a Four-Decade Study. Cambridge : Harvard University Press.
Zimmerman, M. A., et S. Warschausky. 1998. « Empowerment Theory for Rehabilitation Research : Conceptual and
Methodological Issues ». In Rehabilitation Psychology, vol. 43, no. 1, p. 3-16.
– 112 –
THE CONTRIBUTION OF FATHERS FROM DISADVANTAGED
NEIGHBOURHOODS TO THEIR CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH 1, 2
B Y : S ARAH D UFOUR , P H . D .
RESEARCH COORDINATOR
C E N T R E OF E X C E L L E N C E F O R C H I L D W E L F A R E
I N S T I T U T E OF R E S E A R C H F O R S O C I A L D E V E L O P M E N T
MONTREAL , Q UEBEC , C ANADA
OF
CHILDREN
AND
YOUTH (IRDS)
In order to effectively promote children’s mental health, it is essential to have a good understanding
of the family setting and the contribution of fathers, since the present day conception of the notion
of mental health “requires we take into account not only the individuals’ ability to adapt to their
milieu, but also that of the milieu to provide the best conditions possible to contribute to the
optimal development of the individuals’ mental health” (Comité de la santé mentale du Québec,
1994, p. 7). A better understanding of the fathers own view of their contribution to their child’s
mental health will open the door to the development of programmes better adapted to the reality
and vocabulary of these very individuals. However, to this day, very few researchers have been
interested in the meaning fathers themselves give to fatherhood (Lamb, 2000). On the other hand,
some researchers have already mentioned the importance of studying fathers from disadvantaged
neighbourhoods, since we know very little about their reality (Cabrera and Peters, 2000; Marsiglio
and Cohan, 2000). The rare researches on these fathers focus on negative behaviours, such as the
father’s absence or the father’s refusal to pay alimony (Cabrera and Peters, 2000). The present
research is interested in the way in which fathers of pre-schoolers from disadvantaged
neighbourhoods view their contribution to their child’s mental health.
1. Methodology
1.1 Participants
Thirty fathers from families with two parents living together and with at least one child between the
ages of three and five took part in the research. They live in two disadvantaged urban
neighbourhoods matched based on the percentage of families living below the level of low income
and the ethnic composition of the neighbourhood. The participating fathers are biological fathers
and father figures; the notion of father figure refers to any man who has been living with the child
for at least one year. Only fathers of Quebec ethnocultural origins mastering the French language
were invited to take part in the study.
1
This research was made possible in part by Health Canada through a National Health Research and Development Program (NHRDP) Research
Training Award granted to the author.
2
A preliminary version of this paper was presented in Montréal in November 2000 by S. Dufour and C. Bouchard at the first “Symposium
national sur la place et le rôle du père”, during the “Journées annuelles de santé publique”.
– 113 –
1.2 Procedure and measurement instruments used in the quantitative segment
The present study includes two segments, the first being quantitative and the second qualitative.
The first segment of the research draws on data of an independent study where 250 parents (fathers
and mothers) answered a series of questionnaires about their family life. Following the authorization
from the Commission d’accès à l’information, the Régie de l’assurance-maladie du Québec sent
upon request nominal information on the households of the target sectors with at least one child
between the ages of 0 and 5. Participant recruitment was based on a representative sample of this
population. Following a letter notifying the family of a visit, an interviewer would show up in person
at the family home (participation rate: 20 %). Participants were then met at home and were asked
each of their turn to verbally answer a series of questionnaires. Families then received $20 as a
compensation for this two-hour interview.
One of these questionnaires, the Montreal Father Involvement Questionnaire (MFIQ) covers direct
(e.g.: childcare) as well as indirect (e.g.: planning) areas of paternal activities. The 31 items aimed at
assessing the absolute or relative frequency of chores or actions carried out by fathers in eight areas:
basic care, availability/accompanying, discipline/socialization, evocation, planning/initiation,
support/affection, games and teaching. The internal coherence and stability in time are satisfactory
(alpha of Cronbach = 0,82; r = 0,80 at the test-retest one month later). The indications of its validity
are becoming available. Two expert groups have notably expressed themselves on the validity of its
content; the verification of the correlation between the answers from 225 fathers to the MFIQ and
the variables theoretically associated to father involvement partially confirm the hypotheses,
formulated a priori. Lastly, the MFIQ is not correlated to an instrument of measurement of social
desirability (see Dufour and al., 1998, for the steps in the development of the instrument and its
correlates).
The Measure of the Sense of Competence in Parents (MSCP) reports the perception parents have of
their own competence. The version used in this study is a Quebec adaptation (Bolté, 1994) of the
instrument developed by Gibaud-Wallston (1977). The MSCP includes 20 items; each one being
assessed using a Likert type six-point scale. The internal coherence of the overall score (alpha = 0,81)
and that of the scores on the three scales are acceptable (alpha = 0,78 for parenting satisfaction;
0,74 for the feeling of efficiency; 0,72 for the motivation/encouragement). The original English
version is correlated to a measure of self-esteem (r = 0,43; p < 0,01), and the modified French version
is correlated to a scale of parental attitude measuring the degree of the parent’s satisfaction with
her/his child and her/his relationship with the child (r = 0,60). Experts expressed their opinion on
the validity of the contents (Bolté, 1994).
1.3 Procedure and interview protocol for the qualitative segment
Out of the 250 families (fathers and mothers) who collaborated to the first segment, only the
116 fathers of children between the ages of 3 and 5, who accepted to be contacted again, constituted
the pool of participants for the qualitative segment of the research. The percentile ranking of
participants’ scores in the Father Involvement Questionnaire and in the Measure of the Sense of
Competence in Parents, completed during the first segment of the study, allowed for the creation of
two contrast groups (maximal variation sample see Patton, 1990): a) a group of fathers who are very
– 114 –
involved and have a strong sense of competence (n = 28, participation rate of 88 %) and b) a group of
fathers who are very little involved and who have a low sense of competence (n = 31, participation
rate of 50 %). Fathers were contacted randomly until 15 individuals from each group accepted to take
part in the interview3. Participants could choose to do the interview at their home or at the
University. The 45-minute interviews were taped on audiocassettes. Twenty-five dollars was given to
the fathers to compensate them.
The interview protocol combined two approaches: the interview guide and the standardised
approach with open questions (Patton, 1980). The interview protocol was pre-tested with
10 individuals. The final version included six themes: the conception of children’s mental health,
the conception of the paternal role, the subjective appreciation of the paternal role, the parenting
practices, the perception of the neighbourhood and lastly the requests for help.
1.4 Data Analysis
Data analysis was done in two parts. Firstly, the interview material underwent a descriptive thematic
analysis (see Dufour, 2001, for a detailed description). It can be qualified as a horizontal analysis or
an inter-participant analysis, since it is the answers from all participants to one same interview
theme that constitute the material analysed. It includes three steps:
(1) Content analysis (see L’Écuyer, 1990; Patton, 1990), which aims at organizing and simplifying
complex data (participants verbatim discourse) into themes or categories that are meaningful
and manageable. A codification chart was elaborated for each interview question, based on a
recurring reading of interview material.
(2) Inter-judge agreement calculation, where one third of the interviews are presented to an
independent judge. Kappa varies between 1 and 0,73 for interview questions as a whole (median
kappa = 0,83).
(3) Extracting aspects is a process through which a unifying synthetic concept for each of the
interview themes is identified. By way of illustration, the process leading to the extraction of the
aspect of the “conception of mental health” is described below. Following a content analysis,
one notes that the categories of the codification charts “criteria of mental health” and
“educational goals” cover similar conceptual universes spanning over one same continuum
starting from child encouragement to the expression of individuality/autonomy, on one part,
and to the learning to comply with norms/social insertion, on the other part. According to the
conception dominating their discourse, each father positions himself at one of these poles or
somewhere in between.
The establishing of a father typology makes up the second stage of the data analysis. Its objective is
to identify the profile of fathers’ contributors to their child’s mental health through links between
various interview themes. The typology constitutes a vertical or intra-participant analysis, whereby it
3
Although there is no official rule regarding the size of qualitative samples, many researchers consider thirty participants to be sufficient for a
qualitative research (Deslauriers, 1991; Miles et Huberman, 1994; Patton, 1980). The content analysis having shown that the categories of
answers were saturated, further interviews were not deemed necessary.
– 115 –
is the organisation of the answers from one same interview that comprises the material analysed. It
is divided into four steps:
(1) Establishing individual profiles, which identifies each participant’s position on the six aspects
identified during the previous stage.
(2) Calculation of the degree of association between participants. This indicates to what degree
two participants are similar or different, according to the aspects identified. The degree varies
between 0 and 6, 0 meaning both participants are different on all aspects and 6 meaning that
participants are similar on all six aspects.
(3) Grouping of similar fathers, which aims at grouping fathers who are most similar (a degree of
association of 4, 5 or 6) and at isolating fathers who differ the most (a degree of association of
0 and 1).
(4) Comparative analysis of the groupings of fathers, which allows for the identification of the
dominating characteristics in each grouping of fathers.
2. Results and discussion
As illustrated in Chart 1, the data analysis has allowed for the development of a typology that
includes five profiles divided into two classifications: reactive fathers and proactive fathers.
Chart 1
Typology of fathers contributors to mental health
2.1 Reactive fathers
In our days and times the pater familias, or traditional father, still characterises the way in which a
great number of men relate to fatherhood (Quéniart, 2000; Le Camus and Zaouche-Gaudron, 1998;
Pedersen, 1981). Paternal and maternal roles are distinct and complementary in these families. The
traditional father, above all a provider who looks after the family’s safety and well-being, supports
his spouse who is primarily responsible for the children’s care and education. This type of father is
very little involved in a direct fashion with his children. Guardian of values related to the traditional
family, he represents authority and, consequently, is responsible for discipline while the mother gives
– 116 –
care and affection. Generally speaking, the reactive fathers of the present study resemble him in their
lack of involvement, in their low sense of parental competence and in the fact that they give greater
importance to social insertion and the compliance with norms for their children.
The typology developed comprises two profiles: family men and concerned fathers. Family men are
generally little involved and have a low sense of competence in their parental role. Their role
includes, asides from availability and affection, socialization and satisfying basic needs. Family men
have a limited range of practices to reach the educational goals they have set for their children. They
do not feel especially good or bad in their role. These fathers perceive their children’s mental health
essentially as social insertion and compliance with norms, or as much as social insertion and
compliance with norms as the expression of individuality and autonomy. They see their
neighbourhood as friendly and favourable to their children’s well-being. To some of them, their
paternal role is not a source of questioning or immediate difficulties which would be translated into
requests for help, however they are aware of the resources available in their neighbourhood and they
talk about their child’s feats with pride to the people around them (they are referred to as candid).
The others, men who question themselves, do not hesitate to ask for help and they are very aware of
the resources in their environment (they are they are referred to as worried).
Concerned fathers most frequently perceive their children’s mental health in terms of autonomy and
the expression of individuality. Such as described above, they are generally the worried type as by their
request for support in their parental role. Like this participant, many of them do not want to
reproduce the model of their own father: “My father (…) brought me both his positive and negative
sides. For my part, the way I see things with my son (…) I want to hand him on the torch in a better
state then it was when I received it. (…) Things (…) that I knew had made me suffer or that I now
know are negative, I try not to repeat with him because I know they can (…) harm his personal and
professional growth”. Concerned fathers do not feel especially good or bad in their parental role.
They consider their neighbourhood as harmful for their children’s well-being.
2.2 Proactive fathers
Beyond the traditional model, men now have the choice of another way of being present with their
child. A high degree of direct involvement with the child as well as a fair sharing of domestic and
educational responsibilities with the mother are what characterize what we call “new fathers”,
“committed fathers”, “father hens” or “house husbands” (hommes roses) (Quéniart, 2000; Pedersen,
1981). While the reactive fathers of the present study resembled the traditional fathers described in
scientific literature, the proactive fathers resemble the new fathers. They include almost all the
involved fathers with a strong sense of parental competence in the sample, most of the candids and
all the practical fathers (practical minded men whose requests for help are motivated by the need for a
solution for present difficulties). Only the fathers for whom the definition of their role includes
affection, availability and socialization all together are proactive. Finally, this group includes all
fathers who have a very positive subjective appreciation of their role.
Three profiles of proactive fathers emerge from the analyses: accommodating fathers, guiding fathers and
pragmatic fathers. Accommodating fathers perceive their children’s mental health essentially as social
insertion and compliance with norms, or as much as social insertion and compliance with norms as
– 117 –
the expression of individuality and autonomy. Their discourse is that of candids and their requests for
help regard their parental role. They perceive their role exclusively in terms of availability and
affection, responsibility to which some fathers add satisfying their child’s basic needs.
Accommodating fathers are generally very involved, they have a high sense of parental competence
and they feel particularly good in this role. They also deem that they must be a model for their
children.
Highly involved, guiding fathers feel very competent in their parental role and feel particularly good in
this role. These fathers perceive their children’s mental health mostly in terms of autonomy and the
expression of individuality. They dispose of an array of relatively diverse practices in the exercise of
their parental role. These fathers see themselves as advisors for their children: “being a father is (…)
being a guide and not directing him nor leaving him to himself completely.”. Their type of discourse
or requests for help make them practical men or candids. Fathers with this type of profile have a
meaningful reflection about their parental role and they present a good capacity for introspection.
Lastly, these men see their neighbourhood as not being particularly favourable nor particularly
harmful for their children’s well-being.
Pragmatic fathers use a wide array of very diversified educational practices. Many say that they do not
want to duplicate the model of their own father. They see their neighbourhood as neutral, or as
harmful for their children’s well-being. Their parental role is defined as availability, affection and
socialization. Some stress the importance of being a model for their children. Fairness among
siblings is another concern for some pragmatic fathers. They are either neutral or positive in the
subjective appreciation of their role. Their requests for help and their discourse are characteristic of
the practical men and of the candids. Lastly, fathers with this profile view their children’s mental health
as much as social insertion and compliance with norms as the expression of individuality and
autonomy.
2.3 Towards a genesis model of the paternal role in disadvantaged neighbourhoods
The different father profiles aforementioned can also be seen from the viewpoint of their level of
development. The perception that fathers have of their role varies in complexity, as much in the
aspects they recognise in it as in the actions they mention (Figure 1). Which reminds us of the
definition of human development proposed by Bronfenbrenner (1979, p. 27): “human development
is the process through which the growing person acquires a more extended differented, and valid
conception of the ecological environment, and becomes motivated and able to engage in activities
that reveal the properties of, sustain, or restructure that environment at levels of similar or greater
complexity in form and content”.
The different profiles therefore present increasing complexity as well as a growing feeling of control
over the environment; moreover they evolve in a way that is analogue to the historical
transformations of the paternal role (see Lamb, 1995). This transformation implies durable changes
in the characteristics of fatherhood. It is made up of a dynamic non-linear process, with transition
periods (represented by the loops in Figure 1), followed by periods of stability in the dominating
conception, followed by another transition, etc. These transitions involve questioning, value clashes
– 118 –
and are often accompanied by important social changes, such as when women massively joined the
work force.
Figure 1
Genesis model of the paternal role in disadvantaged neighbourhoods
According to the suggested model, the various steps in the genesis of the paternal role imply a more
and more complex vision of the paternal role as well as an increased sense of control over the
environment. By applying these principals to speculate about the next transformation of the
paternal role, one can envisage a new generation of fathers: politicised fathers, characterized by their
psychological empowerment. According to Zimmerman and Warschausky (1998, p. 6), “empowered
individuals would be expected to feel a sense of control, understand their sociopolitical
environment, and become active in efforts to exert control”. As a matter of fact, such fathers are
already present in the sample of this study. For example, one father mobilized the adults of the
neighbourhood to lay out a safe and kid-friendly playground for the children of the neighbourhood.
This perception of empowerment as a parent, especially in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, seems to
be a promising lead for the decrease of potentially negative influences of the environment on child
development.
Conclusion
In focusing on the active roles fathers take on in the contribution to their children’s mental health,
the present study clearly falls within the theoretical framework of “generative fathering” (see
Hawkins and Dollahite, 1997; Snarey, 1993). The results also suggest that there is not one single, but
many sub-cultures of fatherhood in disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods. These fathers do not
form a homogenous group, which supports the suggestion according to which there exists
– 119 –
intracultural variations, asides from the transcultural variations in the conception of the paternal
role.
In identifying different types of contributors to mental health, the results of this research finally
provide interesting starting points for the promotion of father involvement with fathers from
disadvantaged neighbourhoods without any particular difficulties. A better understanding of the
targets at which the promotional or educational efforts are aimed, allows for a more efficient
planning of interventions. Subsequent researches could verify if the profiles identified are found in
any other contexts.
References
Bolté, C. 1994. “L’évolution du sentiment de compétence parentale chez les nouveaux parents d’enfants nés prématurés”.
Unpublished master’s thesis, Québec, Université Laval.
Bronfenbrenner, U. 1979. “The Ecology of Human Development : Experiments by Nature and Design”. Cambridge: Harvard
University Press.
Cabrera, N. J., C. S. Tamis-LeMonda, R. H. Bradley, S. Hofferth and M. E. Lamb. 2000. “Fatherhood in the Twenty-First Century”.
Child Development, vol. 71, no. 1, p. 127-136.
Cabrera, N. J., and H. E. Peters. 2000. “Public Policies and Father Involvement”. Marriage & Family Review, vol. 29, no. 2/3, p.
295-314.
Comité de la santé mentale du Québec. 1994. Recommandations pour développer et enrichir la politique de santé mentale. Sainte-Foy :
Dufour, S. 2001. “La santé mentale des enfants de milieux défavorisés. Conceptions, pratiques et profils de pères.” Unpublished
doctorate thesis, Montréal, Université du Québec à Montréal.
Dufour, S., C. Bolté, J. Bégin, D. Paquette and C. Bouchard. 1998. The Montreal Father Involvement Questionnaire: Development and
Preliminary Psychometric Properties. Interactive paper presented on posters at the XV conference of the International Society for the
Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD), Berne, July 1998.
Gibaud-Wallston, J. A. 1977. Self-Esteem and Situational Stress: Factors Related to the Sense of Competence in New Parents. Unpublished
doctorate thesis, Georges Peabody College of Teachers, University of Rhode Island.
Griswold, R. L. 1997. “Generative Fathering: a Historical Perspective”. In Generative Fathering. Beyond Deficit Perspectives, under the
dir. of A. J. Hawkins and D. C. Dollahite, p. 71-86. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Hawkins, A. J., and D. C. Dollahite. 1997. “Beyond the Role-Inadequacy Perspective of Fathering”. In Generative Fathering. Beyond
Deficit Perspectives, under the dir. of A. J. Hawkins and D. C. Dollahite, p. 3-16. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
L’Écuyer, R. 1990. Méthodologie de l’analyse développementale de contenu. Méthode GPS et concept de soi. Sillery (Québec) : Presses de
l’Université du Québec.
Lamb, M. E. 1995. “The Changing Roles of Fathers”. In Becoming a Father, under the dir. of J. L. Shapiro, M. J. Diamond and M.
Greenberg, p. 18-35. New York: Springer.
Le Camus, J., and C. Zaouche-Gaudron. 1998. “La présence du père auprès du jeune enfant : de l’implication accrue à l’implication
congrue”. Psychiatrie de l’enfant, vol. XLI, no. 1, p. 297-319.
Marsiglio, W., and M. Cohan. 2000. “Contextualizing Father Involvement and Paternal Influence: Sociological and Qualitative
Themes”. Marriage & Family Review, vol. 29, no. 2/3, p. 75-95.
Patton, M. Q. 1980. Qualitative Evaluation Methods. Beverly Hills: Sage.
Patton, M. Q. 1990. Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods (Second Edition). Newbury Park: Sage.
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Pedersen, F. A. 1981. “Father Influences Viewed in a Family Context”. In Changing Role of the Father in Child Development, Second
Edition, under the dir. of M. E. Lamb, p. 295-317. New York: Wiley.
Quéniart, A. 2000. “Qui sont les pères d’aujourd’hui ?”. Interface, vol. XXI, no. 1, p. 35-41.
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– 121 –
PARENTAL ALIENATION SYNDROME AND ITS IMPACT ON CHILD POVERTY
B Y : M ARIA S TERGIOU , M . A .
DOCTORAL CANDIDATE
D E P A R T M E N T OF E D U C A T I O N A L
MC GILL UNIVERSITY
AND
COUNSELLING PSYCHOLOGY
Introduction
According to Richard Gardner (2001), Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) is a disorder that arises
in the context of child-custody disputes. Gardner defines PAS as a “primary manifestation in the
child’s campaign of denigration against the parent, a campaign that has no justification.” Gardner
goes on to that PAS “results from the combination of a programming (brainwashing) parent’s
indoctrinations and the child’s own contributions to the vilification of the target parent. When true
parental abuse and/or neglect is present the child’s animosity may be justified, and so the parental
alienation syndrome diagnosis is not applicable” (p. xix). This disorder can be classified as mild,
moderate, or severe, with the moderate level being the most common. The mild form is the least
harmful; the severe form borders on paranoia with delusions of persecution and other irrational
fears.
An in-depth examination as to how PAS impacts and/or leads to child poverty in Canada is a
necessary one, for it will address the question does PAS impact and/or lead to child poverty? This is an
important question within the academic realm of psychology, education, as well as economics, for
the psychological dynamics within a family may impact and/or impact economic stability.
Therefore, in order to address this issue, a definition of poverty will be provided, as well as Canadian
statistics on poverty. Then, a further look into PAS and how Canadian families have been affected by
PAS will be looked at. Finally, it will be concluded that certain family dynamics may lead to PAS, and
this can then impact and/or lead to the depletion of the families’ resources, and thus child poverty.
Poverty in Canada
The Luxembourg Income Study defines poverty as an individual who is living below the poverty line
who has an income of less than 50% after the average salary, taxes, and transfers (Half of solo
mothers…, 2002). These individuals many times have families to support, which may make the
financial situation of the family more difficult to deal with.
Even though the Luxembourg Income Study defines a person with poverty as an individual who is
considered to be living at or below the poverty line, there is no single definition of child poverty: that
is, these children come from either two-parent or single-parent families (Half of solo mothers…,
2002). However, in all industrialized nations for which 1990s information is available, children in
single-mother families are at a greater risk of poverty. For instance, in Australia, Canada, and the
United States, over 50% of children in single-mother families are living below the Luxembourg
Income Study definition of poverty. These three countries have a greater chance of having children
– 122 –
in poverty when they come from single-mother families. Not only are they more likely to be poor, but
they are more likely to be in poverty for an extended period of time, and their families are more likely
to live deep in poverty.
According to the most frequently used way of counting individuals who are at or below the poverty
line in Canada, there were in 1995 (the last year for which this type of information was available)
5 million poor people in Canada or 17% of the population. This comprised 1.5 million children,
600,000 seniors (termed ‘elderly’ by Statistics Canada), and 3 million other adults (Barriers to the
Alleviation of Poverty in Canada, 2002).
Child Poverty in Canada is a subject that is much discussed and debated. The National Council of
Welfare has reported extensively on the negative effect poverty has on children and their families
(Child Poverty Profile…, 2002). Good health and development during childhood are amongst the
most important factors in making sure that people grow up healthy enough to learn, find work, raise
families and participate fully in society for all of their lives. Children in low-income families s have
higher risks of poor health and poor development outcomes than do children in middle-income and
high-income families. These problems of child poverty were recognized and were hopefully to be
remedied by the Canadian government. In November 1989, all parties in the House of Commons
voted unanimously to work to eliminate child poverty by the year 2000. Eight years later, child
poverty levels had grown by 46%. Canada has a growing rate of child poverty, as is evident in the
following statistics (Children and Poverty, 2002):
◆
The number of poor children living in Canada has increased by 428,000 since 1989.
◆
Canada has the second highest child poverty rate when compared with 17 other industrialized
nations around the world, second only to the US.
◆
68% more Canadian children live in families needing social assistance today than in 1989.
◆
A child under 18 is more likely to be poor in this country than an adult Canadian
◆
Approximately 25% of poor children live in families where parents are employed full year,
full time.
◆
50% of children living below the poverty line belong to single-mother families.
Child poverty is an indicator of the hardships experienced by an increasing number of Canadian
families. Children are poor because their parents are poor. For this reason, any serious national
strategy to reduce child poverty must address several problems. This paper focuses on how divorce
may impact or lead to child poverty.
Parental Alienation Syndrome
“Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) is a term to describe a new form of psychiatric disorder, rarely
seen, culminating in the emotional abuse of children” (Cartwright, 2002, p. 1). It combines the
programming (or ‘brainwashing’) of a child or children by one parent in an attempt to denigrate the
other (usually non-custodial) parent with the self-created contributions made by the child to
support the alienating parent (Gardner, 1985). PAS results from the attempt by one parent, usually
the custodial parent, to behave in such a way as to alienate the child or children from the other
– 123 –
parent. PAS can evolve from something minor such as avoiding to take clothes or toys from the
alienated parent’s home, top something more irrational such as naming “daddy’s girlfriend a
whore”, or to the extreme by having the alienated parent attempt to have the other parent lose
custody.
This emotional abuse of the child is a “serious, pervasive, and growing form of abuse often
misunderstood or disregarded by the courts, lawyers, or by many mental health professionals.
Because of this, permanent estrangement of PAS children from their lost parents may become the
result” (p. 1). PAS is, therefore, a syndrome which is developed by a bad Divorce Act and fostered by
a divorce arena of lawyers, judges, social workers, counsellors, psychologists, psychiatrists, and
guardians of children” (p. 1). Not only are these children victims of the Divorce Act and the divorce
industry, they may also see nothing wrong with hurting and rejecting one of their parents,
sometimes permanently (Carwtight, 2002).
Both mothers and fathers are susceptible to becoming alienators, and being alienated by their
children from the custodial parent. Also, it is not simply the parent who is doing the brainwashing
against the other parent. The children’s own scenarios of denigration often contribute and
complement the deprecation of the parent who is being alienated. Hence, PAS refers to both these
contributions to the disorder, the parent being alienated from the child by the other parent, as well
as the child’s own alienation of the ‘hated’ parent (Gardner, 1998).
With PAS on the rise, so are numerous court hearings and mental health counselling sessions. The
reason is that parents fight for custody within the judicial system and this becomes more lengthy
when PAS is an issue. This is because the alienating parent attempts to show the court how bad an
individual the alienated parent is. Thus, more mental health counselling is on the rise, for,
depending on the type of PAS, both parents as well as the child may seek professional help in order
to alleviate the impact PAS has left on the divorced family. The question now is, is child poverty and
PAS, a psychiatric disorder which is defined as systematically brainwashing children from one parent
in order to reject the other parent? PAS may very well lead to child poverty. The rational behind this
is that the divorced family’s resources many times goes towards paying lawyers, as well as mental
health professionals. Coupled with the added stress of dealing with PAS, a syndrome that many
divorced families are afflicted with, this would further deplete the family’s resources for more time,
energy, and money would go towards lawyers and mental health professionals. The depletion of the
family’s resources, because of PAS, has several negative consequences:
◆
The family’s standard of living would decrease. This can impact the livelihood of educational
opportunities, nourishment, or to the more extreme, bankruptcy.
◆
The time and energy the parents have towards their child is depleted for it is taken up by court
dates and counselling.
Conclusion
There is very little current literature which links PAS and child poverty. Instead, most of the research
that is currently being conducted focuses on PAS, for recognition of PAS has come slowly
(Cartwright, 2002). PAS has not been recognized within the DSM, which is the Diagnostic and
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Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association, the
main diagnostic reference by the Mental Health professionals in the United States of America
(DSM-IV Diagnostic Criteria…, 2002). The DSM is the Diagnostic Criteria for the most common
mental disorders. Since PAS has not been considered by the DSM as a mental health disorder a
countless number of “lawyers and mental health professionals continue to deny that such a
syndrome exists, with their primary reason being that it is not found in the DSM-IV” (Cartwright,
2002, p. 4), the DSM-IV being the most current publication of the DSM. Therefore, it is necessary to
bring to the attention of researchers, psychologists, those in the legal system, mental health
professionals, as well as educators the impact of PAS on the family, as well as the child’s economic
status. However, recognition is needed on PAS, as well as its effects. At the research level, therefore, a
multi-disciplinary look at the links between PAS and child poverty is warranted, as well as the
development of PAS prevention and treatment programs (Cartwright, 2002). Finally, there must be
an in-depth look at PAS must be considered in order to be able to understand that syndrome more
fully, have parents assume joint custody, and alleviate or prevent this syndrome in causing
irreversible damage to an individual’s mental health, as well as the destruction of an entire family
unit.
References
Cartwright, G.F. (2002). The Changing Face of parental Alienation Syndrome. Unpublished article, 1-6.
Cartwright, G.F. (1993). Expanding the parameters of parental alienation syndrome. American Journal of Family Therapy, 21 (3),
205-215.
Gardner, R.A. Therapeutic Interventions for Children With Parental Alienation Syndrome, Creative Therapeutics, Inc.: 2001.
Gardner, R.A. (1998). Recommendations for dealing with parents who induce a Parental Alienation Syndrome in their children.
Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 28, 3/4, 1-23.
Gardner, R.A. (1985). Recent trends in divorce and custody litigation. Academy Forum 29: 3-7.
Barriers to the Alleviation of Poverty in Canada (2002). http://www.geocities.com/wallstreet/8691/poverty.html
Child Poverty Profile 1988 Summary (2002). http://www.newcnbes.net/htmdocument/priciples/childpovertysummary.html
DSM-IV Diagnostic Criteria of Mental Disorders (2002). http://www.psychologynet.org/dsm.html
CHILDREN AND POVERTY (2002). http://www.cfe-efc.ca/docs/cccf/00000764.htm
Half of solo mothers in poverty in Australia, Canada, and US. (2002). http://www.lysator.liu.se/nordic/mirror/unicef/insolo.htm
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SECTION
2
LES ENFANTS ET LA PAUVRETÉ DANS LE MONDE
La pauvreté est un phénomène international qui se manifeste différemment selon les pays. Dans la
présente section, des experts renommés nous présentent des analyses et des perspectives
intéressantes sur la pauvreté dans leurs pays respectifs. La professeure Maureen Baker examine les
relations entre la pauvreté des familles, la santé et l’emploi. Elle présente les résultats d’un projet de
recherche néo-zélandais portant sur l’état de santé auto-évalué de mères monoparentales vivant du
bien-être social. La nature particulière de la pauvreté au Brésil est portée à notre attention par les
professeures Zélia Maria Mendes Biasoli-Alves et Marina Rezende Bazon qui soulignent, dans leur
présentation, l’impact de la pauvreté économique sur le fonctionnement des familles et les actions
qui doivent être entreprises pour résoudre efficacement le problème. En Inde, le professeur Deepak
Kumar Behera met en lumière des problématiques telles que l’insécurité alimentaire, la famine et la
traite des enfants découlant de la pauvreté profonde dont souffre la population de Kalahandi. Il
discute de l’impact de cette situation désastreuse sur le bien-être des enfants vivant dans cette région.
On sait depuis longtemps que les populations autochtones ou indigènes sont victimes plus que
toutes autres de pauvreté partout dans le monde. Au Québec, les autochtones représentent 1 % de la
population mais constituent l’un des groupes les plus touchés par de hauts niveaux de pauvreté.
Steve Audet, Doris Papatie et Roch Riendeau donnent une description édifiante de la vie au sein de
la communauté algonquine de Kitcisakik et de la manière dont ses 360 résidents ont relevé le défi et
implanté des mesures visant à améliorer leurs conditions de vie collectives.
L’Afrique est reconnue depuis longtemps comme le continent le plus pauvre du monde et la
situation de pauvreté absolue dont sont victimes les enfants africains a reçu énormément d’attention
de la part du public. Le professeur Anand Ramphal d’Afrique du Sud traite des effets de la pauvreté
sur le développement psychologique et le rendement scolaire des enfants. Dans son exposé, il
présente des recommandations quant aux mesures que doivent mettre en œuvre le système
d’éducation et la société dans son ensemble afin d’améliorer les chances de succès de ces enfants. Une
étude exhaustive des revenus de bien-être social chez les familles canadiennes est présentée par Diane
Richard. Les résultats démontrent qu’il est très rare que l’on donne aux familles bénéficiant de
l’assistance sociale des opportunités qui leur permettraient de surmonter leur situation de pauvreté.
Finalement, Jane Rudd effectue une analyse du trafic des jeunes filles et des adolescentes en Ukraine.
Il ressort de son étude que la pauvreté (et la violence) est la principale raison ayant incité ces femmes
à aller à l’étranger et risquer de se retrouver victimes de trafiquants.
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CHILDREN AND POVERTY THROUGHOUT THE WORLD
Poverty is an international phenomenon with very distinct national boundaries. In the following
papers, renowned experts provide us with interesting perspectives and analysis of poverty in their
respective countries. Professor Maureen Baker discusses the relations between family poverty, poor
health, and employment. The results of a New Zealand research project focussing on the selfreported health status of lone mothers on social benefits are presented. The particular nature of
poverty in Brazil is brought to our attention by professors Zélia Maria Mendes Biasoli-Alves and
Marina Rezende Bazon who underline, in their presentation, the impact of economic poverty on
family functioning and the actions that need to be taken to effectively address the problem. On the
Indian continent, professor Deepak Kumar Behera highlights the issue of food security and the
much-publicized child selling and starvation that have resulted from the deep rooted poverty
suffered by the population of Kalahandi. The implication of this disastrous situation on the well
being of the children living in the area is discussed. Aboriginal or native people have long been
associated with the plight of poverty irrespective of where they reside in the world. In Quebec, they
constitute but 1% of the population yet are one of the largest groups that are subjected to high levels
of poverty. Steve Audet, Doris Papatie and Roch Riendeau present a vivid description of life in the
northern Algonquin community of Kitcisakik and how its 360 residents have taken the challenge
before them and implemented certain measures aimed at improving their collective lives.
Africa has long been identified as the poorest of all five continents and the one receiving the most
public attention with regards to the plight of children victimized by poverty. Professor Anand
Ramphal of South Africa discusses the effects of poverty on the psychological and educational
development of children. In this discussion, recommendations are made with regards to measures
that the school system and society need to put into practice in order to improve the children’s
chances for success. An exhaustive study on the income of Canadian families on social assistance is
presented by Diane Richard. Findings show that families on social assistance are rarely given an
opportunity to overcome their impoverished situation. Children, consequently, need special
programs and assistance in order to develop normal lives. Finally, Jane Rudd provides an analysis of
trafficking of girls and young women in Ukraine. In her study, it was found that poverty (and
violence) prompted them to go abroad and risk a ‘trafficking situation’.
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CHILD POVERTY, MATERNAL HEALTH AND SOCIAL BENEFITS
B Y : M AUREEN B AKER , P H . D .
P R O F E S S O R , D E P A R T M E N T OF S O C I O L O G Y
U N I V E R S I T Y OF A U C K L A N D
A U C K L A N D , N EW Z E A L A N D
Abstract
This paper begins with a discussion of the relations among family poverty, poor health and
employment. It argues that some lone mothers are unable to keep their children out of poverty
because poor health interferes with finding or maintaining employment. These issues are discussed
with reference to the international literature but also the results of our New Zealand research
project, which examines the self-reported health status of lone mothers on social benefits, their
experiences as beneficiaries, and their views about the government requirement to seek paid work.
These lone mothers have not been exempted from the work test for health or disability reasons but
our questionnaire results indicate that their self-reported health status is well below that of New
Zealand women of comparable age. About one-third report health problems, either their children’s
or their own. Excerpts from 120 qualitative interviews illustrate the challenges that many one-parent
families face when they attempt to exit from welfare.
Adult Poverty, Children and Poor Health
The Innocenti Report Card (2000) of Child Poverty in Rich Nations notes that the poverty rate1 among
children living in two-parent families is higher in North America, the United Kingdom and Australia
than many other “rich” nations. For one-parent families, the rates are much worse: over 55% of
children in American one-parent families and about 52% in Canadian one-parent families live in
poverty. This Report notes the strong relationship between child poverty and having parents who are
unemployed, outside the labour force, or earning ‘low wages’2. Poverty rates are also higher if the
lone parent is the mother.
In some countries, such as Australia and the United Kingdom, the vast majority of lone mothers rely
for most of their income on social benefits, which are deliberately set below the minimum wage
(Baker & Tippin, 1999: 22). In recent years, governments in all the liberal welfare states3 have
developed welfare-to-work programs to encourage welfare recipients to move more quickly into paid
work. When lone mothers enter the workforce, however, they often cannot support their families.
1
Poverty rates are usually defined in cross-national research as incomes (after taxes and government transfers) that are less than 50% of the
national median, adjusted for family size.
2
Low-wages are defined as full-time workers with wages less than two-thirds of the national median.
3
This term by Esping-Andersen (1990) included Canada and the English-speaking countries, which tend to target social benefits to the poor and
expect most individuals to support themselves and their families on their own wages. He contrasts liberal welfare states to corporatist welfare
states (that rely mainly on contributory social insurance programs) and social democratic countries (that provide many universal benefits and
services).
– 129 –
The jobs they find are often temporary, low paid, part-time, and seldom include flexible work hours,
paid sick leave, or extended health benefits (Dooley, 1995; Harris, 1996; Vosko, 2000). Their job
qualifications are typically lower than partnered mothers, and many lone mothers experience
childcare and other problems that interfere with keeping a job or progressing through the ranks.
More often than partnered mothers, lone mothers suffer from health problems (Dorsett & Marsh,
1998; Whitehead et al, 2000; Cook et al, 2001; Curtis, 2001; Sarfati and Scott, 2001).
This paper examines the health issues of lone mothers and their children living on social benefits in
New Zealand, which is an example of a liberal welfare state. The paper asks how health problems
interact with time outside the labour force, low wages and low benefit levels to keep lone mother
families living in poverty. Does poor health prevent some lone mothers from finding and keeping a
job, or do low income, stress and poor living conditions make these mothers and their children
unhealthy? These issues are discussed by referring to a larger project, which examined the selfreported health status of lone mothers and their children, their experiences as beneficiaries who are
expected to find paid work, and their views about their ability to hold a job and improve their
family’s financial circumstances4. This specific paper focuses on some of the women’s stories, taken
from 120 qualitative interviews, about how children’s illness and disabilities and lone mothers’ own
health have influenced their job prospects and their family income.
Studies from many countries reveal that children who are raised in impoverished families, with
few material and cultural resources, typically suffer from multiple disadvantages throughout life.
These disadvantages include lower achievement in school, higher rates of behavioural problems
and juvenile delinquency, early school leaving, higher unemployment rates, poor physical and
mental health, and premature death rates (Hobcraft & Kiernan, 2001; Roberts, 1997; Ross, Scott &
Kelly, 1996).
Although social activists and researchers tend to focus on ‘child poverty’, the Innocenti Report Card
makes it abundantly clear that children are living in poverty because their parents are outside the
labour market or working for low wages. Politically, more .mileage’ can be gained from highlighting
the consequences of poverty for children than for adults. However, policy solutions must address the
barriers to sustaining employment and improving the circumstances of low-income parents. Our
interviews reveal that lone mothers try to shield their children from the worse consequences of low
income, shortage of food, living in poor neighbourhoods, abuse and high stress levels, but they are
not always able to do this. Health problems cut into their already low income from social assistance
and keep some lone mothers out of the workforce, thus augmenting family poverty. At the same
time, the stresses and deprivations of living on social benefits lead to further deterioration of the
family’s health.
Welfare, Paid Work and Poor Health
The countries with the lowest child poverty rates allocate the highest proportions of Gross National
Product to social expenditures. The Innocenti Report Card (2000) indicates that the ‘social
4
This project was funded by a Health Research Council Grant to Maureen Baker (Dept of Sociology), Heather Worth (Centre for Research on
Gender), David Tippin (Sociology/CRG) and Tracey McIntosh (Sociology) at the University of Auckland from 2000-2002.
– 130 –
democratic’ countries of Sweden, Denmark and Finland top this list while Mexico, Turkey and Japan
fall below the ‘liberal welfare states’ of Canada, United States, United Kingdom and Australia5.
Furthermore, there is considerable cross-national variation in the effect of tax and social programs
in reducing child poverty. In liberal welfare states, governments and taxpayers normally accept the
position that public assistance should be available only when personal or family resources are
exhausted, or when the family clearly cannot cope. Increasingly, these countries have focused on
personal responsibility for family well-being, the employability of welfare recipients, and contractual
obligations to retrain or search for paid work as a condition to receiving government benefits.
Benefit levels are deliberately set below minimum wages to encourage beneficiaries to spend as little
time as possible on welfare.
Research from the United States indicates that ‘welfare mothers’ who move into paid work are most
likely to remain employed and less likely to return to social benefits if they have prior work
experience, more than 12 years of schooling, and fewer than three children (Harris, 1996; Cancian et
al, 1999). Job instability is also related to physical and mental health problems, substance abuse,
family stresses, employer discrimination, violence by a partner, and inappropriate work behaviours.
Riccio and Freedman (1999) found that health and personal problems made continuous
employment impossible for about one third of the participants of a California welfare-to-work
program.
Whitehead, Burström and Diderichsen (2000) compared lone mothers in Britain and Sweden over
two decades and found more poverty and poorer health in Britain. Nevertheless, in both countries,
lone mothers reported poorer health than married mothers. The authors present three hypotheses
about the relationship between lone motherhood and poor health. Lone mothers (including those
who are employed) may suffer from ‘time poverty’, which elevates stress levels and leads to illness.
The kinds of work they do compared to married mothers may be more stressful and dangerous.
And finally, they may suffer from lower social support. These factors may help to explain the
poorer health of Swedish lone mothers compared to married mothers, despite low levels of poverty,
high standards of housing and relatively generous social services in Sweden. Our own research
in New Zealand investigated further the relationship between lone motherhood, low income and
poor health.
Health, Domestic Purposes Beneficiaries and the Transition to Paid Work
In New Zealand, we designed a study involving mailed questionnaires and personal interviews with
lone mothers on the Domestic Purposes Benefit (DPB), an income support program permitting lone
parents to care for their children at home. We also conducted focus groups with case managers
working for the welfare department. The questionnaire, returned by 244 ‘work-tested’ sole mothers,
focused on their health status and use of health services. The focus groups and interviews with
14 case managers examined the role of health in case management practices and welfare policy.
Personal interviews with 120 work-tested lone mothers discussed their family health and welfare-to-
5
New Zealand is not included in this survey.
– 131 –
work experiences. The study was located in three regions on the North Island representing different
socio-economic and ethnic areas.
The SF-36 questionnaire we used measures health-related quality of life and was previously used by
the New Zealand Ministry of Health in the national health survey Taking the Pulse (1999). As well as
questioning the health status and use of health services by respondents and their families, it also
asks for background details about their household, employment and education. Our questionnaires
were mailed to lone mothers receiving the DPB, with children over six years old, who were subject to
a work test. This means that none were exempted from paid work or training for reasons such as
disability or sickness. The questionnaire results were compared to the results of the national health
survey.
First, we found that the lone mothers on the DPB reported poorer health than did women in the
general population, but no significant differences were apparent by ethnicity or place of residence.
Second, a higher proportion of the DPB sample had used public hospital emergency services and
reported a higher rate of unmet health need in the past year. For example, they have not gone to a
doctor or not picked up a prescription when needed. The major reason given was cost (76.9% of
respondents who had not visited a GP when needed said this). We calculated mean scores for the
eight components of health measured by the questionnaire and these were lower for beneficiaries on
every measure, as Table 1 indicates.
We asked our DPB sample what issues prevented them from taking up paid work (See Table 2).
Among other reasons, about one third said that their health or children’s health prevented them
from taking a job, which is quite striking when it is considered that these women have not met the
policy criteria for exemption from their work/training obligations due to health problems or
disabilities. A higher percentage of those who reported their health as a reason for not taking a job
had lower educational attainment and lower incomes. These findings are consistent with research in
other liberal welfare states.
We then asked case managers how they view and assess beneficiaries’ health and how they consider
health issues in case management strategies and practices. With written guidelines and advice from
colleagues and supervisors, case managers retain discretion to exempt or defer a woman from the
work test, to seek additional medical advice, and to recommend specific benefit entitlement or
supplementary assistance. The results of this phase of the study are reported in Tippin and Baker
(2001). To summarize, case managers reported that some clients are reluctant to discuss their mental
health because of the perceived stigma or lack of awareness of problems. Emotional health is
difficult to assess without first building rapport but client interviewing is strictly scheduled and
time is scarce. Given the level of health problems among lone mothers, we found it striking that the
discursive parameters of a sustainable welfare-to-work policy in New Zealand and elsewhere so
frequently marginalize health issues (ibid).
DPB mothers were personally interviewed to obtain more details about their health, family
circumstances, and interactions with case managers. The rest of this paper discusses some of these
women’s stories, emphasizing their children’s health and how various family health problems have
constrained their efforts to support their families and pull themselves out of poverty. To understand
– 132 –
their personal circumstances, it is necessary to present some information about the local benefit and
health systems.
The New Zealand Benefit and Health Systems for Lone Mother Families
In 1973, the New Zealand government developed the Domestic Purposes Benefit (DPB), an income
support program to enable lone parents to care for their children at home6. After 1984, New Zealand
experienced a period of ‘neo-liberal’ restructuring (Kelsey, 1995). In 1991, the (conservative) National
government reduced the level of social benefits (including the DPB) and raised the minimum
qualifying age to 18 years. They also introduced new employment expectations after 1995, a new
abatement scheme in 1996, and enforced new work tests after 1997 (Wilson, 2000: 79). After school
and school holiday care was also expanded for the children of DPB recipients. Now, lone parents on
the DPB, whose youngest child is aged 14 years or over, must be actively preparing for full-time work
unless they are exempted for some reason (including sickness or disability). If the youngest child is
between 6 and 13 years, the parent is subject to a part-time work test. Those with younger children
are expected to attend annual planning meetings (WINZ 1999). The Labour coalition government
has recently introduced legislation to make work-testing more flexible and personalized rather than
adhering to strict age categories. If passed, DPB recipients with preschool children could be asked to
seek paid work.
Although the DPB was designed to be gender neutral, most recipients were women. In 1998, 87%
of recipients were women. Of all recipients, 94% of recipients were sole parents, 2% were women
alone and 4% were people caring for sick or infirm family members. Almost three-quarters of
recipients of the DPB are separated or divorced (Wilson, 2000). Only 9% are under the age of 20,
while three-quarters are between 20 and 40 years old (ibid).
The New Zealand public health system, initiated by the first Labour government in the 1930s, was
also eroded with the restructuring of the 1980s and 1990s. Government subsidies for visits to
doctors and hospitals were reduced, requiring patients to pay larger user fees. Now, visits to family
physicians (except for preschool children and pregnant women) cost about $45, although diagnostic
tests are often free and prescriptions are heavily subsidized. Visits to hospital emergency wards also
require user fees even though New Zealand has public accident compensation insurance (Barnett &
Barnett, 1999).
Social benefit recipients receive a Community Card that reduces the cost of physician visits and
further subsidizes prescriptions. Some lone mothers on the DPB would be eligible for temporary
exemptions from work and for additional sickness and disability benefits to defray health-related
expenses. However, many low-income families in New Zealand live in substandard housing with no
heating or costly electric heaters. The high winter rainfall in Northland and the Auckland area and
the lack of central heating creates housing with indoor temperatures around 10-15 degrees Celsius
in the winter. This encourages the growth of mould and leads to a high rate of bronchial ailments.
Furthermore, these families are often short of money for food and preventive health care.
6
Australia introduced a similar benefit in the same year, now called the Sole Parent Benefit.
– 133 –
The lone mothers we interviewed provided rich details about many aspects of living on social
assistance and their relations with the welfare department, health system and labour market.
However, only a few examples can be presented in a paper of this length. Interview comments have
been extracted that focus on the children’s and mothers’ health, illustrating the relations among
poverty, family health problems and lone mothers’ ability to earn their way out of poverty.
1.
Children’s Health Problems
Many of the lone mothers we interviewed reported that their children experienced disability or
health problems requiring their constant care. For example, a lone mother with two daughters and
the care of her elderly mother has been on the DPB for over a decade despite the fact that she has a
university education. She discussed the situation of her older daughter, for whom she receives a child
disability allowance:
“She’s severely autistic so she doesn’t talk. She’s still in nappies. She needs
feeding. She needs constant supervision because, yeah, she’s got no idea of
safety. So although she’s mobile, she still has a wheelchair. She’s constantly on
the move, she doesn’t sleep so well … Career-wise, I can’t establish a career.
Even the part-time work I do really messes things up [her benefit is cut]…”
She has refused several jobs because of her ‘family responsibilities’ and has been turned down for
others because she is over-qualified. She now works about six hours a week and struggles to make
ends meet.
Another lone mother with three children was very distressed during the interview because the
welfare office had been asking her to find paid work. She has a son with disabilities and because he
has reached the age of 21, she is no longer permitted to use him as a reason to remain on the benefit.
He is expected to purchase care and she is expected to move off the benefit into the labour force.
With considerable anxiety in her voice she said:
“I won’t give him up. I’ll come off the benefit and I’ll scrape, but I’m not giving
him up. I’m not putting him in a home because he …would die. So hence, I’m
at the doctor’s on Prozac, continually at the doctor’s at the moment ’cause I’m
so stressed out”… You know, I’ve not asked (the welfare department) for any
money before, whereas last week I had to ask for money to pay for food
because I’ve been to the doctor’s so much. And I mean when you’re paying $48
for papers to be signed [by the doctor] to say you’re not well and stuff like that,
I mean, out of what I get there’s nothing left and I had to ask for a food
hamper, which is beyond me asking…”
Lone mothers told us that they often delay taking their children to the doctors, waiting to see how
serious the illness will become and if it is worth the expense. Some already owe money to their
doctors. One mother with five children said:
“My son had come in the night before and he was feverish so I made an
appointment to see the doctor … But I had no money again and already had a
$30 account there, and it was, like, what if I could get him better before
– 134 –
lunchtime? … I can avoid taking him to the doctor…. It’s not easy to find ten
or fifteen dollars … But if it’s something I know I can’t cope with, I will sit at
the doctor’s and wait it out even though I know I’ve got a bill.”
A mother with two children made a similar comment about her daughter:
“I don’t rush to the doctor… I watch her and watch her and watch her before I
actually take her to the doctor. And often, I’ll ring the nurse and say this is
happening to her, do you think I need to bring her in? Because the money’s
just not there … and at times I’m paying to go to the hospital and paying to go
to the doctor and getting prescriptions, the food budget is the one that goes…
I won’t go into debt so therefore our food budget gets hit … Yeah, I’ll eat less
or do without while they eat.”
Low benefit levels mean that mothers with family health problems find medical and prescription
costs prohibitive. So too are other health-related expenses, including preventive measures. One
university-educated beneficiary who works part-time noted:
“As soon as (the welfare office) found out that the interest rate on my
mortgage went down, they took my money off me so then I couldn’t afford to
pay the health insurance that I had put up. Indirectly, the fact that they give
you so little normally affects your ability to stay healthy. I would love to buy
the children some vitamin tablets, but at $10 a bottle you hesitate again.”
A woman who has three children and has been on the DPB “on and off for ten years” reported many
health problems, both her own and her children’s, interfering with paid work. She quit a full-time
job and accepted part-time work after suffering from “bad depressive periods, stress-related” after
leaving an abusive marriage. She work part-time for a while but then decided that she needed to
improve her career options by moving to the city. She reported that her children “couldn’t cope” in
the city:
“My son burnt the house down … he ended up trying to stab his sister in the
head—all sorts of things were happening … I just had to give up work.”
A mother with two grown children, the younger just left home, mentioned that the family has
experienced a number of health problems since they moved to Auckland ten years ago and she went
on the DPB. These, combined with her own health problems, interfered with upgrading her
qualifications and earning a living:
“They (her children) were both susceptible to allergies … I think just because I
was stressed, I got chronic fatigue and my son … now has chronic fatigue … my
daughter, after six months, got whooping cough. I was not well enough to
look after her so I had to send her back to her father … I was hoping to look for
work but all that stopped when I got sick … I (later) decided I would go back
(to university) … I got a scholarship to go back but I wasn’t able to do that, as
I wasn’t able to attend and be there to look after my son because he was quite
seriously sick. He needed 24-hour care … there would be trips to the emergency
room in the middle of the night.”
– 135 –
Case managers may allocate special allowances to lone mothers, such as a child disability allowance,
to defray the cost of extra medical expenses. However, one mother was offered a disability allowance
for her asthmatic son but declined to accept it because she said she had to pay the doctor $25 to fill
out the form in order to receive an extra $1.80 a week on her benefit. She mentioned that she already
owed the doctor $325 but had to take her son to the doctor:
“Sometimes two, three times a week and I’d get charged $25 … As it gets colder
(on winter nights), (the asthma) gets worse and worse so I have to run an
overnight heater just to keep the air at a certain temperature… So then I get a
really big power bill… This winter he has been the worst that we’ve had. He’s
popped both eardrums…”
This woman has arranged to work near her son as part of her work requirements but her jobs are
clearly low-level and not very lucrative.
Although a few mothers appear to use their children’s illness as an excuse not to enter paid work,
most take their mothering role very seriously and sincerely want the best for their children. Most
mothers with child health problems make “deals” with their doctors and chemists to pay off their
debts in instalments. Some mothers use their food money to pay for medical expenses and then
return to the welfare office to request a food voucher. Some deprive themselves of food in order to
pay their health-related debts. Most mothers with child health problems also tried to work as much
as possible to pay their extra health-related bills, although not all reported this extra income to the
welfare office. For those lone mothers with family health problems, the health subsidies appear to be
too low.
2.
Women’s Poor Health
Some of the lone mothers we interviewed told us that the Domestic Purposes Benefit has allowed
them to regain their health, which most believe declined through too much stress. One mother with
two children said:
“When I went on the DPB and took a year off (paid work), my health gradually
got better because I didn’t have the stress of full-time work and being on my
own and having kids ... I did have time to recuperate, albeit that I couldn’t pay
the bills because I was on the bare DPB … My health really came right after
that year when I went back to work part-time. I got $100 more a week as a
result of working 20 hours—and this made a big difference in not panicking
when the power bill arrived… I am very loath to add any more stress to my life…
Every time I see an envelope with (the welfare or tax office name) in the
letterbox, I don’t want to open it … it is always bad news.“
Other women continued to experience poor health while on the DPB. Their health is clearly
worsened by avoiding visits to doctors because of the high cost or not taking time off their part-time
work, housework and caring activities to permit themselves to recover. One lone mother said:
“I don’t go to the doctor myself, ever. I had pneumonia last year and didn’t go
and ended up getting pleurisy… I finally went up there (to the doctor) and he
– 136 –
said: ‘My God, you’re a sick woman. You need to be in the hospital’. And I was,
like, yeah, well I’m a single mother, so flag it. I’ll just go back home and carry
on! … Most of the groceries I buy are for my son… In the last six months, I’ve
lost about 8 kilos ‘cause I just can’t afford to feed me too much…”
Another mother of three made a similar comment when discussing various health problems:
“I’ve had a couple of minor operations while on the benefit. You know, they
(hospital staff) used to say: ‘Now go home and go to bed’. (Laughter) You
know, you can’t go home and go to bed, because you can’t. You’ve got kids to
cook for and you’ve got clothes to get clean and you’ve got all that stuff to do
and so that’s just a luxury that is not available. And so you just have to plough
through it, which means that it takes you longer to recover. Much longer than
it should”.
Lack of social support seems to raise the stress level of many lone mothers, which aggravates their
physical health. One immigrant woman took her children back to the United Kingdom but returned
after experiencing “serious relationship problems” with a new partner (she hinted at physical abuse).
Her ex-husband then took her to court for removing the children from New Zealand. Now she is
trying to upgrade her qualifications in order to find a part-time job. She said:
“I have got very, very stressed out at times… and I got a viral infection about
four months ago and the doctor said that it was because of my stress and what
I was under and the problems at home. It sort of enhanced it more and I ended
up being in hospital for a week… By the time I finished [her course] and I got
home, the children would be home from school and then its making dinner
and doing homework and housework and washing and shopping and then by
the time—they go to bed at 8:30—that was my time to study… So quite often
I’d sit up till about 3 o’clock in the morning and I’m one of those people who
don’t eat when I’m under stress as well. I don’t think about my health…
(I) basically just run myself down but usually until the cold sores pop up,
I don’t realise that I’m in that situation…”
Later she mentioned that her best social support was her 12-year old daughter, who is:
“… quite mature for her age and if she can see, it’s like she can sense things
before I know they’re there, and she’ll, you know, just give me lots of cuddles
and she’ll make me cups of tea and, you know, and she’ll even make me
something to eat if she knows I’ve not had anything…”
However, the fact that this child feels the need to .look after’ her mother places a rather heavy burden
on her.
Another woman, who lives with her asthmatic daughter, told us she had cancer when she was
pregnant with her daughter and now has just been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. Recently, she
quit her part-time job for health reasons but her case manager disapproved and cut her benefit. She
angrily reported the conversation with her case manager when she went to the welfare office to ask
for a food voucher:
– 137 –
“… and I got a medical certificate. She’s seen it. She signed it and … I mean it is
so frustrating… I’ve got no money. My daughter, I mean, shit, we’re onto our
last couple of slices of bread. When I say we have no food, I mean we have no
food and it was just so frustrating because this woman turned around and
said to me: ‘You’re working!’ And I said: ‘No, I’m not’!”
The beneficiary was angry because the case manager cut her benefit and then called her former place
of work to verify that she was not working. Meanwhile, she had no food and had to borrow money
from a neighbour.
Many lone mothers reported that health problems interrupted their attempts to find work, retrain,
or to hold onto a job. One lone mother was doing a double major at university and raising three
children:
“I had to cut back this semester because I got really sick after the first semester
doing three (courses). It was just two much… raising three children and doing
a degree is just far too much. You try to do it as quickly as you can because you
want to be independent. But when you don’t have an ex-husband helping you
out and you don’t have a family around, it’s just about impossible really to do
it and do it well, you know, being able to cope without stress.”
Some beneficiaries appear to use poor health as an excuse for not working. One lone mother, on the
benefit for nearly twenty years, cares for two of her three children at home. She discussed her
interactions with the welfare office:
“Four years ago … they called me up and said, right—you’ve got to get a job and
it was a big meeting and I was thinking, right, I’ve got to get a job, you know,
got to get a job… Well I went home for another year and sat there and they
called me up again: .Oh, what have you done?’ Oh, well I said, I’d thought
about doing this correspondence course … I got away with another year.”
She eventually took a correspondence course but received poor results. Now she argued that arthritis
prevented her from performing most kinds of jobs:
“I can’t … I doubt if I could, I mean waitressing—not that I want to be a
waitress—but you know holding plates and that. Like I couldn’t do stuff like
that. And I mean but I hate computers. I mean I would hate to sit in an office
all day. Yeah, I honestly haven’t got a clue. I kind of hope someone will just one
day come and offer me (a job) …”
However, most lone mothers struggle to study or work but some are forced by poor health to cut
down on their activities. A mother with two children, on the DPB for many years, went back to
university (while receiving the DPB) to upgrade her education but had to quit due to poor health.
She mentioned that she had arthritis and cancer, but had not told the welfare office much about her
health problems. Nevertheless, she is now working at three part-time jobs to try to pay her bills.
When asked if she discusses her health problems with her case manager, she replied:
– 138 –
“Personally, I say as little as possible, as little as possible, because it just comes
back and bites you …”
The fact that this woman has not reported her medical condition means that she doesn’t have a
medical exemption and her case manager would pressure her to work more hours per week than her
doctor would recommend. Yet she was reluctant to reveal too much about her “weaknesses” for fear
that her case manager would use this information against her.
Many of these women are coping simultaneously with their children’s health or disability problems
and their own poor health at the same time that welfare officers are pressuring them to find paid
work or increase their working hours. In most cases, lone mothers with medical certification would
receive a temporary exemption from the requirement to find work until their health improved but
some women in our study withheld information from their case manager. They feared that any
change in their status would lead to further stigmatisation, intrusive personal investigations or a
reduction of their already low income.
Conclusion
The link between poverty and poor health suggests that wealthier people can afford to purchase
more nutritious food, dryer and warmer accommodation, better hygiene, warmer clothes,
preventative health services, and better health care when they become ill. In addition, poor people are
more likely to work in dangerous positions with low job control, live in high crime areas, and to
engage in lifestyles that can have greater risks (Clarke, 2000).
To understand how health issues affect the prospects of moving out of poverty for lone mother
families on social benefits, we must reconsider and contextualise what ‘health’ means for many of
these mothers. From our New Zealand study, it is apparent that health is a very ‘social’ concept in a
welfare-to-work setting. The health of the entire household, including lone mother, her children and
other dependants must be considered. A child’s poor health tends to reinforce the mother’s sense
that she is solely responsible for the family, as well as a sense of self-sacrifice and concentration on
the needs of the children. Where social supports are lacking and there are few family or community
ties, life tends to appear even bleaker. Health also has multiple components and meanings: physical,
mental, emotional and for some, spiritual. Together these elements comprise a sense of well-being,
and help determine whether and under what circumstances a mother is ‘well’ enough to undertake
paid work.
Moreover, our research indicates that health for the lone mother family is embedded within the
experience of poverty, the relative lack of resources, and constraints on aspirations and
opportunities that these entail. It is poverty that makes poor or uncertain health so consequential
for these women and their families. Having insufficient funds to go to the doctor or get a
prescription, to deal with an unexpected health problem, and experiences at the welfare office that
diminish self-esteem and confidence, are examples of the many factors that affect the paid
employment prospects of low-income lone mothers.
Our New Zealand research reinforces the finding of overseas studies that one-third of lone mothers
on social benefits report poor family health or disability problems. The health of lone mothers is
– 139 –
much poorer than married mothers or women of comparable age. Combined with low levels of
education, sporadic employment experience, and transportation and childcare issues, the health
problems of lone mothers and their children interfere with their ability to fulfil the requirements of
welfare to work programs. If these lone mothers cannot sustain continuing employment, they
cannot improve their incomes. In liberal welfare states such as New Zealand, reliance on social
benefits tends to prolong poverty for lone mothers and their children.
Our interviews illustrate that these lone mothers suffer from considerable stress, which encourages
the development of both physical and mental health problems. Leaving an unhappy marriage, which
in some cases has been abusive, is difficult for many women who can’t pay their bills or cope with the
children alone, and some go back to their partners several times before they separate permanently
and go on the benefit. Retaining the primary or sole responsibility for children makes it difficult to
upgrade their qualifications or find paid work, especially if their children experience health
problems, disabilities or behavioural problems. The welfare office offers temporary exemptions from
work or special benefits to lone mothers with health problems, but this often requires expensive
visits to the doctor for certification.
Many lone mothers, in New Zealand and in other liberal welfare states, clearly seem to need more
assistance than they are receiving, in terms of financial assistance, childcare services, housing and
transport subsidies, and counselling. If policy makers are serious about resolving .child poverty’, they
need to review social assistance levels and the accompanying special benefits relating to medical
expenses, disability allowances and counselling. In addition, they need to help address the barriers
that many parents experience in trying to maintain employment, especially childcare for school-aged
children but also improved public transportation for school children and themselves. Minimum
wages and working conditions need to be regulated to permit parents to earn enough to support
themselves and their children. Finally, health care needs to become more affordable for low-income
families.
Our New Zealand research indicates that the current welfare-to-work program places unreasonable
demands on some lone mothers. They are expected to search for and maintain paid work without
adequate social supports. Neither the social benefit system nor the public health system adequately
addresses the poor physical and mental health of many lone mothers expected to exit from welfare.
Without more acknowledgement of these problems and more public support, about one-third of
lone mothers may be unable to pull their children out of poverty due to poor family health.
– 140 –
Table 1
Comparison of SF-36 Health Scores of DPB Women and NZ Women
Table 2
Main Issues Preventing Women on the DPB Taking up a Paid Job
References
Baker, Maureen and David Tippin. 1999. Poverty, Social Assistance and the Employability of Mothers: Restructuring Welfare States. Toronto:
University of Toronto Press.
Barnett, Pauline & Ross Barnett. 1999. ‘Reform and Change in Health Service Provision’, In Health and Society in Aotearoa New
Zealand. Edited by Peter Davis & Kevin Dew. Auckland: Oxford University Press: 219-234.
Cancian, M., R. Haveman, T. Kaplan, D. Meyer & B. Wolfe. 1999. ‘Work, Earnings and Well-being after Welfare: What do We Do?’
in Economic Conditions and Welfare Reform: What are the Early Lessons? Edited by S. Danziger. Kalamzoo, MI: Upjohn Institute.
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Clarke, Juanne Nancarrow. 2000. Health, Illness and Medicine in Canada. 3rd edition. Toronto: Oxford University Press.
Cook, Kay, Kim Raine & Deanna Williamson. 2001. ‘The Health Implications of Working for Welfare Benefits: The Experiences of
Single Mothers in Alberta, Canada’, Health Promotion Journal of Australia 11 (1): 20-26.
Curtis, Lori J. 2001. ‘Lone Motherhood and Health Status’, Canadian Public Policy XXVII (3): 335-356.
Dooley, Martin. 1995. ‘Lone-Mother Families and Social Assistance Policy in Canada’, In Family Matters: New Policies for Divorce, Lone
Mothers, and Child Poverty, 35-104. By Dooley et al. Toronto: CD Howe Institute.
Dorsett, Richard & Alan Marsh. 1998. The Health Trap: Poverty, Smoking and Lone Parenthood. London: Policy Studies Institute.
Esping-Andersen, Gøsta. 1990. The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Harris, KM. 1996. ‘Life After Welfare: Women, Work and Repeat Dependency’, American Sociological Review 61: 407-26. Harris 1996.
Hobcraft, John & Kathleen Kiernan. 2001. ‘Childhood Poverty, Early Motherhood and Adult Social Exclusion’, British Journal of
Sociology 52 (3): 495-517.
Innocenti Report Card. June 2000. Child Poverty in Rich Nations. Florence: United Nations Children’s Fund.
Kelsey, Jane. 1995. Economic Fundamentalism. London: Pluto Press.
New Zealand Ministry of Health. 1999. Taking the Pulse: The 1996/97 New Zealand Health Survey. Wellington: Ministry of Health. NZ
Ministry of Health 1999.
Riccio, J. & Freedman,S. 1999. Can They All Work? A Study of the Employment Potential of Welfare Recipients in a Welfare-to-Work Program.
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Ross, David, K. Scott and M. Kelly. 1996. Child Poverty: What are the Consequences? Ottawa: Canadian Council on Social Development.
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to the 2001 TASA conference, University of Sydney, Australia. 13-15 December. Tippin & Baker 2001.
Vosko, Leah. 2000. Temporary Work. The Gendered Rise of a Precarious Employment Relationship. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Whitehead, Margaret; Bo Burström & Finn Diderichsen. 2000. ‘Social Policies and the Pathways to Inequalities in Health: A
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Wilson, Moira. 2000. ‘The Policy Response to the Employment Task Force and Changing Patterns of Domestic Purposes Benefit
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WINZ. 1999. Work Test—Work Services Handbook. 7/6/99 Internet.
– 142 –
PROJETS D’INTERVENTION AUPRÈS DES FAMILLES EXPOSÉES
À DES PROBLÈMES SOCIAUX
P A R : Z ÉLIA M ARIA M ENDES B IASOLI -A LVES , P H . D .
P R O F E S S E U R T I T U L A I R E , D É P A R T E M E N T DE P S Y C H O L O G I E
U N I V E R S I T É DE S ÃO P A U L O
S ÃO P A U L O , B R É S I L
ET É D U C A T I O N
Introduction
Les thèmes liés à l’amélioration de la qualité de vie des populations qui sont soumises à des
conditions de souffrance et d’insuffisance de ressources pour surmonter leurs difficultés gagnent en
force et en évidence dans les dernières décennies du XXe siècle. On voit naître des discussions dans les
plus différents domaines sur des politiques publiques capables d’apporter de bonnes solutions à des
problèmes qui empêchent les personnes d’avoir un développement adéquat. Et dans les pays qui ne
font pas partie du « premier monde», le tableau qu’on observe est toujours plus sérieux.
Au Brésil, la situation qu’on rencontre a des particularités, parce qu’il s’agit d’un pays qui :
◆
se rappelle à un continent;
◆
a des régions beaucoup plus développées que d’autres et donc des mouvements constants de
migration;
◆
a des villes qui ont subi un agrandissement très rapide (400 % à 800 % en 50 ans), sans que les
conditions d’infrastructure soient présentes;
◆
a une société agraire qui devient de plus en plus urbaine et avec une population sans préparation
pour le type de travail que la ville exige;
◆
est une fédération dont le pouvoir est soumis à des intérêts divers (même internationaux) et qui
ne fait pas une distribution juste des revenus.
Ainsi, pour parler de projets d’intervention auprès des familles brésiliennes qui sont exposées à des
problèmes psychosociaux, il faut d’abord signaler la pauvreté économique comme la cause la plus
fréquente des difficultés qu’affrontent un grand nombre de familles (même si on considère qu’il
s’agit d’un pays très riche en ressources naturelles), traduites par :
◆
les mauvaises conditions d’habitation et de l’endroit (surpopulation d’un espace très restreint,
absence de réseaux d’eau et de conditions minimales de propreté);
◆
les difficultés pour avoir une nourriture appropriée à chaque jour;
◆
l’absence d’un emploi pour les hommes et les femmes qui puisse offrir un revenu minimum
pour une survie digne de la famille;
◆
les femmes qui vont travailler dans les maisons des familles de la classe moyenne, ou même de la
classe haute, et reçoivent très peu d’argent;
– 143 –
◆
les enfants qui ont des difficultés à être à l’école et qui sont dans la rue pour mendier ou réaliser
des tâches mineures;
◆
des familles qui sont en situation de risque d’entrer dans le monde de la drogue, de l’alcool, de
la criminalité. Des familles dont les enfants sont aussi pauvres.1
D’un autre côté, les idées modernes sur les droits de l’homme se consolident dans la recherche de la
Liberté Égalitaire (XVIIIe siècle), mais la vraie internalisation de ces idées vient après la seconde
Guerre Mondiale, en 1948, avec la Déclaration Universelle des Droits de l’Homme. Dès ce moment,
on a beaucoup travaillé en proposant et en approuvant des lois, en faisant des conventions, en
élaborant des déclarations et, à chaque moment, en donnant priorité à une partie de la population.
Au Brésil, c’est après la Constitution de 1988 et sous l’influence d’un mouvement qui a engagé
différents secteurs de la société, préoccupés par les mauvaises conditions sociales d’un grand nombre
de personnes, surtout des enfants (à ce moment-là déjà présents dans les rues des grandes villes), et
en voulant de la justice, qu’on arrive au Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente (1990) – Statut de
l’enfant et de l’adolescent – Un ensemble de normes ayant pour objectif de placer « l’enfance et la jeunesse à
l’abri de la négligence, de la discrimination, de la violence, de la cruauté, de l’exploitation et de l’oppression ».
Lequel dit dans son article 86 :
« La politique de l’attention aux Droits de l’enfant et de l’adolescent sera faite sous un
ensemble d’actions gouvernementales et non-gouvernementales, de la Fédération, des
Provinces, du District Fédéral et des Municipalités. »
Ces actions doivent être accomplies selon deux principes : ceux de la hiérarchie et de la
complémentarité.
La promulgation du ECA a donc donné l’opportunité d’un travail conjoint entre l’université, la
municipalité, les Conseils Tutélaires, le Conseil de Droit et les Juges de l’enfance et de la jeunesse. Les
études et données rapportées ici ont été conduites selon ce cadre légal.
D’un autre coté, l’Approche Écologique de Bronfenbrenner (Bronfenbrenner, 1994, 2000; Tudge,
2001) est le modèle qui donne le fondement pour la récolte et l’analyse des données.
Le diagnostic de la situation
Le contexte
Ribeirão Preto est une ville de 450/480 mille habitants, située dans une région agricole, avec une
production élevée d’alcool combustible (pour les voitures) et un commerce bien développé; donc,
c’est une ville très riche, mais en même temps avec un grand nombre de familles qui vivent dans les
bidonvilles, dans lesquels habitent des hommes et des femmes qui n’ont pas de travail pendant la
plupart de l’année (une caractéristique de la culture de la canne à sucre est qu’elle offre du travail
seulement pendant certains mois de l’année), et aussi, les écoles et les services publics sont éloignés.
1
Quand on regarde la situation de misère et de difficulté socio-économiques des familles et des enfants au Brésil, on n’a pas l’habitude de
considérer la pauvreté affective, surtout parce qu’il ne s’agit pas d’adultes qui ne sont pas attachés à leurs enfants mais de personnes qui ne
peuvent pas donner à leurs enfants les conditions appropriées à leur survie et à leur développement.
– 144 –
Les programmes offerts par la municipalité
I.
À partir de 1993/1994, la municipalité a commencé l’installation de Centres pour les Enfants et
les Adolescents autour de la ville, dans les régions plus pauvres, avec l’objectif de promouvoir des
activités académiques complémentaires, sportives et artistiques pour les enfants et adolescents
(6 à 16 ans) hors des heures de classe, pour qu’ils puissent avoir de la surveillance pendant
toute la journée et aussi la possibilité d’utiliser les services de santé, d’orientation légale
et professionnelle pour eux et pour leurs familles (on a maintenant 800/900 sujets distribués en
12 Centres).
II. Projets ou Programmes – La municipalité structure (en fonction des besoins de la communauté
et aussi après l’étude des dotations qu’elle a pour être distribuées dans le domaine social, de la
santé et de l’éducation) différents programmes qui ont des buts particuliers et qui ont toujours
l’obligation d’une inscription de la famille qui puisse permettre d’évaluer sa situation et de
déterminer ses besoins prioritaires. Ils peuvent être divisés en :
Programmes qui donnent des revenus ou une aide matérielle :
◆
revenu minimum;
◆
panier de base – l’alimentation pour une famille de trois ou quatre personnes, pour un mois;
◆
le lait pour les enfants;
◆
ville nettoyée.
Programmes centrés sur le support à l’éducation :
◆
écoles;
◆
garderies;
◆
écoles municipales d’éducation infantile (EMEIS) (deux périodes pour des enfants de moins de
six ans);
◆
pédagogie dans la rue;
◆
ville pour l’enfant.
Programmes qui donnent une aide psychologique / sociale / médicale :
◆
centres pour la santé;
◆
groupes de mères.
Mesures extrêmes :
◆
CACAV (Centre pour les enfants victimisés);
◆
garderie d’accueil – D. Miele;
◆
CARIBE I et II (Centre pour les enfants en régime d’adoption);
◆
famille substitutive.
– 145 –
La participation de l’université dans les projets de la municipalité
Le Groupe de Recherche2 a travaillé à l’évaluation de certains programmes.
A. D’abord, on a établi une définition de la famille comme une association de personnes qui ont
décidé de vivre ensemble et de prodiguer des soins les uns envers les autres, surtout en
accueillant les enfants durant leur période de dépendance; l’objectif était d’avoir une approche
commune à tous les membres du groupe.
Donc, à ce moment, on laisse de côté l’idée d’une famille idéalisée dans sa structure; on porte
vraiment attention à la « famille vécue », la famille qu’on a devant nous et qui est dans un
contexte social avec ses idéologies, valeurs, croyances et sentiments (Bronfenbrenner, 1994).
B.
Ensuite, on a établi que les projets de recherche sous la direction de l’université doivent apporter
des idées nouvelles à l’intervention, mais avec une perspective éthique. Ce principe, dans le
domaine de l’investigation, signifie être capable d’envisager la famille et les enfants comme des
sujets de droits; et aussi, il faut penser à un type d’appui à la famille qui ne la rende pas
dépendante par rapport aux institutions d’aide, mais qui puisse promouvoir son développement
– en rejetant les stratégies qui peuvent favoriser sa dépendance et rendre difficile son
émancipation; finalement, penser la famille comme étant capable de résoudre ses problèmes
avec l’aide des institutions et donner de l’orientation aux professionnels qui travaillent avec elle
pour que son évolution soit assurée; et on considère que le développement des enfants doit se
passer surtout (dans la mesure du possible) au sein de la famille.
Études
On a choisi quatre études, toutes faisant partie d’un projet plus étendu avec des familles pauvres, et
on a sélectionné, aux fins de la présente présentation, des données qui montrent les résultats
obtenus après les actions entreprises par la municipalité suite aux dénonciations au Conseil
Tutélaire3.
◆
Dynamique des relations familiales au sein de familles pauvres
Études de cas (approche transversale) avec des familles (n = 4) dont les enfants ont été accueillis
dans une maison pendant une période de temps, jusqu’au moment où elles deviennent capables,
de nouveau, de prodiguer les soins envers leurs enfants.
◆
Pauvreté et violence envers les enfants et les adolescents
Étude des enfants accueillis (approche transversale) dans une institution (n = 20) qui a pour
but de donner du support à des familles aux prises avec la problématique de la violence envers
leurs enfants.
2
Le Groupe de Recherche « Famille et Socialisation » rattaché au Département de psychologie et d’éducation de la FFCL RP – Université de São
Paulo vient collaborer avec la Secrétarie du Citoyen de la Municipalité déjà quelques années après le fonctionnement de ces programmes.
3
SOS Enfant – Un service qui reste disponible 24 heures tous les jours.
– 146 –
◆
Négligence / abandon / pauvreté et famille substitutive
Étude du programme Famille Substitutive (approche longitudinale) pendant 8 mois en suivant
ce qui se passait à l’interne et en faisant l’analyse de la situation de 56 enfants (29 familles) âgés
de 1 à 16 ans.
◆
Accueil des enfants et des adolescents dans des institutions selon la recommandation du Conseil Tutélaire
Étude de toutes les interventions réalisées pendant quatre mois, avec l’objectif de décrire les
raisons qui ont motivé des juges à retirer des enfants/adolescents du milieu familial.
Objectif
L’objectif général de ce travail est de faire une analyse, sur une courte période de temps, de certains
services qui sont offerts aux enfants, adolescents et leurs familles qui sont en situation de risque
psychosocial.
Les objectifs spécifiques envisagent :
◆
d’obtenir des informations sur la perception des professionnels sur les problématiques
présentes dans les familles;
◆
d’obtenir un cadre des motifs pour lesquels les enfants sont retirés du milieu familial;
◆
de vérifier la perception des parents et des enfants sur les programmes offerts et leurs résultats.
Méthodologie
Dans ces études, on a obtenu des données par le biais de stratégies qui comprennent :
◆
l’analyse des formulaires préparés par les institutions au moment où elles reçoivent les enfants
et les adolescents ainsi que des rapports produits pendant qu’ils sont sous leur garde;
◆
l’analyse des documents caractéristiques de chaque institution, programme ou Conseil
Tutélaire (les objectifs, les normes, la clientèle envisagée);
◆
des entrevues avec les professionnels (travailleur social4, psychologue, membres des Conseils
Tutélaires);
◆
des entrevues avec les mères des enfants et des adolescents qui étaient déjà sous l’attention d’une
institution;
◆
des entrevues avec les enfants et les adolescents qui avaient l’expérience d’être accueillis par un
programme ou par une institution;
◆
des observations de la routine des services d’Attention Directe.
Ces études ont été développées selon les approches transversales et longitudinales; les choix ont été
determinés, à chaque moment, en fonction des objectifs et des besoins liés à la récolte des données.
Les analyses ont été réalisées selon deux systèmes : quantitatives et quantitatives/interprétatives.
4
Au Brésil, ce professionnel porte le nom d’assistant social.
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Résultats et discussion
D’abord, il faut signaler les lignes directrices des analyses, en accordant beaucoup d’importance à :
◆
un diagnostic des situations observées et de certains aspects de la réalité qui entourent les familles
qui ont fait partie de ces quatre études;
◆
un cadre des besoins que les personnes envisagées rapportent, à partir de ce que les familles
disent sur leur situation et leurs désirs en matière de soutien;
◆
des indicateurs quantitatifs, applicables à toute la population, mais aussi une analyse
qualitative, plus approfondie, des aspects qui seront liés à des projets d’intervention.
A. La première donnée importante montre que la totalité des familles, dont les enfants et les
adolescents ont été placés sous la protection du Conseil Tutélaire, sont en situation de pauvreté
ou de misère. Donc, elles peuvent être identifiées comme étant en situation de risque
psychosocial en raison d’une insuffisance de ressources économiques qui se reflète dans les
conditions du milieu où elles habitent. Mais, un autre facteur vient s’ajouter au cadre du risque
parce que les familles, dont la structure correspond au modèle nucléaire en raison de grandes
difficultés matérielles, se disjoignent et adoptent les stratégies les plus variées pour survivre.
B.
Les programmes
1. Du côté des programmes, l’évaluation montre bien la difficulté que pose la définition de
chaque problème identifié. Ainsi, il arrive qu’en même temps on ait des cas parfaitement
décrits et d’autres avec un mélange de toutes les causes. Les problèmes identifiés qui ont une
relation avec l’abandon sont : la maladie des parents (20 %); l’hospitalisation des parents
(20 %); la disparition des pères (20 %); la prostitution des mères (20 %); les mères en prison
(20 %); sans rapport (20 %). D’autre part, les problèmes identifiés qui ont une relation avec la
négligence sont : les problèmes d’alcoolisme des parents (31,2 %); la maladie mentale des
parents (18,2 %); drogue et famille dans la rue (6,3 %); drogue, SIDA et prostitution (6,3 %);
alcoolisme et maladie mentale (6,3 %); drogue et criminalité (18,6 %); sans rapport (12,3 %).
Ces données montrent surtout que chaque problème ne vient pas tout seul, qu’il y a
beaucoup d’autres situations qui rendent l’abandon et la négligence presque inévitables et
que ces derniers sont majoritairement associés à la pauvreté.
2. Ensuite, on a observé qu’il y a beaucoup de raisons à l’origine du placement de l’enfant dans
une famille substitutive. La négligence est responsable dans 29 % des cas; la violence dans
35 % des cas; la misère dans 18 % des cas; l’abandon dans 6 % des cas; la fuite de l’enfant de la
maison dans 6 % des cas; et les relations inappropriées au sein de la famille dans 6 % des cas.
Cependant, les descriptions dans les abrégés laissent des doutes quant à la présence et à
l’utilisation d’une définition commune à tous les professionnels au moment où ils font
l’enregistrement des cas.
3. Quand on analyse la question de la dénonciation de la maltraitance au Conseil Tutélaire, on
observe d’abord que le placement des enfants et des adolescents dans les centres d’accueil est
la mesure adoptée dans 20 % des cas. Les données extraites des abrégés montrent aussi que
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dans la plupart des cas (80 %), la personne responsable pour la violation des droits des
enfants et des adolescents est la mère, suivie par des membres de la parenté (10 %) et le père
(10 %).
Ici, il est important de signaler que très souvent, le père n’est pas présent à la maison, parce
que le niveau de séparation conjugale dans ces populations en situation de risque
psychosocial est grand; d’autre part, même quand le père est là, il n’a pas l’habitude de
s’occuper de donner des soins aux enfants (Dacanal, 2000).
4. L’analyse des cas d’interventions réalisées par le Conseil Tutélaire montre que seulement
20 % sont finalisés avec succès. Quand la liaison de la famille avec le programme se termine,
cela signifie que la famille peut offrir des meilleures conditions à ses enfants ou que les
conditions de risque ne sont plus présentes.
On peut interpréter ces résultats comme une conséquence de la complexité des problèmes
sous investigation et traitement; aussi, il y a la « réincidence » des problèmes, un phénomène
très présent, ce qui mène à argumenter qu’une évaluation des programmes offerts par la
municipalité doit être effectuée.
C. Les familles
Il faut signaler que les familles, de plus en plus, cherchent de l’aide dans les services offerts par
la communauté; elles veulent résoudre les problèmes qu’elles ont pour survivre avec leurs
enfants dans les villes et perçoivent que les conditions où elles se trouvent ne sont pas favorables
et qu’elles ont besoin d’appui externe.
1. L’analyse du programme Famille Substitutive permet de dire qu’il fonctionne d’une manière
positive. Mais il faut considérer que souvent, l’accueil de l’enfant par une autre famille arrive
avant que les adultes ne recherchent le Programme qui, parmi d’autres actions, donne des
ressources à chaque mois pour que le nouveau milieu puisse accueillir l’enfant pendant une
période de temps. Certains auteurs (Takashima, 1994) appellent ce phénomène, fréquent
chez les familles des classes populaires, la « solidarité parentale due à la ville de naissance ».
Cela signifie que dans la famille élargie ou même dans le voisinage, les personnes se
préoccupent des enfants et qu’elles, selon les ressources dont elles disposent, veulent prendre
soin des enfants des amis ou de la parenté.
2. Si on analyse les données des quatre études, on constate que les familles apprennent à
chercher les services offerts par la Municipalité et par d’autres institutions présentes dans la
communauté. Si, quand commencent les problèmes avec leurs enfants, elles sont éloignées
des sources d’information et ne savent pas où chercher de l’aide, après un temps elles
deviennent beaucoup plus compétentes pour trouver l’appui dont elles ont besoin et même
donner des orientations à d’autres familles.
3. Quand on envisage les programmes qu’utilisent les mesures extrêmes de placement des
enfants et des adolescents dans les maisons d’accueil sous l’angle des membres des familles
sous l’attention directe du Conseil Tutélaire, on constate qu’environ 70 % ont une
connaissance des motifs du retrait de l’enfant ou de l’adolescent de son milieu familial; mais
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souvent ils ne sont pas d’accord avec ce type de mesure (40 %) et discutent de l’efficacité
d’autres actions possibles.
4. Surtout, les familles racontent les difficultés qu’elles ont éprouvées quand l’enfant ou
l’adolescent est retourné à la maison, parce qu’il n’est plus capable d’obéir et les mères ont un
sentiment d’impuissance; elles considèrent que leur pratique éducative reste sans effet et
qu’elles n’ont plus le pouvoir de contrôler le comportement inadéquat de leurs enfants. Une
interprétation possible de cette situation met en lumière la question de l’affaiblissement de
l’autorité des parents à cause du retrait des enfants de leur milieu familial, suivie d’un
nombre d’accusations. La critique que l’on peut faire, suite à ces études, porte sur la manière
dont les institutions travaillent, parce que le résultat qu’elles obtiennent signifie souvent de
rendre la famille moins capable d’assumer la responsabilité d’éduquer ses enfants et
adolescents d’une manière efficace (Augusto, 2002).
5. À cette situation vient s’ajouter, d’abord, une indifférenciation des actions proposées dans
les programmes. Les études réalisées ont permis de dégager une liste des possibilités
d’actions des professionnels dès le moment où ils prennent connaissance d’un cas :
a) contact avec les Conseils Tutélaires, avec l’objectif d’échanger des informations, en
discutant et en demandant des explications sur les procédures et les mesures qu’ils
appliquent; en même temps, il y a la préoccupation que le Conseil puisse prendre
connaissance de l’adhésion des membres de la famille aux actions proposées par les
programmes;
b) entrevues avec les mères/pères ou responsables, réalisées par les professionnels des
Maisons d’accueil où se trouvent les enfants et adolescents, ayant pour but d’éclairer les
raisons qui ont mené à ce que les enfants soient mis à l’abri; les problèmes et les
conditions du fonctionnement familial impliqués dans la situation; les besoins des
enfants et les soins importants pour garantir leur santé et leur développement;
finalement, de donner des informations sur les ressources disponibles au sein de la
communauté : écoles, garderies, centres de l’enfance;
c) visites domiciliaires, pour faire un diagnostic de l’environnement dans lequel vit la
famille, ses besoins et ses ressources; ensuite, une ou deux fois par mois (selon la
disponibilité de l’institution), les professionnels reviennent à la maison des enfants
accueillis, donnent des informations, des orientations et essaient d’établir un dialogue
avec les familles;
d) contact avec d’autres programmes et services avec l’objectif de diriger les familles vers une
assistance médicale, psychologique, juridique ou vers des agences où elles pourront
trouver des opportunités de travail;
e) comme complément, il y a des groupes d’appui ou groupes thérapeutiques, selon le cas,
surtout pour orienter les familles confrontées à des problèmes d’alcool et de drogue;
f) appui matériel pendant une période de temps; certaines modalités impliquent de donner
de l’argent, mais le plus fréquemment, selon les besoins de la famille, il faut fournir du
lait aux enfants à chaque semaine et un panier alimentaire de base à chaque mois;
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g) contact avec le réseau social d’appui; quelquefois, il est important d’obtenir un
complément d’informations sur la situation des parents et de leurs enfants, mais il y a
aussi l’objectif de trouver des personnes qui, en l’absence du père ou de la mère, puissent
prendre sur elles la garde des enfants;
h) visites des parents aux enfants et adolescents hébergés dans des institutions. L’intention
est claire : il est important que le lien parent-enfant ne soit pas brisé.
Cependant, bien que la liste soit grande et comporte des propositions intéressantes, celles-ci
sont mises en œuvre d’une manière peu systématique et des procédures semblables sont
appliquées à tous les cas, même si les difficultés sont différentes (Bazon, 1999).
D. Le service public
Il est vrai que les politiques publiques veulent être en accord avec les besoins des populations et
que les services augmentent en quantité et en qualité; en même temps, il est évident que les
problèmes sont beaucoup plus fréquents et que l’appareil public n’a pas la flexibilité requise
pour éviter que les problèmes s’installent.
La discussion que l’on peut faire, en suivant l’Approche Écologique de Bronfenbrenner (Tudge,
2001), souligne la nécessité de connaître le contexte, dans tous ses aspects, avant de pouvoir faire
une interprétation adéquate; ainsi, on constate qu’il est essentiel d’analyser la famille comme un
microsystème en interaction avec d’autres (comme l’école, l’institution d’accueil) et enveloppé
par l’exo- et surtout par le macrosystème, c’est-à-dire par les valeurs et les croyances.
1. Devant ce modèle, les premières questions qui se posent sont les suivantes :
Connaît-on vraiment ces familles et ce qu’elles considèrent comme nécessaires pour les aider? Les principes
qu’elles suivent et les pratiques qu’elles adoptent?
Ou, au contraire, a-t-on seulement des préconceptions avec lesquelles on aborde les familles pauvres, en
considérant comme idéal les normes et les valeurs des classes moyennes?
On doit donc réaffirmer l’importance du diagnostic. Il s’agit d’un moment précieux pour
l’apport de données sur la réalité dans laquelle vivent les familles; il est donc essentiel et ne
doit pas être remplacé par une action directe, programmée en fonction des objectifs établis
sous l’autorité du professionnel, avant d’avoir effectué une analyse complète de la situation.
2. Un second aspect, résultant des données de ces quatre études, est que la famille, malgré tout
ce qui peut être dit dans le discours, n’est pas au centre de l’attention des professionnels et
des institutions. Cette constatation apporte une nouvelle question :
Comment va-t-on promouvoir le développement des enfants, surtout des enfants qui sont dans la pauvreté
et qui ont moins d’opportunités d’être avec d’autres adultes significatifs si on ne pense pas d’abord à la
famille?
Il est possible que le rôle essentiel des investigations réalisées par l’université, quand elle est
en interaction avec les institutions de la communauté, doit être de discuter le diagnostic avec
les professionnels qui travaillent directement avec les enfants, les adolescents et les parents,
dans des programmes d’interventions; l’objectif premier étant d’aider les familles à
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fonctionner d’une manière plus efficace; il faut se rappeler que les adultes sont les premiers
modèles des enfants et que la famille, en tant que milieu essentiel de développement, offre les
opportunités des premiers liens affectifs et est donc à la base de la socialisation. Dans la
famille naissent les citoyens.
Et, si on reconnaît comme Postman (1982, p. 19) que « les enfants sont des messages vivants
que nous envoyons à un temps que nous n’aurons pas l’opportunité de voir », il faut soigner
de plus en plus les nouvelles générations, de toutes les conditions sociales. Mais, surtout, les
services publics doivent porter attention à celles qui sont dans la pauvreté. La manière la plus
effective d’accomplir cette tâche est de placer la famille au centre de l’attention et de l’appui.
Le plus tôt on agira dans ce sens, mieux on pourra satisfaire au critère que Bronfenbrenner
(1975) considère comme le plus efficace pour évaluer une nation : « le soin que la génération
plus âgée porte envers la plus jeune », en même temps qu’on établit une nouvelle direction à
nos actions : vers la prévention.
Références
Augusto, A.P.R. (2002). Conhecendo famílias de crianças e adolescentes vitimizados: subsídios para propostas de intervenção com base numa
análise de necessidades. Monografia de conclusão de Bacharelado. Ribeirão Preto: FFCLRP USP
Bazon, M.R. (1999). Dinâmica e sociabilidade em famílias de classes populares: histórias de vida. Cadernos de psicologia e Educação
Paidéia, 10, no. 18, 40-50.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1994). Ecological models of human development. International Encyclopedia of Education (Vol. 3, p. 1643-1647).
Oxford : Elsevier Sciences.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (2000). Developmental science in the 21th Century: Emerging questions, theoretical models, research designs
and empirical findings. Social Development, 9, 115-125.
Dacanal, J. N. (2000). Intervenções junto a famílias acometidas pela problemática da violência doméstica: descrição análise de um programa de
atendimento na cidade de Ribeirão Preto – SP. Monografia de conclusão de Bacharelado. Ribeirão Preto: FFCLRP USP
Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente, Lei no. 8.069, de julho de 1990.
Postman, N. (1982). The disappearance of childhood. New York : Dell Publishing
Takashima, G.MK. (1994). O desafio da política de atendimento à família: dar vida às leis – uma questão de postura. Em S.M.
Kaloustian (Org). Família brasileira a base de tudo (p. 38-53) Paulo: Cortez
Tudge, J. (2001). Estudando a criança e a família em seu contexto: para uma abordagem cultural da Tolerância. Em Z.M.M. BiasoliAlves e R. Fischmann (Orgs). Crianças e Adolescentes- construindo uma cultura da tolerância. São Paulo: EDUSP.
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THE IMPACT OF DROUGHT ON THE INDIGENOUS CHILDREN:
SOME REFLECTIONS FROM KALAHANDI DISTRICT OF ORISSA, INDIA
B Y : D EEPAK K UMAR B EHERA , P H . D .
P R O F E S S O R , D E P A R T M E N T OF A N T H R O P O L O G Y
SAMBALPUR UNIVERSITY
SAMBALPUR , O RISSA , I NDIA
Our security and quality of life depend upon the well-being of our children. It is simply
not possible to develop a healthy society on the backs of poor and unhealthy children.
(Ross, Scott and Kelly, 1996: 95)
Introduction
The issue of food insecurity in Kalahandi has received regular attention in the recent decades
through media coverage. The frequent reporting of child selling and starvation death has made the
region known the world over. When we analyze the history of drought in Kalahandi, we get a gloomy
picture of poverty and food insecurity. After 50 years of independence the people of Kalahandi are
not only trailing economically but also educationally. The deep-rooted poverty of this region traps
many poor families during the lean season of a year. The regular failure of rainfall causes serious
problems like food crisis and lack of employment opportunity in this region. The total dependence
of people on monsoon has had led to several droughts during the past 100 years. The social
disruption caused by recurrent periods of drought and food crisis is a matter of serious concern.
While analyzing the problems of food insecurity and the reasons why certain regions and certain
sections of population are more vulnerable than the others, it is necessary to examine the nature of
the interrelationship between the “natural” and “human” factors, identifying how these factors
affect the ability of a particular society or group to cope with the stress experienced by them. This
must include an examination of the relationship between physical environment and patterns of
social production and reproduction in the community concerned (Report on Drought Situation in
Western Orissa, 1997: 7-8). The unequal distribution of resources, monopoly of the elites over the
natural resources, non-egalitarian public distribution system, opportunist motives of the political
leaders, over exploitation of the merchants, outrage of resource by the intruders have made the
situation further worse for the indigenous population of the area in general and children in
particular.
The Drought-prone Kalahandi
Kalahandi is the most backward district in Orissa. It is the southwestern district of Orissa with a
large hilly tract forming part of the main line of the Eastern Ghats. The district is formed out of the
Kalahandi feudal estate, which merged with the Indian Union in 1948 and the Khariar zamindari,
which was part of the Central Provinces and was transferred to the State of Orissa in 1936.
– 153 –
The total population of the district is 1,334,372, which constitutes 3.64 percent of the total state’s
population (Census of India, 2001). The annual rainfall of the district is 1,377 mm, which is a very
comfortable level of precipitation. Large areas of the district are hilly with varying degrees of slope
due to which rainfall is quite rapid. The soil types of the district are excellent for cultivation with
about 16 percent of the district having black, clay soil. The fertility of the soil along the riverbanks of
Tel, Udanti, Hati, Uttei and Sagada is high. Despite this munificence of nature, Kalahandi continues to
be a drought-prone and poverty-stricken district. It is significant to record that Kalahandi has the
lowest (11.57%) irrigation facility in the state of Orissa. The low irrigation availability in this district
can be explained in terms of lack of proper management of existing sources of water and the absence
of adequate State intervention to raise the irrigation base (Report on Drought Situation in Western
Orissa, 1997: 6).
Due to a lack of suitable irrigation facilities in many places the success of the harvest depends heavily
on the monsoon arriving at the appropriate time and in adequate quantity. For this reason there is a
high degree of risk attached to agricultural production and a high incidence of crop failure.
Outside of agriculture there is a major shortage of alternative opportunities for employment. While
the overall literacy rate of the district is 46.20 percent, its female literacy rate is 29.56 percent (Census
of India, 2001). High levels of illiteracy and limited access to satisfactory education facilities leave
large numbers of people highly vulnerable to various forms of exploitation. The vulnerability is
influenced by the level and nature of their participation in the market; and by the way market
operations are structured in the area concerned.
Further, people’s ability to ensure food security is frequently impaired by poor health and the
reduced efficiency of their immunity system caused by inadequate nutrition. Problems of food
insecurity faced by sections of population in Kalahandi must be linked to wider social, political and
economic factors and the pattern of historical development, which has been shaped by settlers from
outside and the rich landlords, vesting them with considerable economic and political power
(Report on Drought Situation in Western Orissa, 1997: 8-9).
The District Gazetteer reports the history of drought in the region. A severe drought hit the district
in 1954-55. A still more severe form of distress was seen in 1965-66. Like the population census once
in 10 years, the drought also occurred in 1974-75, after 10 years. The Nawapara sub-division of
Kalahandi district also witnessed severe drought in the years 1985 and 1996. Besides these major
droughts, one finds droughts of smaller magnitude in this area almost every year.
A major part of the district remains inaccessible during the rainy season. Most of the villages are
connected by fair-weather roads, which can be used by vehicular traffic from January to June. During
the rest of the year the roads remain inoperative.
The heath delivery system of the district is the worst in the state. People have to travel a long distance
to reach the nearest Primary Health Centre (PHC). The Public Distributive System (PDS) does not
operate effectively due to continuous manipulation made by the persons who remain in charge of
the system. The rich natural resources of the districts are mostly being exploited by the members of
the trading communities (mostly Marwaris) who have been staying here for a long time. A majority
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of the indigenous people of the districts are from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe
backgrounds. The literacy level is extremely poor in the district.
Recurrent Drought Leading to Extreme Poverty
Recurrent drought severely affects the basic securities of a community. It can be said that extreme
poverty is reached when all these securities are deeply undermined through recurrent drought. When
most areas are affected, the person is not respected, nor has any value in any field of life. He begins
to be seen as an “infra human being,” as Joseph Wresinski said. He had other strong words to
describe this condition, such as “social death”, “not existing anymore” and said that this was what
really distinguishes deprivation from extreme poverty (Wresinski, 1989). The problem of economic
insecurity resulting from recurrent drought is a product of a structurally non-egalitarian
distribution of resources and production. Poverty is to be measured in terms of the lack of basic
securities, such as income, housing, education and training, health, culture, family links and social
networks. While droughts are bound to affect the economy and social life of the people, the severity
of the impact depends on the intensity of the drought, the manner in which it is handled and the
strength and resilience of the economy and society (Dubhash, 1992: 30)
Poverty and Children’s Well-being
Poverty has been defined alternatively as: (1) lack of sufficient income for people to “play the roles,
participate in the relationships and follow the customary behaviour which is expected of them by
virtue of their membership in society” (Townsend, 1992: 5-10), and (2) inadequate resources to
obtain basic living needs: food, shelter, clothing (Smith, 1976). Rather than seeing a conflict between
the two definitions, Aber (1997) views the “social capital” and “physical capital” emphases of these
two definitions as the two sides of the same coin of economic deprivation. Therefore he opines that
though economic or material deprivation is most important, still other forms of deprivations—
social, physical, psychological—have a definite bearing on the well-being of children.
Although poverty level has something to do with the community, country, time one is living in, yet
the very idea of “relative poverty” does not seem to portray the intolerable state which some people
are living in (Tardieu, 1997: 209). As Amartya Sen (1983) puts it, “one consequence of taking this
type of rigidly relativist view is that poverty cannot—simply cannot—be eliminated (…) there will
always be certain sections of society that are badly off in relative terms”. Seeing poverty as an issue of
inequality, he writes, is not enough to understand its devastating effect, and therefore to
conceptualize it.
Obviously a qualitative threshold is crossed when a human being falls into deep poverty. Extreme
poverty is a violation of human and children’s rights and that the poorest are the victims of these
violations. Wresinski (1987) describes lack of basic securities as component of indicators extreme
poverty’s onslaught on human rights. A lack of basic security is the absence of one or more factors
that enable individuals and families to assume basic responsibilities and to enjoy fundamental
rights. Such a situation may become more extended and lead to more serious and permanent
consequences. Chronic poverty results when lack of basic security simultaneously affects several
aspects of people’s lives, when it is prolonged, and when it severely compromises people’s chances of
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rearing their rights and of reassuring their responsibilities in the foreseeable future (Tardieu, 1997:
211)
Poverty is not the only factor that can put children at a developmental disadvantage. Increasingly,
however, evidence suggests that poverty and many of the conditions associated with it too often
create unhealthy environment that can handicap the development of children and youth (Ross,
Scott and Kelly, 1996: 68).
Of course, child poverty is family poverty, since young children are not expected to support
themselves. If we had no poor families, we would have almost no child poverty, although materially
neglected children would still suffer because some families fail to allocate or adequately share
income. The point is: tackling child poverty means tackling family poverty. It means examining the
environmental conditions that keep parents from receiving adequate income (Ross, Scott and Kelly,
1996: 68). A major reason for the rising rate of family and child poverty is the worsening pattern of
income and locally available resource distribution.
Living in low-income families exposes children to greater risks of all kinds. Across a wide range of
variables, poor children fare far worse than children from families that are better able to meet their
basic needs. Simply put, poor children have poorer health, they have lower levels of educational
attainment, they live in riskier environments and they partake in riskier behaviours. Over the long
term, child poverty significantly endangers a child’s opportunity to grow and develop into a healthy,
self-reliant adult. It is important to note that poor infants have a higher mortality rate; low birth
weight is more prevalent in poor neighbourhoods and disability is linked to low income.
The most powerful force driving children into hazardous work or employment is poverty. Poverty
thus begets child labour, which in turn perpetuates poverty, inequality and discrimination. Partial
evidence suggests that children in poor families sometimes contribute up to a quarter of household
income. Since poor households spend a large proportion of their income on food, child labour can
indeed be critical to their survival. Having to labour as a child—and most children who work do not
have the privilege of free choice—can have an immense impact on the child’s physical and intellectual
development.
While poverty, illness or disability and other crises within the household often lead to child labour,
another important factor that can push children into the workplace is the weight of local customs
and traditions. Children are sometimes expected to play their social role or follow their parents’
footsteps in a particular trade. Local traditions can require poor families to indebt themselves for
social or religious events, for which they subsequently have to rely on their children’s work to pay off
the debt. Because of insufficient awareness of its consequences, child labour may be so deeply
ingrained in local customs and habits that the parents and the children themselves do not realize
that it is illegal or against the interests of the children.
Any system of indicators of children’s well-being emphasizing new measures beyond survival would
nonetheless be inadequate without measures of poverty. This is because poverty is one of the major
constraints on children’s well-being and so is a necessary context within which to judge other
indicators of children’s well-being. Child poverty places severe limits on the abilities of families,
communities, states and societies to enhance the well-being of children (Aber, 1997: 193).
– 156 –
Poverty is the main underlying cause of millions of preventable child deaths each year. It is the cause
of millions of children going hungry, missing out on school or being forced into child labour.
Poverty causes lifelong damage to children’s minds and bodies, perpetuating the cycle of poverty
across generations.
Objectives
An attempt has been made in this paper to examine the consequences of drought and poverty on a
sample of indigenous children through an empirical study. The study tries to present a picture of the
social disruption caused by recurrent drought in the Kalahandi and how that has adversely affected
the life of the indigenous children. It analyses the problem of food insecurity and the reasons why
the indigenous children of this region are more vulnerable than the others.
Methodology
The study was conducted in two non-irrigated villages, namely Mahulkot and Jayantpur, of
Kalahandi district, which were severely effected by the drought of 1996. Data were collected from the
sample villages during the period of drought through interview, observation and case study
methods. Children of the sample villages constituted the primary set of respondents for the study.
Along with income level of the villagers, three other aspects were taken into consideration, namely,
irregularity of income, chronic debt and the nature of income. We also examined the way children
think about the drought and participate in crisis management during the drought period. Their
views on the impact of drought on their lives were also recorded and analyzed.
The Sample Villages
Mahulkot has a total population of 444 consisting of 156 households. On the other hand Jayantpur
is a relatively smaller village having 65 households and a total population of 258. Village Jayantpur
is situated closer to the forest in comparison to Mahulkot. Both villages are multi-ethnic and have a
low level of literacy rate. The literacy rates for male and female of Mahulkot were 46.1 and 27.8
whereas the corresponding figures for Jayantpur were 43.1 and 24.2. The illiteracy rate is thus much
higher in the sample villages than that of the State and National average.
A majority of families have small and uneconomic land holdings. A good number of families are
again landless. Though some of the people do not have patta land, yet they cultivate the land on the
hill slope or near the stream (government land) and thereby try to produce part of their own
consumption requirements. Both villages have a primary school. However, the children move out of
the village for receiving secondary level education. A larger number of boys attend schools compared
to girls.
Neither of the villages has a Primary Health Center (PHC); the villagers use to cover at least four
kilometres either by foot or by cycle to reach the nearest PHC. Though there is provision of electricity
in the village Mahulkot, only 21 families have availed themselves of the service. Other people have
decided against the same considering it to be too expensive. In Jayantpur there is no provision of
electricity.
– 157 –
In both of the villages the work participation rate for men, women and children is very high. Inside
the village they earn wage mostly as agricultural labourers. The payment (bhuti) is made in kind. The
scope of earning wage during the period of drought becomes so less that all able-bodied persons
move out from the village for earning wage. Income generating activities include mat and basket
making, selling firewood and vegetables in the weekly market. The inhabitants of both villages have
low risk-bearing capacity, as they are very poor. The crops grown in the sample villages are very much
dependent on rainfall without any protective irrigation facility. The level of water comes down so
much during summer that the villagers experience acute water shortage. They cover long distances
to fetch portable water. Livestock were important to the household for ploughing, for manure and
for milk products for domestic consumption.
Impact of Drought: Chain of General Consequences
Drought was just the beginning of a slow process by which it permeated through the economy and
made its impact felt mostly by the vulnerable group.
There is a “sequential pattern” in which the drought manifested itself in the sample villages.
◆
Decline in the crop acreage;
◆
Set back to agricultural production (crop production, milk production);
◆
Fall in employment in the agricultural sector due to slowing down of agricultural activity;
◆
Fall in purchasing power of those engaged in agriculture;
◆
Scarcity of drinking water; fall in water level;
◆
Scarcity of food grains;
◆
Rise in the price of food grains and other commodities;
◆
Scarcity of fodder;
◆
Distress sale of cattle;
◆
Loss of cattle life;
◆
Low intake of food;
◆
Malnutrition especially among children;
◆
Ill health and spread of diseases like diarrhea, dysentery, cholera;
◆
Distress sale and mortgage of land, jewellery and personal property;
◆
Migration of people in search of employment; depopulation of area;
◆
Death due to malnutrition/starvation/diseases;
◆
Fall of effective demand from the agriculture sector leading to the dislocation of productive
processes and the slowing down of the economic activities in the secondary and tertiary sectors;
◆
Low morale of people; increasing number of thefts and looting of grain shops;
– 158 –
◆
Social stress and tension; disruption of social networks and relationships;
◆
Growth of fatalism; reliance on heavenly power.
The impact was not the same on all the sections of the sample villages. It was, of course, greater on
the more vulnerable sections, i.e. those with hand to mouth existence. They included the landless
and the marginal farmers and the artisans like weavers, ironsmiths, basket makers, whose livelihood
depends upon local demand for goods and services. They were the ones whose stocks, if any, were
quickly exhausted, who had to eat their seeds and who were compelled to sell or mortgage their
meager belongings to the well-to-do. A succession of bad harvests plunged the small and marginal
farmers of these two villages in a vicious circle of poverty dragging them down from the status of
landowner to landless, penniless and powerless conditions.
On the other hand, a few well-to-do in the sample villages not only survived but could emerge even
stronger. Taking advantage of the scarcity and high price of food grown they could make a fortune
out of the surplus stocks. They could lend money against land mortgaged by the small/marginal
farmers and later, taking advantage of their weakened economic position and inability to repay the
loan, could foreclose the mortgage. Thus the aftermath of a drought could leave the poor poorer and
the rich richer and a great measure of inequality and potential for exploitation. Even if food stocks
were available, the poor did not have access to them in times of drought because of what has been
described as a “collapse in entitlements”. There was evidence of low consumption levels among large
sections of the vulnerable population during the time of drought.
Survival Strategies
Some of the survival strategies adopted by the inhabitants of our sample villages were:
◆
Making use of social support mechanisms which existed in the villages;
◆
Making use of traditional and indigenous production methods which were well adapted to local
conditions;
◆
Reduction in consumption and changed consumption patterns; greater use of Kanki (broken
rice) which was available at a lower price;
◆
Drawing upon forest produce and wild roots and tubers; Mango Kernel was dried up and stored
for use during the lean period. A kind of gruel was made out of the mango kernel for its
consumption during the lean period.
◆
Use of stored food and other produce saved during a good harvest;
◆
Borrowing—use of loan and credit;
◆
Sale and mortgage of assets and durables; the prices of brass metal went down substantially
compared to the previous year indicating that people in the region had been making distress
sale of brass utensils.
◆
In both these non-irrigated villages with little employment opportunities inside the village, the
option under scarcity for a small cultivating family was to move out of the village in search of
employment. In both of the sample villages out-migration became a regular phenomenon both
– 159 –
for males and females. Children who were above 10 years of age frequently accompanied their
parents for wage earning during the drought period. The members of the family moved together
to seek employment outside the village.
◆
Buffalo and cattle were stall-fed for a variety of reasons: a lack of grazing land, the restriction of
grazing in the forest.
The Impact of the Poverty on the Indigenous Children
The specific needs of children within a household are not normally fully understood or explicitly
acknowledged: their needs are often overlooked and subsumed by the needs of other household
members, who have more power to express themselves.
For many children of our sample villages the dominating feature of childhood was that of
powerlessness and lack of control over what happened to them. They were exposed to the dangers
that hampered their growth and development.
Poverty was one of the causes of malnutrition in our sample villages. We came across many children
suffering from malnutrition during the course of our investigation. Lack of food, common and
preventable infections, inadequate care and unsafe water in the sample villages caused malnutrition
among many children.
Some children were found in bondage due to the simple fact of being born to parents who were
bonded themselves. A few families, riddled with debts, were unable to refuse their employer taking
the child to do what he wished.
Many children were members of a non-bonded family but due to extreme poverty the parents were
not able to collect enough money to face exceptional expenditures such as a marriage, a funeral or
serious sickness of a family member. The child was placed in bondage in exchange for a sum of
money to pay the bill. The growth mechanism of the initial debt rapidly transformed a temporary
situation into a permanent one.
In some cases villagers were not able to survive with their families on their wages and asked their
employer for an advance on their future wages. The overall amount of advance and interest became
so substantial that those villagers saw no other solution than to place a child at the disposal of his
employer.
Some brokers visited the villages especially in periods of drought. A loan was proposed to the family
by attracting them with the possibility of reimbursement through the labour of one of their
children. The recruiters offered to pay the travel expenses of the child to the place of work and to be
reimbursed later.
The cost of education is a major factor why some children in our sample villages were not enrolled in
school. Many children left school not primarily because of the need to work, but because of the
direct cost of education. The cost of education per child could represent up to a third of the cash
income of a typical poor family. It was not surprising, therefore, that the majority of children were
working in order to pay for their own schooling or that of younger siblings.
– 160 –
The effects of drought and deforestation on children were considerable. The children spent more
time in the forest because of the length of time taken collecting fodder and firewood and herding
livestock. They again spent more time collecting water, working in the fields and doing wage labour.
The dry soil takes longer to plough and the reduced fertility of the soil leads to lower yields. These all
affected boys and girls, not only in their daily workload through traveling further and working
harder, but in taking responsibilities during difficult times, contributing to the household either
through earning some income, or through taking on new roles.
Drought led to huge migration from the sample villages. The population of the sample villages got
reduced to almost half during this period. This increased the pressure on those remaining. Those
who migrated were mainly the able-bodied men and women. People left in the village therefore are
mainly older people, pregnant women and smaller children whose productivity was lower. The result
was that children were having to work at a younger age, which could affect their health and interrupt
their previous ‘childhood roles’. This altered people’s perceptions of what activities are appropriate
for children at certain ages.
In situations where deforestation was getting worse people said they have to decrease their livestock.
They also said that having fewer livestock could lead to a lack of manure. This situation is
exacerbated by the loss of other food products form the livestock.
The main factor determining the number of children who could go to school was the relative wealth
of the household. School-going children had to work in peak seasons rather than study. They went
for wage labour, worked in urban areas or worked to pay back the loans. Even when a child was not
directly involved like this, the indirect effects were often to place an extra household work burden on
the children, particularly on girls, when their parents moved out of the village for wage earning. The
peak labour time for children, especially girls, was in the agricultural seasonal slack period when it
was harder to collect fodder, water and firewood. Some of the work that children did was year-round,
such as collecting fodder, looking after siblings and livestock, and for girls, helping in the house.
Collecting firewood, which the children find harder than collecting fodder, was carried out when it
was dry in the so-called slack season and stockpiled for the rest of the year. In this season, water also
dried up, which means that water also took longer to collect. At the end of the dry season, people,
especially children, suffered from diarrhoea and other diseases.
Inadequate family income coupled with the demand for cheap labour are two of the main ‘push’
factors for migration and child labour in Kalahandi. Child labour and migration contributed to low
school attendance. One major reason for school dropout and non-enrolment was poverty. The
parents, most of whom were adversely affected by drought and poverty, were unable to meet the
costs of schooling of their children. They were forced to withdraw their children from schools so that
they can assist in water collection and the care of younger siblings. Most of the primary school
leavers did not join secondary schools. They moved to towns to engage in unskilled labour or went
to the neighbourhood farms for casual waged labour. With bad economic conditions, already
overstretched parents found it increasingly difficult to maintain their children. More and more
children, particularly girls, were being withdrawn from school, as investment in their education was
seen as being lost when they marry. Further many parents see children’s work as an important
process of socialization of adapting to adult roles. They argued that children were able to feel that
– 161 –
they could contribute if they were working and felt positive about supplementing the family income,
particularly in the face of adult male migration to urban areas.
Children were affected either directly, by actually going for wage labour, or indirectly, by having to
bear the burden of the household work, when the adults and other children were out working.
Children over ten years old went out for wage labour along with their parents.
Girls did the hardest work, had the least say and the fewest education options. This was true for all
of the households in the research area and related closely to parents’ attitude to gender roles and
preferences.
The life of drought-affected children became increasingly critical. As a result, the quality of life for
these children and their chances of a more prosperous future diminished.
The poor children did not do as well in school as non-poor children. At a basic level, a deprived
material environment hindered the child’s ability to concentrate on learning. And schools
themselves exacerbated the problems through their curriculum and programmes, inadequate
facilities, shortage of funds, and in the quality of their staff. Together, these factors hampered the
child’s future economic and social well-being. The dropout rate was also very high among the poor
children. The level of formal education reached by parents, and their history of employment, are also
key factors to measure along this dimension. Our study further showed a link between parents’ and
children’s education. Both are good indicators of persistent deep poverty.
Concluding Remarks
The repercussions for children growing up in poverty are becoming depressingly clear with each new
study. The problem of economic insecurity created by recurrent drought is a product of a
structurally non-egalitarian distribution of resources and production. The indigenous children of
the sample area are overburdened and lead a life under economic deprivation. They can be described
as “children without childhood.” The eradication of poverty must be at the centre of development
efforts into the 21st century. For as long as poverty is allowed to grow unchecked, children will
continue to suffer.
References
Aber, J.Lawrence. 1997. “Measuring Child Poverty for Use in Comparative Policy Analysis,” in Asher Ben-Arieh and Helmut
Wintersberger (eds.), Monitoring and Measuring the State of Children—Beyond Survival. Vienna: European Centre for Social Welfare
Policy and Research.
Census of India. 2001. Series—22 Orissa, Paper 1 of 2001 Provisional Population Totals. Directorate of Census Operations, Orissa.
Dubhash, P.R. 1992. “Drought and Development,” Economic and Political Weekly, March 28, 1992.
Nayak, A.N. 1996. Depleted Resources, Food Insecurity and Food Crisis Management among the Gonds of Western Orissa.
Unpublished M.Phil. Dissertation, Sambalpur University, India.
Report on Drought Situation in Western Orissa. 1997. Sambalpur University, Sambalpur, India.
Ross, David P, Katherine Scott and Mark Kelly. 1996. “Child Poverty: What are the Consequences?” (p. 67-99) in Helmut
Wintersberger (ed.), Children on the Way from Marginality towards Citizenship. Childhood Policies: Conceptual and Practical Issues. Vienna:
European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research.
– 162 –
Sen, A.K. 1983. Poor Relatively Speaking. Oxford Economic Papers, 1.
Smith, A. 1976. The Wealth of Nations. New York: Random House.
Tardieu, Bruno. 199. “The Human Rights of children Growing up in Extreme Poverty; What Lacks of Basic Securities,” (p. 209-225)
in Asher Ben-Arieh and Helmut Wintersberger (eds.), Monitoring and Measuring the State of Children—Beyond Survival. Vienna:
European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research.
Townsend, P. 1992. The International Analysis on Poverty. Hemel Hempstead, England: Harvestr-Wheatsheat.
Wresinski, J. 1987. Chronic Poverty and the Lack of Basic Security. The Wresinski Report of the Economic and Social council of France,
translation, documentation française.
– 163 –
LES DIFFÉRENTS VISAGES DE LA PAUVRETÉ À KITCISAKIK
P A R : S TEVE A UDET , B . T S .
ORGANISATEUR COMMUNAUTAIRE À KITCISAKIK
D ORIS PAPATIE
DIRECTRICE GÉNÉRALE
C O M M U N A U T É DE K I T C I S A K I K
R OCH R IENDEAU , B . A .
P S Y C H O É D U C A T E U R EN M I L I E U N A T U R E L À K I T C I S A K I K
V A L D ’O R , Q U É B E C , C A N A D A
Contexte géographique et social : « tiers monde de l’Est canadien »
À l’intérieur de cette présentation, nous traiterons des personnes autochtones. Elles ne représentent
que 1 % de la population québécoise mais constituent un groupe où il y a une forte incidence de
pauvreté. Au cours des prochaines minutes, on accentuera cette réflexion où l’on traitera d’une
communauté autochtone qui, de par ses propres choix de société, vit de l’exclusion et de l’ignorance
suite aux décisions politiques, économiques et sociales des gouvernements au cours de son histoire.
Cette communauté se nomme Kitcisakik.
Description de la communauté de Kitcisakik
La communauté de Kitcisakik fait partie de la famille des Algonquins. La population comprend
actuellement 360 personnes et elle compte deux agglomérations : la plus ancienne se trouve au
Grand lac Victoria et elle est située à 118 km de route de Val-d’Or. La seconde se trouve à proximité
du barrage Bourque, au lac Dozois, à 92 km de Val-d’Or. Le site du Grand lac Victoria est
uniquement occupé l’été, en continuité avec les anciennes habitudes de concentration estivale et de
dispersion hivernale sur les « camps de trappe ». De son côté, le site du lac Dozois est celui où l’on
trouve les principaux édifices de services (entre autres, le Conseil des Anicinapek de Kitcisakik et le
dispensaire). Plusieurs familles y ont construit une maison au cours des 10 dernières années et, à la
différence de la précédente, cette agglomération est habitée durant toute l’année.
Kitcisakik est l’une des communautés les plus pauvres de l’Est du Canada, compte tenu qu’elle ne
dispose d’aucune infrastructure permanente, qu’elle est dépourvue de maisons sur fondation et
qu’elle est sans école. Les gens vivent dans de petits logis d’une superficie moyenne de 16 ⳯ 24 pieds
où l’on compte en moyenne 6 personnes, mais il n’est pas rare que l’on puisse compter jusqu’à 10 ou
12 personnes. Les maisons n’ont pas l’eau courante, ni l’électricité au secteur, ni le téléphone. Elles
n’ont donc pas de salle de bains, ni de salle de lavage. Les gens vivent dans des logements où les
conditions sociosanitaires ne rencontrent pas les standards généralement admis au Canada,
puisqu’il leur faut cuisiner sur des réchauds de camping et qu’ils doivent s’éclairer avec des lampes
fonctionnant au kérosène ou au naphta.
Seuls les édifices du Conseil des Anicinapek de Kitcisakik et du dispensaire sont alimentés en eau
courante, à quoi s’ajoutent le téléphone et l’électricité obtenue grâce à une génératrice fonctionnant
– 164 –
au diesel. Depuis les trois dernières années, la communauté s’est dotée d’une garderie, d’une salle
communautaire ainsi qu’un bloc sanitaire qui ont aussi ces services de base. De plus, on compte
un mini-dépanneur ainsi qu’un comptoir familial où l’on vend des vêtements d’occasion.
Finalement, il y a une église sur la presqu’île du Grand lac Victoria, qui est d’ailleurs la plus vieille
de l’Abitibi-Témiscamigue.
Les seuls employeurs de la communauté sont le Conseil de bande, qui emploie actuellement
34 personnes, dont 20 sont autochtones. Ajoutons à ces services une petite compagnie de transport
médical qui emploie trois personnes de la communauté. En dehors de ces revenus d’économie de
service, il n’y a pas de véritable moteur économique dans le milieu car on y compte aucune PME et
les compagnies exploitant les ressources naturelles du territoire n’embauchent pas de membres de la
communauté de Kitcisakik.
Sur les 360 personnes, 186 ont moins de 18 ans (51,7 %). La communauté connaît le plus haut taux
d’aide sociale au Québec. En février 2001, 86,78 % de la population active étaient prestataires de la
sécurité du revenu.
Syndrome du pensionnat, déracinement d’un peuple
Situation des enfants et de la langue à Kitcisakik : pauvreté cognitive, de la culture et de la langue
Au sein de cette communauté, on constate de plus en plus la perte de la maîtrise de la langue
algonquine qui se perd à grande vitesse au sein des générations montantes. Des facteurs tels que
l’omniprésence des langues étrangères à travers la télévision et la musique, ou encore l’usage assidu
du français au sein des organismes communautaires, expliquent en partie ce phénomène. Toutefois,
le principal facteur est sans contredit la scolarisation des enfants et des adolescents qui se réalise en
dehors de tout apprentissage de l’algonquin dans les écoles provinciales.
En fait, la scolarisation des enfants de Kitcisakik s’est toujours faite à l’extérieur de la communauté.
Lors de la création du pensionnat amérindien de Saint-Marc de Figuery au milieu des années 1950,
les enfants ont été enlevés à leurs familles, coupés de leur culture; ce fut le début d’un clivage entre
les générations qui n’a jamais cessé de se poursuivre. D’une part, les enfants étaient privés de leurs
parents pendant 10 mois par année; d’autre part, on leur interdisait de parler la langue maternelle.
C’est alors que l’usage de cette langue a commencé à se perdre dans la communauté, le processus
n’ayant jamais cessé de s’accentuer depuis. Même si ce pensionnat a fermé ses portes en 1970 et que
les enfants de Kitcisakik sont allés à l’école dans la communauté avoisinante du Lac Simon, ils n’ont
jamais pu profiter d’un véritable enseignement de la langue maternelle. De plus, rien n’a été fait non
plus en ce sens dans les écoles primaires et secondaires de Val-d’Or où les enfants de la communauté
sont scolarisés depuis 1989.
Alors que de nombreuses communautés autochtones du Canada peuvent assurer l’apprentissage de
la langue ancestrale à leurs enfants par l’utilisation d’outils pédagogiques appropriés, la population
de Kitcisakik ne dispose actuellement d’aucune ressource financière pour le maintien de cette
richesse. En effet, celle-ci est l’une des seules communautés autochtones qui n’a pas de statut
juridique tel que « réserve indienne », « communauté conventionnée » (comme chez les Cris du
Québec) ou « municipalité » (comme chez les Inuits). Ces différents types de statut leur permettent
– 165 –
d’obtenir du financement spécifique pour la valorisation et l’enseignement de leurs langues
ancestrales. Or, comme la communauté de Kitcisakik ne dispose d’aucun statut juridique
comparable1, celle-ci ne peut profiter de budgets homologues, puisque ceux qu’elle obtient sont
réservés exclusivement à la scolarisation des enfants à Val-d’Or.
Les interventions ont pour objectif de réconcilier l’enfant avec la culture de ses aïeux, de lui en faire
découvrir la profondeur, l’intelligence et la beauté. Celui-ci veut donc favoriser la ré-appropriation
d’une identité sociale menacée et il traduit les aspirations profondes que la majorité des membres de
la communauté ont exprimées à l’assemblée annuelle de l’été 2000 alors qu’ils ont énoncé que la
sauvegarde de la langue, de la culture ainsi que leur dignité doivent dorénavant être priorisés dans les
mandats du Conseil des Anicinapek de Kitcisakik.
Le manque de connaissance et ses problèmes
Le fait de maintenir une population dans l’inertie et l’ignorance, tel que l’on peut l’observer en l’an
2002 à Kitcisakik, nous apparaît comme un ensemble d’états de connaissance qui correspondent à
des niveaux de maîtrise inégalement répartis. Dans la génération de ceux qui ont plus de 45 ans, on
trouve une très forte proportion de locuteurs unilingues. Cette proportion baisse radicalement chez
les gens qui sont âgés de 45 ans et moins car en deçà de ce seuil, l’immense majorité des locuteurs est
passée par l’école obligatoire. Toutefois, la maîtrise de la langue maternelle y est encore très bonne si
on étend cette classe d’âge aux individus âgés de 30 ans et plus. Ceux qui sont dans la trentaine
avouent éprouver des difficultés à comprendre plusieurs mots ou tournures syntaxiques employés
par les aînés, mais ils peuvent quand même exprimer dans la langue maternelle l’essentiel de leurs
expériences personnelles. Quant aux enfants, aux adolescents et aux jeunes adultes dans la vingtaine,
ils la comprennent dans le registre des choses les plus familières mais ne peuvent soutenir une
conversation très approfondie avec les aînés, ni même, souvent, avec leurs propres parents. Il ressort
donc de tout cela que la maîtrise de la langue algonquine décroît avec l’âge. Pour des raisons
historiques et sociologiques mais aussi parce qu’il existe tout un vocabulaire propre à certains
champs de la communication, la population des moins de 30 ans renonce souvent à la parler en
s’exprimant de préférence en français.
La révolution d’un peuple
Nouvelle ère : délier la parole chez l’enfant, la dénonciation
Lors de son assemblée annuelle à l’été 1988, le regretté Donat Papatisse2, chef de Kitcisakik, donne la
parole aux enfants. Pour une première fois dans l’histoire de cette communauté, les enfants ont
énoncé devant les adultes présents, leurs désirs d’avoir un milieu où il y aurait absence d’alcool, de
drogue et de violence sous toutes ses formes. Certains de ces enfants ont même dénoncé les sévices
sexuels subis et demandaient aux adultes et leaders de prendre les moyens afin de les protéger. La
1
Aussi incroyable que cela puisse paraître, cette communauté n’a pas de statut particulier, sauf que l’on reconnaît qu’elle se trouve sur un
« territoire non organisé » et que le Conseil de bande est officiellement reconnu comme l’instance représentant les intérêts de sa population.
2
Donat Papatisse, décédé le 19 août 1996.
– 166 –
volonté exprimée par ceux-ci exigeait que leurs parents cessent toute consommation abusive et qu’ils
s’occupent d’eux (les enfants).
La majorité des enfants ont exprimé leur désir d’avoir une école dans leur propre communauté car
ceux-ci fréquentaient l’école dans la communauté algonquine voisine du lac Simon où l’on
retrouvait les mêmes problématiques. Cependant, tel que mentionné précédemment, concernant
l’absence de statut légal, il était impossible à ce moment d’établir une école dans le milieu.
Finalement, une décision fut prise à l’effet que dorénavant, les parents pouvaient décider d’envoyer
leurs enfants à l’école à Val-d’Or.
Bref, suite à cette assemblée annuelle, les enfants ont été transférés graduellement vers les écoles
provinciales. Afin d’accueillir ceux-ci, le Conseil des Anicinapek a mis en place un service
d’hébergement scolaire à partir de familles québécoises. L’honnêteté, le respect et la sécurité des
enfants de Kitcisakik étaient des critères recherchés lors de la sélection des foyers hébergements.
Dénonciation massive des agressions sexuelles
Après avoir intégré leur foyer scolaire, les enfants ont connu une continuité dans la réponse à leurs
besoins tels que la stabilité et la sécurité. Ces conditions ont favorisé les dévoilements de situations
de négligences et d’abus sexuels subis dans leur milieu.
Suite à cette vague de dénonciation, des signalements ont été rapportés au Directeur de la protection
de la jeunesse de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue. Le Conseil exerça des pressions politiques afin que sa
population puisse recevoir des services psychosociaux pour évaluer et traiter les enfants ainsi que
leurs familles. De plus, celui-ci donna son appui à une vaste campagne de dénonciation massive des
abus commis sur les enfants et les femmes.
Faute de réponse de la part du DPJ, les intervenants du milieu appuyé par le Conseil des Anicinapek
ont exigé une enquête dirigée par la Commission de la Protection et des Droits de la Jeunesse (CPDJ).
Suite à cette enquête, des ressources humaines et des capitaux ont été investis dans la communauté
de Kitcisakik afin d’intervenir auprès des enfants victimes. Une table de concertation s’est mise sur
pied, des intervenants se sont ajoutés à l’équipe déjà en place pour travailler avec le milieu afin de
traiter les pathologies existantes. La communauté en concertation avec les intervenants a développé
et s’est dotée d’un nouvel outil, d’une nouvelle façon d’intervenir qui va changer la façon de travailler
au sein de la communauté.
Kitcisakik développe et se dote d’un outil extraordinaire :
le travail de réseau communautaire
Suite à l’enquête de la CPDJ, les intervenants de la communauté se sont mobilisés sur l’ampleur de
la situation. Le travail de réseau communautaire a été la clé du succès dans cette lutte pour enrayer
les agressions sexuelles subies par l’ensemble des jeunes et des femmes. Beaucoup d’acteurs ont été
interpellés, c’est à dire le ministre de la Santé et des Services sociaux, le DPJ, les intervenants sociaux,
les leaders de la communauté et tous les travailleurs de Kitcisakik. Dans ce processus de
réhabilitation, on a dû mettre des lignes directrices sur la façon de traiter la confidentialité. La
notion cléricale de la confidentialité prenait un autre sens. Celle-ci devrait être adaptée et être plus
– 167 –
souple dans la mesure où l’information était partagée entre les intervenants naturels du milieu et
ceux du réseau de la santé et des services sociaux. La décision de cette orientation clinique était
d’assurer le succès des interventions dans la communauté, c’est-à-dire par l’identification des
offenseurs afin d’assurer la sécurité des victimes par l’approche thérapeutique communautaire, sa
principale force étant la pression des pairs.
Conséquence des choix économiques, sociaux et politiques
Impact de la mondialisation : ça persiste depuis plus de quatre siècles
La période contact
D’une économie de subsistance se limitant strictement aux activités de la chasse, de la pêche et de
cueillette, l’arrivée des colonisateurs sur le territoire laisse présager de bonnes affaires. En échange du
plus commun de leurs produits, la fourrure, ils reçoivent diverses marchandises qu’ils font entrer
dans leurs habitudes de vie.
C’est à partir de ce moment même qu’ils se sont trouvés confrontés à la réalité de la mondialisation.
En effet, la forte demande en fourrures et de son commerce luxuriant depuis quatre siècles a conduit
à transformer les espaces économiques préexistants en pourvoyeurs de ressources pour son bénéfice.
Ainsi, dans notre histoire, à long terme, la transformation de la chasse de subsistance en traite des
fourrures destinées au marché des Français, des Anglais et des autres empires, a conduit partout à
l’épuisement de la ressource. Dès lors, les autochtones furent confrontés à la mondialisation avec ses
règles du jeu.
Aussi, ils ont été placés dans le contexte d’une mondialisation culturelle dont ils n’ont pas été que les
consommateurs. Autant l’Anicinape a appris de la culture occidentale, autant l’Européen a appris, de
son contact avec la culture amérindienne. Le monde autochtone faisait connaissance avec les outils
de fer et l’écriture, ils s’instruisaient à travers l’orthodoxie du christianisme. Les colonisateurs, eux,
s’initiaient à l’art de la chasse et de la trappe, à la connaissance du territoire et découvraient les vertus
médicinales de la flore locale. Ces échanges ont enrichi les uns et les autres en faisant découvrir
l’horizon de l’une et l’autre culture à des connaissances et à des manières de faire inconnues.
A partir de 1815, de la traite des fourrures et le développement de la coupe du bois et de
l’exploitation agricole, les autochtones sont devenus plus que jamais des « entraves » à un « progrès »
qui commandait leur dépossession territoriale. La dépossession politique a suivi pour ces peuples
qui ont même perdu le droit d’exister et pour lesquels l’assimilation devait, jusqu’en 1960, constituer
la seule issue.
Encore plus insidieux fut de vouloir confiner les Amérindiens dans des espaces inventés par les
gouvernements sous la forme de réserves, ce qui représente des frontières exiguës dans leur relation
à la terre de même qu’à leur univers mental, piégés par un passé forclos et un avenir fermé. Dans sa
brutalité, le processus de dépossession a aussi provoqué une désorganisation générale du mode de
vie traditionnel, dont les conséquences furent catastrophiques à tout point de vue. C’est pour ces
raisons que les gens de Kitcisakik ont toujours refusé le concept de réserve jusqu’à aujourd’hui.
– 168 –
Pour les même raisons aussi, ils sont pénalisés de ne pas s’être conformés aux règles du jeu
du colonisateur.
Le prix de la liberté. Ramer à contre courant : ces irréductibles « Anicinapek »
Faute de ne pas avoir troqué leur liberté au prix d’être enfermé dans une réserve, d’avoir renoncé à
l’occupation de leur territoire, la communauté doit se battre quotidiennement pour avoir et
maintenir les services de base que n’importe quel Canadien obtiendrait sans même y penser.
L’image de Kitcisakik peut ressembler, de l’extérieur, étrangement à la trame de fond des ouvrages de
Cossiny et Uderzo à l’intérieur des aventures d’Astérix où l’on prend plaisir à découvrir ces
irréductibles Gaulois résister aux Romains. Cependant, les Kitcisakinis n’ont pas eu et n’auront jamais
de druide pour fabriquer la fameuse potion magique. Par contre, ils pourront découvrir leurs forces
en travaillant ensemble pour le mieux-être de leur collectivité.
Le choc des cultures, les règles du colonisateur :
maintenir Kitcisakik dans l’ignorance et la pauvreté
Confrontation avec les marchés de la mondialisation, choc avec la culture occidentale, perte du
pouvoir politique sur son destin, les Premières Nations ont été aux prises avec les trois faces de la
mondialisation depuis longtemps. Or celle-ci, loin de leur apporter le bonheur et la prospérité que
les grands financiers de ce monde promettent avec optimisme, les a gardés dans un état proche de la
misère, et même d’extrême pauvreté. Jamais les communautés autochtones n’ont-elles affiché un tel
taux de mortalité par violence et par suicide, un taux d’alcoolisme très élevé, l’usage abusif des
drogues et ce, dès l’enfance, un taux d’abandon scolaire catastrophique et une augmentation
croissante de la pauvreté. Les difficultés de ces gens à profiter de la mondialisation proviennent
d’obstacles à la fois structurels et culturels. Structurels en premier lieu puisque la dépossession du
territoire et de ses ressources a été systématique. Elle comportait même un volet légal, par
l’application de la Loi sur les Indiens, ces derniers ont eu longtemps le statut d’enfants. Mais les
obstacles étaient aussi culturels, il ne faut pas l’oublier.
Et pourtant, à côté de trop nombreuses communautés incrustées dans une culture de la pauvreté
comparable à celle des plus misérables ghettos noirs des villes américaines et même du tiers monde,
l’on observe d’extraordinaires réalisations de projets sociaux et communautaires. Cela n’exprime pas
la renonciation à soi, mais bien au contraire la volonté de s’approprier le monde à la manière des gens
de Kitcisakik.
En attendant que ces gens en viennent un jour à un compromis avec les lois du marché et l’idéologie
du capitalisme, il est possible de penser à s’opposer à la mondialisation, du moins sous sa dimension
apolitique. En favorisant l’émergence d’un espace public qu’ils puissent investir sans être une
solution toute faite, l’accès à la responsabilité politique peut être une façon de participer à l’ordre de
la mondialisation. Saisir ses enjeux et d’y prendre sa place sans se replier sur les discours redondants
ficelés au passé.
– 169 –
Intervenir en contexte interculturel : le milieu « Anicinape »
Depuis près de 20 ans, la communauté de Kitcisakik a fait appel à une équipe d’intervenants de
l’extérieur du milieu afin d’intervenir au niveau du traitement de la santé physique et mentale. La
première équipe, composée de quatre personnes en concertation avec la communauté, a constaté
l’ampleur des différents types de souffrances. D’un commun accord, elle a choisi d’intervenir à partir
des paramètres de l’approche écologique.
Cette dernière tient compte des différents systèmes de l’individu. Par exemple, l’individu en
interaction avec ses parents, sa famille élargie, sa communauté, son milieu scolaire, les structures
politiques au niveau local, régional et national. Cette approche, qui répond aux besoins et attentes
du milieu, a orienté le cadre des interventions subséquentes.
Il y a 14 ans, une équipe psychosociale s’est jointe à l’équipe de santé et aux intervenants du milieu
déjà en place afin d’aider les enfants, les adolescents et les parents de la communauté qui sont aux
prises avec d’importantes difficultés au plan personnel, familial et communautaire.
Comme intervenants en milieu autochtone, nous devions, dans un premier temps, tenir compte du
contexte inter-culturel d’une population ayant été soumise à la colonisation par la culture d’où nous
sommes issus. Le nouvel intervenant devait (et doit toujours) donc mettre sa façon d’interagir en
veilleuse et être attentif au mode de vie Anicinape, de démontrer un intérêt marqué pour leur culture
et leur langue. De plus, nous reconnaissons que les gens de la communauté sont les experts de leur
histoire et de la compréhension qu’ils ont de leurs problématiques. Bien humblement, nous prenons
la place que la communauté veut bien nous laisser et nous devons nous montrer patients. C’est à
partir de ce moment que nous pouvons saisir toute la complexité de leur réalité.
Développement du lien de confiance : un préalable au changement
Avant même de poser la première intervention clinique, l’intervenant doit se faire connaître du
milieu en tissant des liens de confiance avec les enfants et leurs familles. À titre d’exemple, le
psychoéducateur s’est fait connaître auprès des jeunes en participant à des activités ludiques,
structurées où il préparait et présentait des projets au sein de la communauté de Kitcisakik. Le fait
de privilégier le partage de vécu avec les jeunes a permis à l’intervenant de se faire connaître auprès
des parents et par le fait même, de développer graduellement des liens de confiance avec ceux-ci, ce
qui est essentiel pour entamer un processus de changement chez la personne.
Suite à l’établissement de ce lien de confiance avec les familles et les collaborateurs du milieu, les
intervenants de l’extérieur ont pu commencer à accompagner les personnes dans les différentes
problématiques identifiées. L’objectif premier étant d’intervenir dans leurs démarches de
changement au niveau de leur situation personnelle, familiale et sociale, en s’assurant de la
participation de leur famille ou d’autres membres de la communauté.
Toutefois, nous étions conscients que notre mandat d’enrayer la compromission du développement
ou de la sécurité d’un enfant, dans le cadre de l’application de la Loi de la protection de la jeunesse,
allait susciter de vives réactions, parfois négatives chez certains enfants, adolescents et parents. Dans
certain cas, les situations exigeaient qu’un enfant soit retiré de son milieu familial pour être placé en
famille d’accueil, à l’extérieur de sa communauté. Toutefois, nous avons constaté que cette résistance
– 170 –
s’est estompée avec la mise en place de services continus et stables. Au-delà du service à dispenser, il
y a l’attitude de l’intervenant qui est primordial. Celui-ci doit démontrer de l’ouverture, être à
l’écoute, être disponible et avoir une bonne capacité d’entrer en relation avec l’autre. De plus,
l’humilité avec laquelle il prendra sa place auprès du jeune, de sa famille et au sein de la communauté
est nécessaire afin d’éviter le piège du clinicien expert qui sait tout. En effet, nous devons interagir
d’égal à égal avec les gens rencontrés.
S’il y a le moindre indice d’un déséquilibre dans la relation, où l’intervenant a laissé entendre,
supposé ou encore que l’individu s’est senti rabaissé ou délaissé, cela met fin au processus
thérapeutique. Parfois même la fin de son passage dans le milieu. Cela démontre bien la fragilité du
lien. Il ne faut jamais rien prendre pour acquis.
État de la pauvreté : ses effets sur la population
Suite aux investigations des équipes de travail, nous avons constaté l’ampleur des configurations
pathogènes existantes dans le milieu :
◆
aucune infrastructure pour les activités ludiques;
◆
pas d’école dans le milieu;
◆
abandon scolaire en bas âge;
◆
inhalation de solvants durant l’enfance (à partir de sept ans);
◆
consommation abusive d’alcool et de drogues à l’adolescence et à l’âge adulte;
◆
haut taux de violence conjugale;
◆
grossesses élevées à l’adolescence;
◆
nombre de famille monoparentale élevé où c’est la femme qui en assure la responsabilité;
◆
négligence parentale élevée;
◆
nombre élevé d’enfants victimes d’abus sexuels.
Pour contrer les problématiques qui sévissent dans le milieu, nous avons développé différents
groupes :
◆
groupes de soutien pour enfants victimes d’agression sexuelle avec accompagnement auprès de
leur parent;
◆
groupes pour adolescents en difficultés sur le plan sexuel;
◆
groupes de développement des habilités sociales (programme YAPP);
◆
activités de sensibilisation liées à l’usage abusif des drogues et de l’alcool;
◆
groupes pour les parents afin d’actualiser leur potentiel éducatif;
◆
groupes d’extension Portage.
– 171 –
Parallèlement aux suivis de groupe, l’équipe d’intervention élargie s’est dotée d’outils de travail afin
de faciliter la circulation de l’information, tels que :
◆
table de concertation communautaire;
◆
comité clinique multidisciplinaire jeunesse;
◆
forum communautaire sur les problématiques du milieu.
Suite à la prise de conscience collective concernant les sévices sexuels frappant leurs enfants, une
vaste opération de sensibilisation a été mise de l’avant, se traduisant par un forum communautaire
réunissant tous les adultes de la communauté. Ce dernier avait comme objectif de mobiliser,
d’informer et concerter la population afin de mettre en place des moyens concrets pour enrayer la
problématique des agressions sexuelles. D’où est issu l’outil le « contrat communautaire », qui vise à
identifier les responsabilités des parents en tenant compte des besoins des enfants et en énumérant
les règles à suivre. Il est à noter que les adolescents, les adultes et les aînés furent consultés tout en
participant à sa mise en place.
Conclusion
Depuis plus de 20 ans, des efforts soutenus et constants ont été nécessaires afin d’améliorer la santé
globale des gens de Kitcisakik. Pour ce faire, plusieurs interventions et outils furent mis en place
pour tenter d’enrayer les nombreuses problématiques qui paralysaient le développement individuel,
familial et social. Pour ce faire, la communauté s’est attaquée à la pauvreté en misant d’abord sur la
reconstruction du tissu social et en investissant sur ses jeunes et ses familles comme ressource
première et essentielle au développement de leur avenir. Toute cette démarche est le résultat d’un
choix éclairé de société. Cette nation a donc décidé d’investir sur son capital humain.
À l’aube du troisième millénaire, la communauté de Kitcisakik poursuit le travail amorcé jusqu’à
maintenant, en y ajoutant un nouveau volet, soit le développement socio-économique. Les priorités
identifiées, suite à une vaste consultation de la population en 1996, sont :
◆
la construction d’un village avec les commodités courantes;
◆
la formation des ressources humaines;
◆
la construction d’une école dans le milieu;
◆
le développement économique des secteurs tels que la forêt, le tourisme et les services à
la population;
◆
l’enseignement de la langue maternelle et de ses traditions.
Cependant, la population est consciente des grands défis qui se dresseront devant elle durant les
prochaines années. Tout en poursuivant le travail de réseau auprès de sa population, Kitcisakik est
prête plus que jamais à prendre son avenir en main en diversifiant son développement et en ne
perdant pas de vue que la force et le moteur d’une collectivité résident d’abord dans ses gens.
– 172 –
THE EFFECTS OF POVERTY ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL
AND EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN
B Y : A NAND R AMPHAL , B . A . , D E D , A I E
PSYCHOLOGIST
DURBAN , S OUTH AFRICA
Besides the economic dimension, poverty in South Africa has a detrimental effect on a host of other
areas in people’s lives, such as education and mental and health. These two areas are the focus of this
paper.
The Cost of Poverty
Many years of political violence, migratory labour, forced removals as well as rapid urbanisation
resulting from the abolition of influx control have severely impacted on the lives of children. From
1976, when children became more prominent in the struggle for liberation, they were subjected to
gross human rights violations in a government-supported movement against them. A culture of
violence became pervasive, and widespread poverty and lack of resources of all kinds forced children
into commercial exploitation at the expense of their development.
It is widely acknowledged that children’s growth, development, well-being, and safety depend largely
on the ability of their parents or guardians to provide for them. In South Africa unemployment rates
are generally high, especially for African women. Female-headed households are the poorest. Six out
of every ten children live in poverty, with children in rural areas being poorer than those in urban
centres. Of the population of children, 15.7% are aged 0-6 (Report: State of the Nation’s Children:
2001). These are critical years for development. During these foundation years, stimulation, health
and care benefits are crucial for reducing the need for later expensive intervention.
Clearly, South Africa faces formidable challenges in addressing the rights and needs of her children.
Problems requiring urgent attention include socio-economic imbalances between black children and
white children, urban and rural disparities, high unemployment rates, limited resources, a growing
younger population, high levels of violence and crime, and the impact of HIV/AIDS.
Sociocultural Factors and Dysfunctional Development
A major problem with social class studies is the tendency toward broad generalisation. This may
promote stereotypical thinking. For example, statements that characterise working class persons as
impulsive and unable to delay gratification have little validity. Nevertheless, behavioural science research
has established that chronic life stresses occur more often in the working class than in the middle
class Moreover, working-class members are more vulnerable to stressors than are members of the
middle class (Kaplan et al., 1994). The bulk of evidence indicates that both treated mental disorders
and the symptoms of psychological discomfort are found most frequently in the lowest socio-
– 173 –
economic class. This is bound to have serious effects on the capacity of the parents to take the best
care of their children.
Social Disadvantage
Chronic social disadvantage and poverty in early life are risk factors for later psychological problems.
A variety of interacting mechanisms produce this condition. An inadequate physical environment
and inadequate nutrition, for instance, may adversely affect children’s health, and this in turn, may
adversely affect their psychological well-being. In addition, parents coping with multiple stressors
associated with social disadvantage, may have few personal resources available for meeting their
children’s needs for safety, care, control, and intellectual stimulation (Carr: 1999).
Children of Urban Poverty
Poor children are at higher risk of succumbing to death, disease, disability, or injury than are
economically advantaged children. They are more likely to have parents with formidable
vulnerabilities that expose them to a wide range of dangers. Their mothers, often young and socially
isolated, may receive only minimal support from other family members or friends and have no
prenatal care. There are fathers who are frequently absent. Also some children have a strong chance
of being born underweight, with neonatal damage. They may grow up malnourished and have
untreated childhood illnesses or uncorrected early problems of hearing and vision, accidents, and
injury. They may experience higher degrees of stress and violence in their social environment on a
continuing, long-term basis.
Many of their very early developmental or health problems will be unrecognised at home. In school,
they may be observed as being underdeveloped in their social skills, emotionally troubled, and
linguistically and cognitively well behind their peers who happen to be born into more fortunate
circumstances. Once again, one notes that poverty is a profound and pervasive exacerbating factor in
illness, disability, emotional distress and educational failure, especially in the early years.
The period of adolescence, too, has its risks—especially in poverty-stricken families. Patterns of
behaviour may be formed that could have lifelong significance. Some of these patterns are
dangerous and need to be recognised. These include becoming alienated from school and dropping
out; starting to smoke cigarettes or take alcohol and other drugs; not having a balanced diet or not
exercising enough; risking early pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases; and, in some cases,
beginning to carry dangerous weapons.
Initially, adolescents explore these new possibilities tentatively. Experimentation is typical of
adolescents. But before damaging patterns become firmly established, intervention may be necessary
to prevent lifelong casualties. Poorer families generally have fewer resources to assist them in
this task.
Depression and Socio-economic Status
Epidemiological studies have shown that depression is related to socio-economic standing, often
indirectly. The social causation hypothesis holds that those of lower status experience more
– 174 –
environmental stresses. For example, such persons are more exposed to unemployment, financial
setbacks, poor health, and a variety of other stresses (Billings & Moose: 1979).
A Cautionary Note
A major problem when drawing conclusions about the role of sociocultural factors in the etiology of
childhood psychopathology is that several predisposing factors tend to be interrelated (Farrington:
1986). Children from poverty stricken homes tend to have parents with low status, low pay, or no job
at all. They tend to have many siblings, which may make peer influence more important relative to
parental influence. Moreover, they tend to receive poor nutrition and medical care from conception
onwards, and are more likely to be exposed to lax and erratic child-management practices.
Interpreting research results that are interactional in nature becomes a complex process and has to
be done with a good deal of caution.
The Impact of Poverty on Learners
For learners, poverty creates a variety of stresses. Learners living in poverty are more likely to
experience serious illnesses in their immediate family and medical care is harder to obtain. Their
families are more likely to move frequently either to find cheaper rent or to avoid harassment.
Under the abovementioned conditions middle class teachers have a hard time convincing learners
that learning pays off. They are likely to underestimate the chaos and frustrations of living in
poverty and mistakenly assume that learners come from environments that are more conducive to
studies than really is the case from landlords over payments. Learners living in very poor families are
more likely to see their parents unemployed periodically or chronically, and they are more likely to
conclude that jobs are unsatisfying even when available. By their late twenties many of them have
already passed their peak earning years.
Under normal conditions parents usually support the school and, in the preschool years, the
children of these parents are prepared for school through attendance at nursery school. The teacher
reinforces the value of the home and, in most cases, the child can reconcile the precepts that he gets
from the home and the school. The parents of these children tend to come to school when they are
invited to meetings, exhibitions of work, or entertainments. These parents discuss their children
with the teachers, take an informed interest in their children’s progress and make every effort to send
their children to school promptly and regularly—clean and well-fed, and provided with the necessary
equipment for their school work.
The children of parents who are poor and uneducated often have to do various chores at home
before coming to school in the morning and after returning home in the afternoon. Overcrowding
in the home may mean that he does not get enough sleep at night and cannot keep awake at school.
Parent-teacher associations are often recommended as a way of bringing parents into the school setup, but the group of parents whom the teacher really needs to talk to and counsel do not turn up.
– 175 –
Holding Positive Expectations
Teachers can make low income learners’ lives more comfortable and academic success more likely by
holding positive expectations about learners’ achievement. Teachers must believe that learners can
do well. Many research studies have found a marked tendency among teachers to reduce their
academic expectation with poverty-stricken learners and even to regard their jobs as “babysitting”.
Lowered expectations show up when teachers inadvertently regard problems displayed by
low-income learners as “misbehaviour” and the same problems by high-income learners as “learning
difficulties”.
Language
Children in South African schools, who begin the educational process with well-developed oral
language skills in English, have a great advantage. Such children usually come from a middle-class
or upper-class background. For many black children in particular, the situation is quite different.
Such children, frequently from poverty-stricken backgrounds, have language difficulties that
interfere with their learning in school. Often, school may be their first exposure to written or spoken
English. Then again, there are those who learn an English dialect, sometimes insensitively referred to
as “black English”, which has marked differences from the formal, middle-class standard English
used in schools.
Labelling
Teachers need to be alert to the potential dangers of labelling. The labelling and categorising of
learners has led educational services to focus on the inadequacies of learners rather than on barriers
within the system, such as poor and stereotyped teaching methods. As a result “struggling” learners
have been placed in “special schools” when, in fact, the problems within the learners’ environment
should have been receiving attention (Ramphal & Ramphal: 1998).
Overall, short-term stresses from poverty need not prevent children from learning but achievement
can suffer seriously if they live in a chronic state of deprivation. Achievement is also lowered when
children live amongst many other low-income families and attend school with many low-income
classmates. An entire childhood in an urban poverty area makes educational success very difficult
because of chronic stresses and the hopelessness that gradually develops about the usefulness of
school.
Conclusion
Under the abovementioned conditions middle class teachers have a hard time convincing learners
that learning pays off. They are likely to underestimate the chaos and frustrations of living in
poverty and mistakenly assume that learners come from environments that are more conducive to
studies than really is the case.
In respect to wider issues, the African Nationalist Congress government in South Africa is taking
constructive steps to address the problem of poverty and the inequities created by past policies.
What is required is a mechanism to monitor the impact of recently-implemented policies very closely
– 176 –
so as to ensure that poverty and inequality reduction remains a high-priority need of both the central
and the provincial governments.
References
Billings, A. and Moose, R. (1985). Psychosocial Stressors, Coping, and Depression. In Beckham, E. and Leber, W. (eds). Handbook of
Depression: Treatment, Assessment and Research. Illinois: Dorsey Press.
Carr, A. (1999). The Handbook of Child and Adolescent Clinical Psychology. London: Routledge.
Farrington, D. (1986). The Sociocultural Context of Childhood Disorders. In Quay, H. and Werry, J. (eds). Psychological Disorders of
Childhood. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Kaplan, H.; Saddock, B.; and Grebb, J. (1994). Synopsis of Psychiatry. New Delhi: Waverly.
Ramphal A. and Ramphal R. (1998). Including Learners with Barriers to Learning and Development. In Kruger, N. and Adams, H. (eds).
Psychology for Teaching and Learning. Sandton: Heineman.
Report: State of the Nation’s Children. [2001]. National Program of Action for Children in South Africa. The Presidency. Government
Printers, Pretoria.
– 177 –
LES REVENUS DE BIEN-ÊTRE SOCIAL
CHEZ LES FAMILLES CANADIENNES EN 2001
P A R : D IANE R ICHARD , M . S C .
C H E R C H E U S E ET C O N S E I L L È R E EN P O L I T I Q U E
C O N S E I L N A T I O N A L DU B I E N - Ê T R E S O C I A L
OTTAWA , O NTARIO , C ANADA
Avant-propos
Le rapport sur les revenus de bien-être social fait connaître les taux établis dans chaque province
et territoire au Canada dans le secteur de l’assistance sociale pour quatre types de ménages en 2000
et 2001. Pour la présentation actuelle, nous nous attarderons seulement aux types de ménages
avec enfants, soit la famille monoparentale avec un enfant âgé de 2 ans et la famille biparentale avec
deux enfants âgés de 10 et 15 ans. Le Conseil national du bien-être social publie ce genre d’évaluation
depuis 1986.
Depuis que le Conseil suit l’évolution des revenus de bien-être social, nous avons sans cesse conclu
que ceux-ci s’établissent bien en-dessous du seuil de pauvreté dans toutes les régions du pays et
représentent une fraction minime des revenus moyens. Ce rapport montre des zones de progrès – et
plusieurs reculs. Malheureusement, le budget fédéral du 10 décembre 2001 n’a pas offert beaucoup
d’espoir de voir un changement positif. Le budget a annoncé plus de sept milliards de dollars en cinq
ans pour la sécurité nationale et la lutte au terrorisme. Même si on peut être en accord avec une
certaine augmentation des ressources au chapitre de la sécurité à la suite des attentats du
11 septembre 2001 aux États-Unis, on est en droit de s’indigner, aux côtés de plusieurs organismes,
de n’avoir pas vu de nouveaux engagements au chapitre de la « protection sociale », notamment les
soutiens de revenu aux personnes à faible revenu. Et si la récession se confirme, aux démunis actuels
s’en ajouteront d’autres, auxquels nous devrons offrir un soutien économique supplémentaire.
Du moins, le Programme de la Prestation fiscale canadienne pour enfants (PFCE) n’a pas été touché,
pourrait-on dire, mais les investissements qui y ont été faits ne sont pas totalement transmis à ceux
qui en ont le plus besoin. En effet, l’effet paradoxal de la disposition de récupération qui existe
depuis juillet 1998 se poursuit dans 8 des 13 provinces et territoires : le gouvernement fédéral verse
des fonds que les provinces et les territoires recouvrent. Cinq provinces font exception à cette
tendance. Ce sont d’une part Terre-Neuve et Labrador ainsi que le Nouveau-Brunswick qui remettent
les augmentations aux familles depuis juillet 1998 déjà et, d’autre part, trois provinces qui ont
récemment modifié leur approche face à la PFCE : la Nouvelle-Écosse depuis août 2001, le Manitoba
depuis juillet 2001 en ce qui concerne les enfants de moins de sept ans, et le Québec depuis juillet
2001 pour tous les bénéficiaires d’allocations familiales du Québec. Par ailleurs, un nombre de
provinces et territoires ont effectué la revue de leur programme d’assistance sociale au cours de 2001
ou ont annoncé qu’ils le feraient dans le courant de 2002.
– 178 –
Le rapport des Revenus de bien-être social 2000 et 2001 démontre clairement que les gouvernements
doivent faire mieux pour honorer leurs engagements de combattre la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale.
Définition du bien-être social
Le bien-être social est le programme de revenu de dernier ressort au Canada. Il fournit de l’argent aux
personnes et aux familles dont les ressources sont insuffisantes pour répondre à leurs besoins et qui
ont épuisé les autres formes de soutien.
Jusqu’au 31 mars 1996, les prestations de bien-être social étaient versées en vertu du Régime
d’assistance publique du Canada (RAPC), lequel permettait le partage des coûts entre, d’une part, le
gouvernement fédéral, et d’autre part, chacun des territoires et provinces. Le 1er avril 1996, on
remplaçait le RAPC par le Transfert canadien en matière de santé et de programmes sociaux : le
gouvernement fédéral réduisait les paiements de transfert aux provinces et aux territoires au chapitre
de la santé, de l’éducation et des services sociaux. Depuis le 1er juillet 1998, la Prestation fiscale
canadienne pour enfants (PFCE) couvre une partie des coûts de l’assistance sociale aux familles
avec enfants.
Bien qu’on parle habituellement d’un seul régime de bien-être social au Canada, il en existe 13 en
réalité, soit un dans chaque province et territoire, y compris le territoire du Nunavut établi en 1999.
Bien que chacun des 13 régimes soit spécifique, ces derniers partagent tout de même certaines
caractéristiques. Des règles compliquées s’appliquent à tous les aspects des régimes, et notamment à
l’admissibilité, aux taux des prestations, au montant des revenus d’autres sources admis et au
mécanisme d’appel des décisions visant les demandeurs et les bénéficiaires.
Admissibilité
L’admissibilité au bien-être social dépend de certaines règles générales d’ordre administratif qui
varient énormément à l’échelle du pays. Par exemple, les demandeurs doivent avoir un certain âge
(habituellement entre 18 et 65 ans). Une fois les conditions administratives satisfaites, les
demandeurs font l’objet d’une « évaluation de leurs besoins ». En général, une aide est accordée
lorsque les ressources financières non exemptées sont inférieures au coût des besoins ordinaires
jugés acceptables par le service social, par exemple la nourriture, le logement, les articles ménagers et
personnels et les besoins spéciaux.
L’examen vise d’abord les actifs liquides et immobilisés du demandeur. Les demandeurs doivent en
général convertir en liquidités leurs actifs immobilisés non acceptés tels quels et utiliser leur actif
liquide pour répondre à leurs besoins courants avant d’avoir droit à l’assistance sociale. Une fois
l’examen de l’avoir liquide et immobilisé du demandeur achevé, on procède à l’établissement de
toutes les sources de revenu du ménage. Certains genres de revenu, par exemple la Prestation fiscale
canadienne pour enfants (le montant de base et non le supplément) et le crédit de taxe sur les
produits et les services, font ordinairement l’objet d’une exemption totale dans le calcul des
ressources du ménage. Quant au supplément de la PFCE, il est considéré différemment d’une
juridiction à l’autre. Dans la majorité d’entre elles, le supplément est soustrait du montant du
chèque d’assistance sociale, dans une minorité d’entre elles, le supplément est soustrait de
– 179 –
l’allocation familiale provinciale et dans seulement cinq provinces, il est désormais transmis aux
bénéficiaires. Quant aux revenus de sources telles un emploi, une pension ou l’assurance-chômage,
ils sont considérés disponibles en partie ou en totalité pour subvenir aux besoins du ménage.
Cette évaluation des besoins représentait une étape essentielle à l’obtention d’une aide en vertu du
RAPC. La loi autorisait l’administration fédérale à partager le coût de l’assistance sociale avec les
provinces et les territoires à la condition que les ménages visés soient admissibles aux termes de
l’évaluation des besoins. Depuis le remplacement du RAPC par le Transfert canadien en matière de
santé et de programmes sociaux en 1996, les provinces et les territoires ne sont plus tenus d’utiliser
l’évaluation des besoins pour être admissibles à une contribution fédérale à l’égard de leurs
programmes de bien-être social. Jusqu’à maintenant, aucune juridiction n’avait pourtant éliminé
cette étape d’évaluation des besoins.
Taux d’assistance sociale
Les provinces et territoires se servent tous de méthodes différentes pour établir le montant de base
de l’assistance sociale, qui inclut habituellement la nourriture, les vêtements, le logement, les services
publics et une allocation pour les besoins personnels et ménagers.
À travers le Canada, les responsables du bien-être social jouissent d’une certaine latitude pour
décider de l’admissibilité des ménages à une aide spéciale en vertu des règlements provinciaux ou
territoriaux en vigueur. Ce pouvoir discrétionnaire est à la fois un point fort et une faiblesse du
régime. D’une part, on reconnaît que des particuliers peuvent avoir, une seule fois ou de façon
continuelle, des besoins spéciaux pour lesquels ils requièrent de l’aide. Par contre, une personne
ayant des besoins spéciaux peut être jugée admissible à une aide supplémentaire par un agent du
bien-être social mais non par un autre.
Le tableau 2 présente les revenus estimés d’assistance sociale en 2001 au Canada. Les revenus
s’appliquent aux besoins fondamentaux d’une famille monoparentale1 avec un enfant de 2 ans et
une famille biparentale avec deux enfants âgés de 10 et 15 ans. Le calcul des revenus de bien-être
social s’applique à un ménage qui a commencé à recevoir des prestations d’assistance sociale le
1er janvier 2001 et qui a continué à en recevoir pendant toute l’année civile.
Il faut interpréter ces chiffres avec circonspection : il s’agit de montants estimés. Le système de
bien-être social est un programme de soutien du revenu fortement personnalisé, chaque demandeur
recevant une somme qui tient compte de sa situation personnelle.
De plus, nos calculs prennent seulement en considération les revenus monétaires, car il nous est
impossible de tenir compte de la valeur des services offerts par une province ou un territoire, si
bénéfiques soient-ils, par exemple, le système québécois de services de garde d’enfants à un coût
maximum de 5 $ par jour pour le(s) parent(s).
Il importe de bien saisir ce que représentent les montants d’assistance sociale de la première colonne.
Ces chiffres sont à la fois des maximums et des minimums, des maximums parce qu’ils représentent
1
Une famille monoparentale est une famille dirigée par une mère ou un père seul, qui est soit veuf ou veuve, soit séparé(e), soit divorcé(e), soit n’a
jamais été marié(e).
– 180 –
le niveau le plus élevé d’assistance sociale qu’une province ou un territoire accorde à un ménage pour
répondre à ses besoins fondamentaux. Ces montants peuvent être réduits pour plusieurs motifs. Ces
chiffres sont également des minimums, parce qu’ils n’incluent normalement aucune des sommes
auxquelles un ménage pourrait avoir droit pour répondre à des besoins spéciaux.
Assistance sociale de base
La première colonne du tableau représente le montant d’assistance sociale de base auquel ont droit
les ménages admissibles. L’assistance de base comprend habituellement la nourriture, l’habillement,
le logement, les services publics et les besoins personnels et ménagers. Lorsque c’est le cas, les chiffres
traduisent la baisse qu’entraîne la récupération du supplément de la PFCE versé depuis juillet 1998.
Nous avons posé plusieurs hypothèses dans le calcul de l’assistance de base, afin de permettre la
meilleure comparaison possible des données. Ces hypothèses quant aux ménages bénéficiant de
l’assistance sociale ont trait au lieu de résidence, à l’âge des enfants, à l’aptitude au travail du chef de
ménage et au genre de logement.
Les taux d’assistance sociale sont ceux versés dans la plus grande région municipale de la province ou
du territoire en question. En effet, l’allocation maximum pour le logement varie d’une région à
l’autre dans nombre de provinces et territoires.
Les taux accordés aux familles sont fondés sur l’hypothèse que l’enfant de la famille monoparentale
est âgé de 2 ans et que les deux enfants dans la famille biparentale ont 10 et 15 ans. Cette hypothèse
est rendue nécessaire par le fait que des provinces et territoires varient le montant d’aide en fonction
de l’âge des enfants.
Dans le tableau 2, des taux d’assistance à court terme (habituellement moins élevés que les taux à
long terme) ont été attribués aux couples avec enfants dans toutes les provinces et territoires. Les
taux qui s’appliquent aux familles monoparentales sont fonction des classes d’employabilité de
chaque province ou territoire.
Nous supposons que les ménages vivent dans un logement non subventionné et ne sont ni
propriétaires d’une maison, ni locataires d’un logement social. Nous avons aussi supposé qu’il n’y
avait pas de partage du logement. Toutes les juridictions réduisent les prestations aux ménages qui
vivent dans un logement social ou qui partagent leur logement. Lorsque l’allocation pour le
logement ne comprend pas les coûts des services publics, nous les avons ajouté aux montants
calculés. Nous avons utilisé l’allocation maximale dans tous les cas.
Deux types d’aide sont accordés pour les besoins spéciaux. Il existe des allocations spéciales qui sont
versées automatiquement à tous les bénéficiaires de certains groupes, par exemple les familles avec
des enfants d’âge scolaire. Ces montants, qui figurent à la deuxième colonne du tableau 2,
représentent par exemple les fournitures scolaires, les vêtements d’hiver et les primes de Noël. Seule
l’assistance spéciale accordée automatiquement à certains bénéficiaires a été portée à la deuxième
colonne du tableau 2. Lorsque l’assisté social devait motiver sa demande, le montant n’est pas
compris dans nos calculs.
– 181 –
Prestation fiscale canadienne pour enfants
Ces dernières années, les prestations fiscales pour enfants ont subi des modifications majeures. Les
gouvernements fédéraux successifs ont réorienté leur soutien financier aux familles vers les moins
nantis de la société. La colonne de la Prestation fiscale canadienne pour enfants (PFCE) renferme le
montant de la prestation de base et du supplément, dont les hausses apportées le 1er juillet 2001.
En 2001, dans la plupart des régions du Canada, le gouvernement fédéral a versé une prestation
annuelle de base pouvant atteindre 1 117 $ par enfant de moins de 18 ans. À la demande de l’Alberta,
le gouvernement fédéral a modifié le mode de calcul de son montant de base en fonction de l’âge de
l’enfant. Dans toutes les juridictions, un supplément annuel d’un maximum de 213 $ est versé pour
chaque enfant de moins de sept ans.
À partir du 1er juillet 2000, le supplément versé par le gouvernement fédéral s’est chiffré à 977 $ par
année, soit 81,42 $ par mois, pour une famille comptant un enfant, et à 1 748 $ par année, soit
145,67 $ par mois, pour une famille avec deux enfants. Enfin, à partir du 1er juillet 2001, le
supplément s’est chiffré à 1 255 $ par année, soit 104,58 $ par mois, pour une famille comptant un
enfant, et à 2 310 $ par année, soit 192,50 $ par mois, pour une famille avec deux enfants. Seuls les
assistés sociaux habitant Terre-Neuve et Labrador, le Nouveau-Brunswick et dans une moindre
mesure ceux du Manitoba2 ont joui d’une hausse de leurs revenus à la suite du versement du
supplément à la PFCE en 2000, auxquels se sont ajoutés les assistés sociaux de la Nouvelle-Écosse, du
Manitoba (ayant des enfants de moins de sept ans) et du Québec en 2001. Les autres provinces et les
territoires ont récupéré cette somme de diverses façons.
Dans la majorité des provinces et territoires, le supplément est traité comme un revenu, donc
soustrait du montant du chèque d’assistance sociale. Dans certaines provinces, au lieu de considérer
cette somme comme un revenu, on a réduit soit l’assistance sociale, soit l’allocation familiale
provinciale versée aux familles d’un montant équivalent au supplément. Le procédé varie, mais le
résultat est le même, c’est-à-dire une récupération par la province d’un montant significatif pour les
familles moins nanties.
Dans un premier groupe, à l’Île-du-Prince-Édouard, en Nouvelle-Écosse (jusqu’en août 2001), en
Ontario, au Manitoba, au Yukon et dans les Territoires du Nord-Ouest, le supplément est considéré
comme un revenu non exempté, ce qui entraîne une réduction de l’assistance sociale aux familles.
Dans un deuxième groupe, c’est l’allocation familiale qui est réduite du montant équivalent au
supplément. C’est le cas du Québec jusqu’en juillet 2001 et encore en date de parution de la
Saskatchewan et de la Colombie-Britannique. Or, à mesure que le supplément augmente d’année en
année, l’allocation familiale diminue et à un certain moment, la valeur de l’allocation familiale sera
nulle. Quant à elle, l’Alberta a diminué les taux d’assistance sociale chaque année depuis 1998
simultanément aux augmentations du supplément.
2
Au Manitoba, après juillet 2000, les assistés sociaux se sont vus récupérés le montant du supplément de 1999, et donc ont eu accès à
l’augmentation elle-même.
– 182 –
Les chiffres dans la colonne de la PFCE englobent la prestation fiscale de base et le supplément; les
coupures sont à la colonne portant sur l’assistance sociale ou à la colonne des prestations
provinciales/territoriales pour enfants, selon le cas.
La disposition de récupération n’a fait que compliquer un régime déjà difficile à comprendre. Toutes
ces nouvelles règles et variantes partout au pays rendent presque impossible de s’assurer qu’on reçoit
bel et bien les prestations sociales auxquelles on a droit.
Le Conseil national du bien-être social est très inquiet que les récupérations effectuées en vertu de la
PFCE n’établissent des distinctions défavorables aux familles qui reçoivent une assistance sociale.
Dans notre rapport de 2001, intitulé Profil de la pauvreté infantile, 1998, nous avons évalué que la PFCE
n’a profité entre juillet 1998 et juin 1999 qu’à 66 % des familles pauvres au pays : 79 % des familles
biparentales et 57 % seulement des familles monoparentales. Étant donné que la majorité des
familles monoparentales ont une femme à leur tête, nous considérons que ce traitement représente
une pratique discriminatoire basée sur le sexe.
Prestations provinciales et territoriales pour enfants
En 2001, huit juridictions ont un programme provincial de prestations pour les enfants, ayant une
valeur mensuelle pour la famille monoparentale avec un enfant de deux ans de 204 $ à Terre-Neuve
et Labrador et atteignant 1 925 $ au Québec, et, dans le cas du couple avec deux enfants, la prestation
s’établit à 500 $ au Nouveau-Brunswick et atteint 1 250 $ au Québec. D’autre part, l’Ontario,
l’Alberta, l’Ile-du-Prince-Edouard, le Manitoba et le Yukon n’ont aucun programme provincial de
prestations pour les enfants.
Les gouvernements de plusieurs provinces et territoires versent également des incitatifs aux
travailleurs à faible revenu qui ont des enfants. Nous n’avons pas tenu compte de ces programmes
dans nos calculs, parce que nous fondons nos estimations sur les revenus de bien-être social des
parents qui ne gagnent pas de revenu.
Crédit pour la TPS et crédits provinciaux
La cinquième colonne indique le crédit fédéral remboursable pour la taxe sur les produits et services
ou pour la partie fédérale de la taxe de vente harmonisée dans l’Atlantique. Le crédit pour la TPS est
versé tous les trois mois. Les quatre versements reçus en 2001 ont respectivement totalisé 206 $ (deux
versements à 205 $ et deux versements à 207 $) par année pour chaque adulte ou pour le premier
enfant d’une famille monoparentale. Pour les autres enfants à charge, le maximum versé s’établit à
107 $ et 109 $ respectivement au 1er juillet 2000 et 2001 pour chaque enfant.
Les crédits d’impôt figurant à la sixième colonne comprennent le remboursement de la taxe
provinciale harmonisée à Terre-Neuve et Labrador, les crédits d’impôts fonciers et de taxe sur les
ventes de l’Ontario et le crédit pour la taxe de vente de la Colombie-Britannique.
– 183 –
– 184 –
Tableau 2
Estimation des revenus annuels d’assistance sociale pour 2001, selon le type de ménage
– 185 –
Note: Voir le rapport complet pour une description détaillée des différents montants
Suffisance des prestations
Les revenus inscrits au tableau 2 sont extrêmement faibles. Pour bien faire ressortir le tragique de la
situation, nous mettons en parallèle ces chiffres et les seuils de faible revenu établis par Statistique
Canada pour 2001.
Chaque année, l’organisme fédéral calcule les seuils de faible revenu (SFR) des ménages de
différentes tailles habitant des collectivités de tailles diverses. Ces seuils représentent les niveaux de
revenu brut où les ménages doivent consacrer une partie disproportionnée de leurs revenus au
logement, à la nourriture et à l’habillement. La présente publication utilise les SFR de référence de
1992. On les appelle SFR de référence parce qu’ils proviennent des données recueillies en 1992 sur les
dépenses pour la nourriture, le logement et le vêtement.
Le Conseil national du bien-être social considère ces niveaux de démarcation comme des seuils de
pauvreté. Comme tout seuil de pauvreté, ils ont certaines limites, mais ils sont largement acceptés
comme mesure de la suffisance des revenus au Canada. D’autres études de la pauvreté, notamment
des enquêtes locales utilisant l’approche du panier de provisions, ont donné des résultats
comparables.
Comme l’indique le tableau 3, aucune province ne s’est rapprochée du seuil de pauvreté plus que les
autres. Dans certaines provinces et territoires, les prestations d’assistance sociale sont bien
en-dessous du seuil de pauvreté. Les revenus de bien-être social qui ne correspondent qu’au
cinquième ou au tiers du seuil de pauvreté sont beaucoup trop faibles et devraient être augmentés
dans les plus brefs délais.
La première colonne du tableau 3 indique les revenus de bien-être social des différents types de
ménages dans les dix provinces en 2001. Les territoires ne sont pas inclus, parce qu’ils ne font pas
partie de l’enquête servant à établir les seuils de faible revenu.
La deuxième colonne indique les seuils de pauvreté de la plus grande ville de chaque province. L’écart
de pauvreté – ou la différence entre le revenu total et les seuils de pauvreté – est indiqué à la troisième
colonne. La quatrième colonne représente le revenu de bien-être social total exprimé en pourcentage
du seuil de pauvreté, c’est-à-dire le revenu de bien-être social divisé par le seuil de pauvreté.
Les revenus de bien-être social des familles monoparentales ont varié d’un niveau le plus bas établi à
49 % en Alberta et 52 % au Manitoba à un niveau le plus élevé établi à 73 % à Terre-Neuve et Labrador
pour 2001.
Enfin, les revenus de bien-être social des familles biparentales avec deux enfants les plus bas en
comparaison du seuil de pauvreté se retrouvent d’une part au Québec avec 48 % et, d’autre part, au
Manitoba avec 50 %. Les revenus les plus élevés en comparaison du seuil de pauvreté se retrouvent
pour ces familles à l’Île-du-Prince-Édouard avec un taux de 64 % en 2001.
– 186 –
Tableau 3
Suffisance des prestations de 2001
1
Données fondées sur le taux d’inflation de 2001, qui était de 2,6 p. cent.
– 187 –
Les revenus de bien-être social et les revenus moyens
Lorsqu’on compare les revenus de bien-être social avec les revenus totaux moyens (après les transferts
gouvernementaux, mais avant l’impôt), on constate de nouveau la faiblesse du soutien financier
offert par les premiers. Les prestations de bien-être social ne correspondent qu’à une petite partie du
revenu que la plupart des Canadiennes et des Canadiens considéreraient comme un revenu normal
ou raisonnable.
Le tableau 4 compare les revenus de bien-être social de nos quatre types de ménages avec les revenus
moyens des ménages équivalents dans chaque province. Les revenus moyens pour 2001 ont été
calculés sur la base des données recueillies par Statistique Canada lors de l’Enquête sur la dynamique
du travail et du revenu, majorées de l’indice des prix à la consommation.
Dans le cas des familles monoparentales, nous avons utilisé les revenus moyens des chefs de famille
monoparentale âgés de moins de 65 ans avec des enfants de moins de 18 ans. Pour les familles
biparentales, nous avons utilisé les revenus moyens des couples de moins de 65 ans avec des enfants
de moins de 18 ans.
Les revenus de bien-être social sont nettement inférieurs à la moyenne. Le revenu des familles
monoparentales bénéficiaires de l’assistance sociale se situait entre 31 % et 58 % du revenu moyen en
2001. Il convient de signaler que le revenu moyen des familles monoparentales restait en général bien
inférieur à celui des couples avec enfants. Les familles biparentales vivant de l’assistance sociale
avaient un revenu se situant entre 21 % et 34 % du revenu moyen en 2001.
Le graphique de la page 190 compare les revenus de bien-être social pour la famille monoparentale
ayant un enfant de deux ans simultanément avec les revenus totaux moyens estimés (après les
transferts gouvernementaux, mais avant l’impôt) pour les familles monoparentales de chaque
province et avec les seuils de faible revenu (SFR) des ménages ayant deux membres et habitant dans
la plus grande ville de chaque province. Comme nous l’avons expliqué dans la section précédente,
nous considérons ces seuils de faible revenu comme des seuils de pauvreté.
La situation des familles monoparentales illustre bien l’écart considérable qu’il y a en 2001 entre les
revenus de bien-être social et les revenus totaux moyens estimés et les seuils de pauvreté. Comme on
peut l’observer, les revenus de bien-être social sont tous inférieurs d’au moins 5 000 $ au seuil de
pauvreté pour les familles composées de deux membres et habitant la plus grande ville de chaque
province, et inférieurs d’au minimum 10 000 $ et d’au maximum 26 000 $ au revenu total moyen
estimé pour l’ensemble des familles monoparentales de ces provinces.
Le niveau tragiquement faible des revenus de bien-être social pour ces familles monoparentales le
serait un peu moins si les gouvernements mettaient fin à la récupération du supplément de la PFCE.
Dans la plupart des provinces et territoires qui récupèrent le supplément à la fin de 2001, le manque
à gagner dans le budget annuel des familles monoparentales se chiffre à 1 116 $.
– 188 –
Tableau 4
Comparaison des revenus de bien-être social et revenus moyens
– 189 –
– 190 –
Conclusion
Le Conseil national du bien-être social suit l’évolution des prestations d’assistance sociale depuis
1986. Dès le début, le Conseil était préoccupé par le fait que les revenus d’assistance sociale soient si
bas; en fait, ils n’ont jamais permis à aucune famille canadienne de franchir le seuil de pauvreté.
Aucune mesure additionnelle allant dans ce sens n’a été annoncée dans le Budget 2001. De plus,
l’effet de la disposition de récupération du supplément de la PFCE qui existe depuis 1998 se poursuit
dans huit juridictions. Elle a réellement eu pour effet de geler les revenus de bien-être social.
Maintenant que le gouvernement fédéral assume une part plus grande des coûts, il a également
permis à ces huit juridictions de se dégager de leurs responsabilités à l’endroit des plus pauvres de la
société.
Cinq provinces font exception à cette tendance. Ce sont d’une part Terre-Neuve et Labrador ainsi que
le Nouveau- Brunswick qui remettent le supplément complet aux familles depuis juillet 1998 déjà, et
la Nouvelle-Écosse depuis août 2001, le Manitoba depuis juillet 2001 en ce qui concerne les enfants
de moins de sept ans, et le Québec depuis juillet 2001 pour tous les bénéficiaires d’allocations
familiales. Toutefois, aucune province ne s’est rapprochée du seuil de pauvreté plus que les autres.
Dans certaines juridictions, les prestations d’assistance sociale sont bien en-dessous du seuil de
pauvreté et devraient être augmentées dans les plus brefs délais.
La pauvreté occasionne des coûts aux Canadiens et aux Canadiennes. En effet, il existe de
nombreuses preuves que non seulement la pauvreté provoque une misère humaine personnelle, mais
aussi qu’elle constitue un non-sens d’un point de vue strictement économique. La publication du
Conseil, Le coût de la pauvreté, présente une série d’exemples qui montrent que la pauvreté nous
occasionne à tous des coûts. La mise sur pied d’une prestation équivalente aux prestations parentales
et de maternité pour les nourrissons et les parents non admissibles à l’assurance-emploi
contribuerait dans une large mesure à aider à prévenir la pauvreté, le stress, la dépression et la
désintégration familiale, et améliorerait les résultats qu’obtiennent les enfants. Cela pourrait être
considéré comme une avance sur de futures cotisations à l’assurance-emploi, vu que la très grande
majorité des jeunes mères d’aujourd’hui passeront des dizaines d’années sur le marché du travail au
cours de leur vie adulte.
D’après le Conseil, rien ne prouve que le fait de retirer aux familles pauvres l’argent qui leur était
destiné motivera les parents à se trouver du travail. Ce qui, à notre avis, aide les parents à subvenir
aux besoins de leurs enfants, ce sont les mesures d’aide à la famille comme la formation de la
main-d’œuvre, de meilleurs salaires minimums et des politiques du travail qui aident les parents à
atteindre un juste équilibre entre les responsabilités qu’ils ont envers leurs enfants et envers leur
emploi. Pour que les politiques familiales soient efficaces et intégrées, elles doivent aussi prévoir
des programmes d’aide au développement des jeunes enfants offrant à la fois la meilleure éducation
possible et des services de garde fiables et abordables qui permettent aux parents de suivre des cours
et d’accepter des emplois.
– 191 –
AN ECONOMIC, POLITICAL AND GENDER ANALYSIS
OF TRAFFICKING OF GIRLS AND YOUNG WOMEN IN UKRAINE
B Y : J ANE R UDD , P H . D .
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR , S OCIAL WORK DEPARTMENT
SAINT JOSEPH COLLEGE
WEST HARTFORD , C ONNECTICUT , U.S.A.
Introduction
This article analyzes the social, political, economic and gender perspectives that create an
environment for trafficking of girls and young women in Ukraine. Since the dissolution of the Soviet
Union and Ukraine’s separate statehood, the economy of Ukraine has suffered a serious blow. In
reaction to loss of income, girls and young women in Ukraine have attempted to go abroad to work.
All too often, they have ended up in a ‘trafficking’ situation. The elements of trafficking about which
we are most concerned can be described as follows: “To traffic women means to work upon their
desire or need to migrate by bringing them into prostitution under conditions that make them
totally dependent on their recruiters in ways which also impair their rights” (Altink, 1995, p. 1).
Along with the imposition of slave-like conditions, young women in trafficking situations almost
never achieve the goal of gaining any significant income. There are innumerable accounts of young
women who ‘disappear’ after going abroad. Since most families lack the resources to search for their
wives, daughters or sisters, little is known of their final whereabouts and the young women are
eventually presumed to have died. Typical destination countries for Ukrainian women include Italy,
Greece, Turkey, and Germany as most common; United States, Poland, former Yugoslavia, Spain and
the Czech Republic as somewhat frequent; and Japan and Sweden as the least frequent. While
Ukraine has enacted a law against trafficking (Article 124-1 “Trade in People”), it is largely
ineffectual. “Ukraine’s Parliament adopted an anti-trafficking law in March 1998, and since then
there have reportedly been 17 cases brought before the courts. Only one of these has been prosecuted
so far, and although it resulted in a guilty verdict, the punishment was inconsequential” (Brama:
Current Social Issues in Ukraine, 1998).
Commonly, girls and young women in Ukraine are recruited for trafficking through friends,
sometimes relatives, chance acquaintances, tourism agencies, newspaper advertisements or even the
Internet. One young woman related that she had been ‘sold’ to traffickers by a friend (Interview,
Dnipropotrovsk Women for Women Center, October 2000). “On the whole Eastern European
women seem to be recruited by accident, by people they meet by chance, for example in a café or on
the street” (Altink, 1995, p. 132). They are most often recruited for what appears to be a position
such as a domestic or an au pair, a waitress or an entertainer. At other times they are directly
recruited to work in prostitution, a position that is described as glamorous and lucrative by the
recruiters.
Skotarenko suggests young women see the opportunity to leave the country as glamorous and a way
to “break away from the authority of the family and old traditions” (personal communication,
– 192 –
October 1st, 1999). Having now been exposed to western glamour in a stereotypic way through
television, they assume a similar lifestyle awaits them. Some families collude with young girls leaving
home to be trafficked. “The mother, in particular, plays a central role in her daughter’s life decisions”
(World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, nd). Having been pushed to
the extreme limits by poverty, a family may see selling their young daughter as the only way out of
poverty. An example given by Skotarenko (personal communication, October 1st, 1999) is of a young
woman whose mother talked her out of going abroad; instead she found a job at home.
It is widely believed that trafficking of girls and young women continues to increase in Ukraine.
While there is no way of knowing the exact number of young women who go abroad, the number
who return, or the number of those who simply disappear, the International Organization for
Migration (IOM, 1998), estimates that 400,000 women have been trafficked from Ukraine in recent
years. In Ukraine, women’s advocate groups put the number at 500,000, with 400,000 women who
were under the age of 30 emigrating in the last 10 years. The Movement to Mothers (MOM) Ukraine
Program estimates there are between 800,000—1.4 million young women who are at risk for
trafficking (Syniuta, 1999). Most non-government organizations (NGO) will not give an estimate of
the number of trafficked women because, according to one La Strada official, “It’s impossible to
keep track of, because many of the young women who leave never come back, and those who do,
often do not confess that they’ve been trafficked” (Interview by Skotarenko, 2000). The United
Nations, based on recent data, estimates there are four million victims of trafficking worldwide each
year (Caldwell, 1997).
Girls and young women ages 11 to 21 years old are most at risk of trafficking. Most are single, have
no children and are mainly schoolgirls or young college students. In a study conducted by IOM,
among the at-risk group, half (50.6%) were students and many unemployed. According to the IOM
(1998), 46% of the respondents in that age group are at risk of trafficking. Many young women
continue to consider migrating if they have the means and resources to do so which traffickers are
only too willing to provide (IOM, 1998). Winrock International is beginning to target women as
young as 11 for their prevention efforts (2000).
In the Pilot Study for this research project, young women ages 12-18 were seen as especially
vulnerable to trafficking in Ukraine today due to poverty, violence and lack of opportunity in the
future. Carter (1999) states there are at least 50 million children in poverty in Eastern Europe.
Women as young as 13 are showing up as trafficking victims in the Netherlands (Altink, 1995).
Nowadays, teens are less and less able to rely on their parents for support, as they struggle with the
current poor economic situation. At all three Women for Women Centers (agency in Ukraine for
prevention of trafficking of women), staff and participants related stories of teen women who were
no longer living with their parents, of parents who would take what little money teens were earning
for themselves, of teens living with grandparents who could not afford to support them financially,
or who ignored them. According to one participant: My parents are divorced; neither of them wants
me so I am living with my boyfriend.
This isn’t working because he beats me up. He has also tried to get me to be a
prostitute so he can have money.
Interview, October 2000
– 193 –
UNICEF (1997, cited in Foundation of Women’s Forum, 1998) reports a rising increase in the
number of children placed in care at an early age, showing that child vulnerability is increasing from
early years, which continues through adolescence when they are virtually on their own. Police state
there are 20,000 children picked up on the street each year in Ukraine. In 1998, there were 19,500
registered orphans in Ukraine (Kozima, 2000). As of 1997, there were almost 4,000 female children
living in Internats (TFIU, 1999, p. 225), or orphanages, in Ukraine. Children without parents or
parental support are housed and go to school in Internat’s from ages 5 to 18. It is generally agreed
that teen women from Internats are particularly vulnerable to trafficking, as they have less potential
for employment and have been more exposed to violence. As they leave institutional care, trafficking
may seem a promising step to a better life. In fact, traffickers target these children.
While some children in Internats do have parents, many are without supportive parents or any
support. As a result of parents going abroad to seek work, children end up in a further situation of
poverty and neglect. According to the European Children’s Trust (2000), parents leave the country
illegally and often do not return. They may have left their children in the care of a neighbor or family
member but often the child ends up in an institution when the parent does not return. This is
particularly true if the mother gets pulled into a trafficking situation. While the child herself may
not be caught up in trafficking, because their mother is, the consequences of trafficking are severe
for children of all ages. According to Carter, many children are abandoned by parents who have gone
abroad (2000).
The health risks of trafficking are obvious. Young women’s lives are at risk; physical, sexual and
emotional abuses are commonplace. When and if women return, they and the Ukraine society are
left having to deal with the social costs of their abuse. Numerous studies show lifelong physical and
emotional aftereffects of trafficking on women, if they manage to escape the slave-like conditions in
which they are held. A statement by the World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations
(Brama: Current Social Issues in Ukraine, 1999) states the situation of women who have been
trafficked graphically,
Women, often not even treated as second-class citizens, are regarded as mere
commodities to be bought, sold and finally discarded after use by traffickers.
Healthcare… is non-existent. The risk of disease is borne by the woman,
condoms are not permitted, and pregnancy is not even a deterrent as a woman
is replaceable (p. 1).
Currently, there is negative migration of people from Ukraine. Women may emigrate according “to
the one-step pattern, that is directly from the rural areas to their foreign destination,” or the “twostep pattern involves women moving to cities and then to a foreign destination” (Altink, 1995, p. 55).
Rural women come to the cities for work, to marry or to get an education. The “chain migration”
pattern is also seen which consists of a friend or relative procuring a position and then inviting a
woman to join her abroad. Certainly, the ability to travel outside of Ukraine has provided some
opportunity that women, in their desperation, want to believe will help them improve their lives.
In spite of strict immigration laws into Western Europe and the United States, tourist visas are easily
available through traffickers. As well, “It is common practice for travel agencies in Eastern European
countries to sell visas” (Altink, 1995, p. 124). Few women realize that a holiday visa does not entitle
– 194 –
them to work abroad. Once the traffickers take their passports, the women are in precarious
positions. One Women for Women staff member mentioned a ‘cycle of trafficking’ in which women
may go abroad once or twice for legitimate work but ultimately end up in a trafficking situation
(Interview, Lviv, October, 2000). One million Ukrainians go abroad every year looking for temporary
employment; 40% of families in the Lviv area have a member abroad working (The Family In Ukraine
[TFIU], 1999). Because of a few ‘success’ stories of women earning money abroad, women still take
the risk thinking ‘it can never happen to me.’
Organized crime groups are well prepared to take advantage of Ukrainian women’s vulnerability.
“According to United Nations official Jean Fernand-Laurent, trafficking in women is more
profitable than arms or drug smuggling” (Altink, 1995, p. 2). These groups “work with corrupt
authorities, launder money, have contacts in both legitimate areas and the underworld and form a
hierarchy” (Altink, 1995, p. 4). For the most part, “women are reluctant to talk because Eastern
European gangs are extremely violent and use every kind of threat to intimidate them” (Altink, 1995,
p. 125).
The Economy
According to numerous research studies and NGO workers, the main factor relating to Ukrainian
women’s vulnerability to trafficking is the lack of economic opportunity they face (Belk, Ostergaard
& Groves, 1998; IOM, 1998; Mihiova and Kiukova, 1999; Smolenski, 1995). The unemployment
figure for women in Ukraine is estimated to be between 60 and 70% (Hunt, 1997; IOM, 1998). The
Foundation of Women’s Forum (1998) attributes trafficking to “the world-wide feminization of
poverty, women’s unequal rights and access to formal labor [and] women’ restricted abilities to gain
power over their own lives in their home countries” (p. 1).
How has the change from a communist regime to a market economy impacted the situation for
women in Ukraine? Unfortunately, not very positively. Many government officials now strive for
personal wealth rather than economic reform. The mafia shows little restraint in their involvement
in trafficking of women. Few businesses in Ukraine are legal. Most are conducted in the shadow
economy because the taxation system makes it “almost impossible to conduct business legally in
Ukraine” (Cowley, 1994, p. 17). For the country as a whole, the fall in output has been as much as a
40% decline in gross domestic product (GDP), with industrial production overly effected (Jackman,
1994). Ukraine once produced 34% of the Soviet Union’s steel, and 46% of its iron ore, but these
industries now lie dormant (Cowley, 1994). The Western markets are not yet available due to the
poor quality of goods marketed. As a result, many of the newly independent states (NIS), “… can no
longer sell what they produce, and they cannot yet produce what they will be able to sell” (Jackman,
1994, p. 341). In Ukraine, this has led to “long-term unemployment with the attendant risks
of severe poverty or the development of illicit economic activities” (Jackman, 1994, p. 335). As
their prospects for employment or reemployment remain dim, here is where we see women being
drawn to trafficking.
Each industry that collapses leaves many Ukrainians unemployed. Women are more readily
unemployed as “employment decisions reflect a hierarchy dominated by male occupations…”
(Jackman, 1994, p. 333). It is difficult to move to another part of the country to obtain work because
– 195 –
usually there is no work elsewhere and housing is not transferable. In spite of the problems in the
former Soviet Union, there at least were social services, however inadequate. Now there are few social
support systems; additionally, many people work and do not regularly receive payment.
The economic situation is far worse for women in that the average wage for women was 72% of men’s
average wage, as of 1999 (Vlasenko et al., 2000). Most women and some men agree that it is more
difficult for women to obtain a job and easier for them to lose a job; their dismissal rate in 1999 was
63% (Vlasenko, et al., 2000). Furthermore, women constitute 75% of the population under the age of
28 who are unemployed (Vlasenko et al., 2000). This rate of unemployment is even greater in the
rural regions of Ukraine.
The United Nations currently sees four obstacles to full human development: HIV/AIDS, armed
conflict and violence, increasing poverty and gender discrimination (Annan, 2000). Young women in
Ukraine are faced with all four of these obstacles: HIV/AIDS, violence (even though there is no
armed conflict), increasing poverty, and gender discrimination. While the United Nations sees the
possibility of intergenerational patterns of poverty, violence, disease and discrimination as having
the potential to be reduced within a generation, in Ukraine, the opposite is true. Poverty is increasing
due to continued poor economic conditions. The effect of this is that “Ukraine continues to have the
highest mortality rate and the lowest average life expectancy among the countries of Central and
Eastern Europe” (Vlasenko, Vinogradova, & Kalachova, 2000 p. 12). The infant mortality rate in
Ukraine is 18 deaths per 1,000 live births (UNDP, 2000). For developed countries it is 12 deaths per
1,000 live births.
All these economic factors translate into real hardship for most Ukrainian families. In fact,
“Subjective evaluations of family living standards in Ukraine show that 76% of families are
constantly short of money, 23% live comfortably but cannot afford spending freely and must budget
carefully, and only 1% are well off and can afford to live without budgeting” (United Nations
Development Program [UNDP], 1999, p. 209). Carter (1999) describes 60% of families in Ukraine as
living in poverty. As many as 75% of families in rural areas such as Stryi are without running water
and an inside toilet (Carter, 2000).
Unfortunately, the “standard of living of the majority of the population of Ukraine now corresponds
to a level at the end of 1950’s” (TFIU, 1999, p. 143). In a survey conducted in the Lviv Women for
Women Center (2000) among 41 women, over 50% had a monthly family income of between 50 and
200 gryvnas ($9-$36). “Women constitute almost 80% of the unemployed, and 72% of the
unemployed who are graduates of professional or technical colleges” (UNDP, 1999, p. 139-140).
While this percentage of unemployed women speaks to the poor economy in Ukraine, it also
demonstrates women’s poor position in the society at large and the lack of the educational system in
Ukraine to address the relevant needs of the economy in Ukraine. Despite images of Soviet women
working in what most Americans would consider nontraditional jobs, sexual stereotyping and
prejudice persisted until the final years of the Soviet Union (Silverman & Yanowitch, 1997). Now in
an environment that feminists describe as “a postsocialist patriarchal renaissance,” women’s
opportunities are even more scarce (Silverman & Yanowitch, 1997, p. 75).
– 196 –
Violence Against Girls and Young Women
Along with a lack of power, women frequently experience physical or sexual abuse, either in their
home environments or at their places of employment, that contributes to the number of women
lured into trafficking (Farley et al., 1998; IOM, 1998; Nelson, 1996; Mihilova and Kiukova, 1999;
Skolnik and Boontinand, 1999; Skotarenko, personal communication, October 1st, 1999;). Leidholdt
holds a similar belief: “…voluntary entry into the sex industry was predicated on … earlier abuse and
exploitation. Sexual trauma—with its hallmarks of denial and repetition compulsions—is the
training ground of many subsequent prostitution “volunteers” (1993, p. 133). When Skotarenko
interviewed women who had been trafficked, all of the women had some problems in their families,
“usually abusive and/or drinking family members or young children to support” (personal
communication, 1999). Silbert and Pines (1981) found “extremely high levels” of child abuse in a
study conducted with 200 teen and adult women prostitutes in the United States (p. 407).
Official statistics do not reflect the level of violence experienced by the various groupings of women,
but by all accounts, it clearly affects all age groups. Fifty percent of adult women in this study have
experienced violence and 20% remain in a violent situation. Medical attention is frequently needed.
The Ukraine Ministry of Interior Affairs reported 1,227 women who were killed in 1999 (cited in
UNDP, 1999). Currently, “assault on one’s wife does not fit into any category of criminal actions
within the Ukrainian Criminal Code” (UNDP, 1999, p. 222).
Women are often physically unable to work as a result of violence they experienced in the home
(Shepard & Pence, 1988). According to the UNDP study, “Fifty percent of women suffer from some
form of sexual harassment at work” (1999, p. 222). As an example of gender stereotyping, “48% of
men and 36% of women think that a woman can provoke acts of sexual violence upon herself ”
(UNDP, 1999, p. 223). Women are often forced to leave their place of employment due to harassment
that “leads to double suffering-from mental and physical humiliation, and from material problems
that are entailed in leaving a job” (Vlasenko et al, 2000, p. 30).
The Dnipropetrovsk Women for Women Center (2000) conducted a study of 480 women between
the ages of 15 to over 40 and found that 25% of the women had experienced violence as children;
79 women had experienced physical abuse; 67 women had experienced psychological abuse; and
7 women had experienced sexual abuse. In their current lives, women experienced psychological
violence from friends and colleagues (34%), boyfriends (18%), and 17% experience violence
constantly. Nineteen percent of the women experienced abuse by their employers, while 26%
experienced discrimination by their employer. Fully 50% of women experienced violence from their
husbands; 15% was physical, 4% was sexual, 24% was psychological and 8% was financial. Women also
experienced domestic violence from father-in-laws, brother-in-laws, and other family members. Only
36% of women in this situation feel they can leave their homes; 54% of women want to stay but see
the violence end. Most women did not seek help; of those who did, 89% did not receive adequate
support and nothing changed in their situations.
The 1999 Ukraine Women’s Reproductive Health Initiative (2000) indicated that 19% of respondents
had experienced domestic abuse, with 8% currently experiencing domestic abuse. These incidences
were 50% higher in rural than urban areas. While the staff at the Women for Women Centers believe
– 197 –
there is a connection between women experiencing violence and their vulnerability to trafficking,
this has so far never been confirmed in Ukraine, but is addressed in this study.
Sexual violence is common for teen women in Ukraine. Out of all instances of rape reported to
police, 55% of victims were underage (that is, younger than 18 years); among these 40% of victims
were minors (that is, less than 14 years old). While more than half of victims did not know their
abusers, over 30% (of teen women) knew them well; 13% were victimized by their relatives, older
brothers, fathers, step-fathers or guardians” (UNDP, 1999, p. 212).
Persistent violence and poverty lead to desperate solutions for these teen women, of which going
abroad is one. The Dnipropetrovsk Women for Women Center surveyed 783 teen women between
the ages of 16 to 24 (1999) and found that 69% of teen women would accept an offer to work abroad,
even though few of them knew information regarding the legalities of working abroad. Fifty-eight
percent of the teen women would rely on acquaintances to help them obtain a position, an approach
that has been shown to lead to trafficking situations.
In this same sample of 783 teen women, 23% of the women had experienced physical violence,
62% had experienced psychological violence and 11% had experienced sexual violence. The violence
was perpetrated by friends (26%), teachers (15%), and parents (8%). The violence was persistent in
nature and 86% of the teen women currently lived in fear of the violence. In this present study, a
group of teens that were interviewed acknowledged frequent violent episodes in the school setting
along with the ready availability of drugs (Group Interview, October, 2000).
Research Methodology
This document provides a summary of the findings from two studies commissioned by Winrock
International and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to
assess causes of and prevention efforts of trafficking of women in Ukraine. Conducted through the
Trafficking Prevention Program in Ukraine, one study was carried out through the Women for
Women Centers in Lviv, Donetsk, and Dnipropetrovsk, and the second study was conducted by the
Ukraine Institute of Social Science (UISS), with the population-at-large.
The study at the Women for Women Centers consisted of an evaluation of all girls and young women
attending trainings for the first time at the three women for Women Centers during the week of
November 13, 2000. The three centers were all in vastly different areas of the country, reflecting their
own unique perspective that added to the credibility of the findings. The study evaluated existing
programs for effectiveness in conveying anti-trafficking messages to participants. It also assessed
participants’ vulnerability to being drawn into trafficking. The data was used to develop further
prevention strategies against trafficking.
A total of 327 women, ages 12-51, were administered questionnaires. Four groups of girls and young
women were compared: 1) teens in Internats (85 girls); 2) teens in secondary schools (74 girls);
3) teens in technical schools (76 girls); and 4) adult women (93 women). Rather than representing
a sample of all women in Ukraine from the ages of 12 to 30, the sample comprised women who
were seeking help or where school personnel invited the centers’ staff into a classroom setting to
– 198 –
give trainings. Therefore, the findings cannot be generalized to women in the general population
in Ukraine.
The following circumstances influenced the study:
◆
Meetings were held with key agencies in Kiev involved in anti-trafficking to determine the
magnitude of the problem of trafficking in Ukraine and the current objectives in the antitrafficking campaign. Meetings were conducted with USAID, Project Harmony, the
International Organization of Migration, La Strada, and the United Nations Development
Program.
◆
Participant-observation was conducted at the Women for Women Centers in Lviv,
Dnipropetrovsk and Donesk. Discussions with staff were conducted at all three Women for
Women Centers. The dialogues led to detailed knowledge of the trainings offered, populations
served and agencies with whom the centers interacted. A sense of the mission of the centers and
the complexity of the problems encountered was learned.
◆
Interviews and small group discussions conducted with participants led to detailed knowledge
of the reasons women were attending the centers, feedback regarding the impact of the center’s
trainings on the women, and discussions about the factors in the women’s lives in the current
environment in Ukraine that lead to risks of trafficking.
◆
Meetings and round table discussions were held with community groups who were working
with the centers in the area of trafficking prevention. They provided feedback on the impact of
the Women for Women Centers in their communities. They also described their roles in the antitrafficking campaign in Ukraine.
◆
It proved impossible to meet with women who had returned to Ukraine having been involved in
a trafficking situation. According to staff at the centers, women were reluctant to admit they
had been involved in trafficking incidences, as women have been rejected by families and
communities for doing so. Women were also fearful of the traffickers and often could not return
home or reveal their identities in any way. The staffs at all three centers were able to relate
detailed information about women’s situations that had been involved in a trafficking
situation. Much of this information came from the women’s relatives, who had been in contact
with center staff while the women were abroad.
This research can be defined as “participatory action research” in which increasing the researchers
understanding of the situation and increasing “the insight of the local people into what factors are
the root causes” (Burkey, 1993, p. 60) of trafficking were both achieved. Burkey (1993) describes the
necessity of researchers to immerse themselves in the reality they are studying. This includes
extending empathy and friendship and an awareness “of the fact that he or she is working with
certain values which may differ considerably” (p. 61) from those of the people participating in the
research. Based on this belief, the researcher collaborated closely with center staff in the design of the
questionnaires for the study. While the questionnaires elicit quantitative data, there is also an
opportunity for qualitative responses as well. In addition, as a result of the dialogues at the centers
with staff and informal groups with participants, there are also narrative findings.
– 199 –
The UISS study conducted a random sample of girls and young women from five different oblasks
in Ukraine. Two thousand forty-eight girls and young women ages 12-30 years were interviewed.
Four groups of girls and women are compared: 1) girls and young women from the general
population (1,520 girls and young women); 2) teens in internats (315 girls); 3) businesswomen who
travel abroad (primarily market women) (103 women); and 4) sex-workers (in Ukraine) (110 women).
Semi-structured interviews were conducted.
The questionnaire was especially developed for this study. It was initially designed for adult women,
then adapted to teen women, and further adapted for teen women residing in Internats (see
Appendix A for a sample of the Questionnaire). A Pilot Study was conducted at all three Women for
Women Centers that served to refine the questionnaire as administered. It was conducted on
October 20 and October 23, 2000.
Findings from the study are in narrative, descriptive and empirical form. Empirical findings have
been analyzed using correlation analysis and tables throughout the study indicate with a “yes” when
there is a correlation analysis. The correlation analysis means the relationships are significant at the
.10 level or better.
This paper will compare and contrast findings from both studies and make recommendations for
future trafficking prevention efforts. While both studies asked similar questions, due to the different
nature of the two samples and some dissimilarity in questions asked, responses were not always
comparable. A more in-depth understanding of the findings from both studies can be obtained in
previously published reports through Winrock International or through their webpage
(www.Winrock.org).
The “profiles” of girls and young women are a compilation of many women’s stories from a
particular group. All identifying information is disguised. The stories of the women, while disguised,
are nevertheless a source of empowerment for the staff and women working at and attending the
centers. This will enable research on this serious issue affecting women’s very survival to move away
from what Carroll terms the “cult of power” [and] “the preoccupation with institutions, groups, and
persons conceived to be powerful” (cited in Murphy, 1996, p. 527) and instead is research in which
women are the topic of and voice of the discourse (see Appendix A).
Findings And Recommendations
A. Finding:
One of the major findings in both studies was that girls and young women had minimal
financial resources or support; with both study populations, lack of financial resources strongly
influenced girls and women’s decisions to go abroad under conditions that leave them open to
being drawn into trafficking.
This was an expected finding and the most commonly believed reason girls and women choose to go
abroad and risk a trafficking situation. The International Organization for Migration (1998), study
also noted the relationship between poverty and the desire to go abroad. In fact, 76% of families in
Ukraine do not have enough to support themselves (Gender Analysis of Ukrainian Society, 1999).
More and more families must now rely on domestic production of food (which has soared from 29%
– 200 –
to 56% in recent years) in order to feed themselves (The Family in Ukraine, 1999). Sixty-two percent
of the unemployed in Ukraine are women (Vlasenko, Vinogradova and Kalachova, 2000). In this
study there were similar findings as to the level of poverty. With the population at large group, it was
shown that 64% of girls and women live on or below the poverty level; 25% are hardly surviving. With
the Women for Women Center population, two thirds do not regularly receive their salary and do
not have enough to support themselves. They compensate for this lack of resources by working
at two jobs and borrowing money. It is no surprise that girls and women will consider acting
precipitously in order to obtain basic life necessities.
The Women for Women Centers have a major goal of helping women to improve employment
opportunities. The job skills trainings at the Women for Women Centers have been highly successful
in introducing concepts of Western business practices to women attending trainings. Under the
Soviet system, many women never had to look for employment and so are not used to describing
their professional skills to a prospective employer. The Centers start with such issues as resume
writing and interviewing techniques. Women then require training in current information
technology capabilities, such as computer competency. The Centers provide it. The Centers have
become so well known for their excellent training of women that potential employers now call the
Centers when they have an open position. They do so because they will be assured of a competent
prospective employee.
Recommendation: Trainings for jobs skills need to be expanded.
This is particularly critical for girls and young women graduating from secondary schools, Internats
or technical schools. Trainings need to be offered on-site in secondary schools, Internats and
technical schools, possibly as part of the curriculum. While some trainings are currently offered in
the school setting, this effort needs to be greatly expanded. This is not possible with the current level
of staffing in the Women for Women Centers.
Recommendation: An additional staff member needs to be hired at each of the Women for Women
Centers to work exclusively in the schools in an effort to greatly expand
trainings in the schools.
Having such a person would ensure consistent job skills trainings in secondary schools, technical
schools and Internats. An employee with this singular, dedicated purpose would be especially helpful
with developing and maintaining relationships with Internat staff, a key to providing access to
Internet students. With approximately 4,000 female children living in Internats, this is a population
that needs critical attention.
B. Finding:
In the Women for Women Center study, supportive relationships with grandmothers, parents
and the emotional comfort of financial security were correlated with being a deterrent to
considering going abroad to work.
Unfortunately, emotional support was minimal for girls and women in both studies. Lack of
emotional support was an issue for one fifth of the women in the UISS study. Anecdotal evidence
abounds of parents who have gone abroad to work, leaving their children in situations far worse
than if they had remained in Ukraine.
– 201 –
Recommendation: Parents need to be assisted in order to provide adequate emotional support to
their children.
Groups for parents, arranged through the Women for Women Centers, and in conjunction with a
related family agency, could provide support and information and access to resources that would
enable parents to maintain consistent involvement with their children, even in very difficult
circumstances. These groups, once established, could become autonomous peer support groups,
with minimal staff involvement and expense.
Recommendation: For young girls whose parents are unavailable, a mentoring program is often
cost effective and has been proven to assist teens to develop their potential, in
spite of economic, familial and societal obstacles (United State Department of
Education, 2000).
There is anecdotal evidence that informal mentoring takes place with students in Internats and
relatives from their extended families and even neighbors. Such mentors need to be recognized and
supported in their efforts. In-country Peace Corps Volunteers may be a source for additional
mentors.
C. Finding:
Another significant finding was that, in both studies, there was a high rate of current or
previous emotional, physical and sexual abuse; there was a positive correlation between women
experiencing abuse and the consideration to go abroad to work in situations that leave them
vulnerable to traffickers.
Fifty percent of adult women in the Women for Women Center study have experienced violence and
20% remain in a violent situation (see Table 1). The percentages of experienced violence were less in
the population-at-large sample; nevertheless, they were high (see Table 2).
Women are often physically unable to work as a result of violence they experience in the home;
medical attention is frequently needed. The Ukraine Ministry of Interior Affairs reported that in
1999 alone, 1,227 women were killed; 1,215 women were the victims of premeditated grievous bodily
harm; 1,256 women were sexually assaulted; and 6,522 women were the victims of sexual perversion
(Vlasenko et al., 2000, p. 29). (No information is given on the perpetrators of these crimes.)
Currently, “assault on one’s wife does not fit into any category of criminal actions within the
Ukrainian Criminal Code” (Gender analysis of Ukrainian Society, 1999, p. 222).
– 202 –
Table 1
Violence Against Women and Teens: Women for Women Center Sample
Table 2
Violence Against Women and Teens: Population-at-Large Sample
The results of both studies demonstrate clearly that abuse is as serious a push factor as is lack of
emotional or financial support. Research has shown that women who have experienced prior abuse
are at risk for exposure to further abusive situations (Russell, 1986; Rudd & Herzberger, 1999). It is
also known from previous studies in the United States that women and girls who have experienced
previous abuse are disproportionately represented in the prostitute population (Schaffer &
DeBlassie, 1984; Silbert & Pines, 1981; Simons & Whitbeck, 1991). Often this is related to young
girls and women fleeing an untenable violent situation in their homes and finding themselves on the
street with no means of financial support, thus ending up in prostitution. This phenomenon was
confirmed among the population-at-large group. Women who are prostitutes in Ukraine (N110) had
witnessed their fathers physically abusing their mothers (50%), and verbal abuse between their
parents (51%); 69% experienced physical abuse from one or both parents and 25% of women
prostitutes were threatened with being ejected from their family homes when they were minors. All
of these parameters of abuse are at alarmingly high levels, more so than the other groups of girls and
women (see Table 3).
– 203 –
Table 3
Levels of Familial Abuse: Population-at-large study
Recommendation: Both the violence prevention trainings and access to lawyers needs to be
continued and expanded upon.
In an effort to educate women about violence prevention, women are brought together with other
women and Women for Women Center staff to learn about commonalities in each other’s lives and
to discuss issues in an open way that they may not have previously done. This discussion often takes
place in trainings on human rights that lead many women to take clear and decisive positions
regarding their domestic or employment abuse situations. Many of the women maintain contact
with each other, once they have concluded using the services of the Centers. They even form ‘alumni’
groups that assist the Centers to help other women. Many women even become trainers at the
Women for Women Centers.
Providing peer-matched trainers who have first-hand experience of the situations of the women
attending the Women for Women Centers enables the trainers to be empathic and the women to be
highly receptive to their messages. It is known that “the facilitation of significant learning rests upon
certain attitudinal qualities which exist in the personal relationship between the facilitator and the
learner” (Rogers, 1971, p. 219, cited in Rappaport, 1981). The Women for Women Centers embody
this concept. Beardsell (1994) believes the women’s ability to incorporate the messages of trainings
depends on the personal qualities of the trainers. “Empathy, positive regard, genuineness, and
concreteness may have more ‘prevention effects’ than the content of the trainings” (p. 12).
The staff at the Women for Women Centers is extraordinarily dedicated. The commitment and long
hours and creative outreach at all three Centers have meant that each Center provides help to women
far outside of the cities in which the Centers are located. Their capacity to transform women’s lives
from being participants in the trainings to actual leaders of the trainings ensures a domino effect in
conveying the message that women are indeed better off staying in Ukraine. The general attitude
that Ukraine has ‘little to offer’ changes as women see possibilities before them. For the most part,
the teen and adult women that were interviewed for the Women for Women Center study wanted to
stay in Ukraine, near their families and in their country and saw the Women for Women Centers as
a way to successfully do so.
Much of the lawyer’s time in the Women for Women Centers is in educating and supporting adult
women to deal with domestic abuse. Access to lawyers and increased violence prevention trainings
need to be funded.
– 204 –
Recommendation: A shelter system that would include both violence prevention and employment
skills trainings is the next needed step in the process of providing an alternative
to going abroad.
Since fully 50% of adult women (Women for Women Center study) have experienced abuse, a need
for a shelter system is critical in order to prevent women who are fleeing domestic abuse and teens
who are escaping an untenable home situation from going abroad and likely ending up in another
situation of violence.
Shelters could also be used for women who are returning from a trafficking situation. Since the
numbers of women who are considering or have already gone abroad (who are in contact with
Women for Women Center lawyers) is increasing, this need continues to increase. At the moment,
there are only two battered wives shelters in all of Ukraine. Winrock International, in concert with
other NGO’s, is moving to remedy this situation and establish more shelters (personal
communication, Ellie Valentine, December, 2000).
Recommendation: Fund additional staff so that frequent, systematic trainings can be offered in the
school settings.
With teen women, the problem of abuse from family members and/or boyfriends is even more acute
as they are more reluctant to discuss their abusive situation, and there are few resources available to
them. Violence prevention trainings offered by the Women for Women Center staff are well attended
by teens. Funding for these trainings needs to be increased, as there are waiting lists at all three
centers. This is especially critical for students in Internats who lack ready access to the Women for
Women Centers. While the Women for Women Center staff have worked diligently to provide
trainings in the Internats, access is complicated by bureaucratic difficulties. With 27% of teens
in Internats experiencing physical violence (Women for Women Center study), this is a heightened
at-risk group in danger of being lured into trafficking.
D. Finding:
Women need to be educated as to what constitutes abuse and the overall deleterious effects of
abuse, and the relationship between abuse and the increased potential to become involved in a
harmful trafficking situation.
There was evidence in both studies of lack of knowledge of abuse and its effects. Previous studies
confirm that once a girl or woman has experienced abuse, they are more likely to be exposed to
future situations of abuse. This phenomenon is related to a number of factors, including lack of
knowledge of how to protect herself from abuse, general feelings of worthlessness and patterns of
withdrawal and isolation (Russell, 1986; Rudd & Herzberger, 1999). Currently, there is a wide belief
in Ukraine that women do not discuss abusive situations and just “put up with it.” The pervasive
harmful effects are not so well known.
Recommendation: Information regarding the relationship between the experience of abuse and the
desire to go abroad needs to be widely disseminated. This may ultimately
educate the government and the general public as to the seriousness of the
problem and the deleterious effects of women and therefore the entire country.
– 205 –
Clearly, violence against women interrupts and delays the progression of development for all
Ukrainians. “If within the definition of social development we accept that there is more to
development than production and distribution of material goods…” (Carstens & Julia, 1999, p. 52),
it becomes critical to address violence against women before the quality of life in Ukraine improves.
Hunt (1997) makes the point succinctly: “Economic disparity [is] exacerbated by the exclusion of
women from the core of society” (p. 4). Reanda (1991) feels the issue of trafficking will only be
addressed when “less visible forms of coercion—economic, cultural, social, or psychological…” are
attended to that will truly give women the choice of an alternative way of life (p. 226).
While one can make the argument that violence against women increases in poor economic times,
the alternative evidence is there that this abuse was, while hidden, also prevalent during the Soviet
Union. It has become a ‘way of life’ that needs to be recognized as such, campaigned vigorously
against and ultimately diminished.
The kind of attitude and belief change regarding the potential to reduce violence against women
“will not take place unless there is consensus among the group attempting to carry out the
transformation” (Burkey, 1993, p. 48). This consensus needs to be consonant “with their own social
framework. New ideas and new behavior cannot be imported unmodified” (Burkey, 1993, p. 48). For
the most part, people will try to solve what they perceive as the most urgent of the issues in their lives
and anyone who knows of Ukrainians’ woes would readily agree that the economic situation is most
critical. It may be that until the economic situation improves, no other issue can be addressed.
In order to change the ‘mindset’ of a population with regard to violence against women “…the
question of central concern is one of how to empower the formation of alternate discursive
structures and conditions…” (Carstens & Julia, 1999, p. 53). Such structures could enable women to
view the phenomenon as one that could be contained. One way to do this is to let women in Ukraine
know that women suffer from violence globally and that it is seen on an international level as an
unacceptable condition that prevents women from living full lives. This would counter the beliefs
coming especially from older women in Ukraine, from government and some social agencies and
even from organized religion that women need to endure with their husbands, even if their lives
include violence. We who attempt to bring change need to keep in mind that “social development
policies and programs must structure the processes of empowerment to span gender and
generations” (Carstens & Julia, 1999, p. 55).
E.
Finding:
The effects of abuse impact girls and women’s ability to be employable.
Not only are girls and women in Ukraine dealing with a lack of employment skills, but if they have
experienced abuse, they may be more reluctant to put themselves in an employment situation
(Shepard & Pence, 1988). This, along with women missing days at work due to current injuries,
seriously compromises women’s employability in Ukraine. Being less able to enter the job market
and having less awareness of potentially dangerous situations can lead to more potential to being
drawn into a trafficking situation. Therefore, the issue of abuse urgently needs to be addressed as a
trafficking prevention issue and as an impediment to women’s employment.
– 206 –
Recommendation: Educate women as to the linkage to current and past abuse and the heightened
risk of being drawn into trafficking.
Much of the discussion and prevention efforts around the issues of trafficking have focused on
economic issues and the lack of employment for women in Ukraine. While the economic issues are
validated in these studies, the issue of abuse, equally as serious, now needs to be related to women
going abroad and risking involvement in trafficking. This message needs to be incorporated in
future public service announcements about trafficking, along with information on where to receive
services. The message needs to also be included in the Women for Women Center trainings. As
Burkey points out, once the problem has been identified and accepted, “local initiatives for breaking
the vicious circle” (1993, p. 22) could be promoted.
F.
Finding:
The overall trafficking prevention effort has been effective in alerting girls and women to the
dangers of trafficking.
The trafficking prevention effort has been successful through the medium of general public service
announcements, and, even more so, through the efforts of NGO’s. In the population-at-large study
38% of girls and women (general population) knew of dangers regarding trafficking. However, only
10% of students in Internats (population-at-large study) knew that you could not work abroad with
a tourist visa, demonstrating a continued need for trafficking prevention information.
G. Finding:
Girls and women who are aware of NGO’s know more about the dangers of trafficking.
In the population at large study, as few as 7% know about NGO’s that assist women who have
experienced trafficking. Interestingly, those 7% knew more about the dangers of trafficking than did
the general population. As well, the higher the educational level and the larger the geographic region,
the more girls and women know about NGO’s (and hence the dangers of trafficking).
H. Finding:
Women and girls who actually come to the Women for Women Center trainings know even
more of the dangers of trafficking (see Table 4), and there is a higher knowledge level of the
dangers of trafficking following just one training.
Table 4
Knowledge of Anti-Trafficking Messages: Women for Women Center Sample
Recommendation: The first step is to develop an awareness of the Women for Women Centers.
This can only come after expanding staff personnel, as the center staff is already working at full
capacity. Women for Women Centers do not advertise for fear of being overwhelmed. Four more
– 207 –
centers have been established in Ukraine in Chernivtsi, Kherson, Rivne and Zhytomyr. These
numbers need to continue to increase. Each of the centers does considerable outreach to the rural
areas in their regions, a strategy that needs to continue and be expanded upon.
I.
Finding:
There is now also a need to expand the information campaign to help women to incorporate the
dangers of trafficking into their belief system.
This was shown to be a critical issue because the adolescent girls who were part of the Women for
Women Center study did not demonstrate a behavior change after one training. For example, after
one training, technical school teens did not decrease their desire to go abroad and Internat and
secondary school students actually increased their willingness to risk going abroad (see Table 5).
Table 5
Would Consider Going to Another Country: Women for Women Center Sample
There are several reasons for the teens’ responses: 1) when participants come to the trainings, they
have a strong desire to go abroad; 2) some participants come to the trainings hoping to find safe ways
to go abroad, rather than alternatives to going abroad which the trainings are trying to show
participants; It may be that when students attach most of their hope to escaping abroad,
information alone is not sufficient as a deterrent. It is well known in the field of health education
that “information models neglect important parts of the equation, like what the behavior means to
the person and how the behavior is socially reinforced” (Woodworth, 1995, p. 8); 3) while one
training increases knowledge of the dangers of trafficking, several trainings may be required in order
to effect attitude and belief changes, which in turn lead to behavior change. Greenberg (1976) states
that increasing self-esteem, reducing powerlessness and social isolation are as important as the
message when trying to help teens make hard choices. These concepts are an important part of the
trainings. Staff also incorporate women or even teens into the trainings that have been successful in
Ukraine, even graduates of Internats who have completed Women for Women Center trainings.
Since most of the teens will attend four to five trainings, it is likely their behavior will gradually shift.
Recommendation: Measure the desire to go abroad following a series of trainings.
The trainings that were measured in this study are the first trainings teens and women attend. Since
most teens and women attend four to five trainings, it would be helpful to measure the desire to go
abroad following a series of trainings. This would demonstrate attitude and belief changes, not simply
awareness of the dangers of trafficking. According to Carstens & Julia (1999), “attitudes and selfperceptions are more effectively addressed and potentially altered when people experience a new
reality rather than when they are told that they ought to think and act differently” (p. 56). The
– 208 –
trainings are conducted based on this and other empowering perspectives, and demonstrate that,
after the initial knowledge of the dangers of trafficking (through public service announcements and
the initial training) a more effective means of influencing behavior is through subsequent trainings,
where real connections are made and have the potential to endure and lead to change. The positive
side to this finding is that almost every teen or woman who took the training wanted to return for
another training. Additionally, very few women showed consideration of going abroad precipitously
after the first training.
J.
Finding:
For women who received an offer to go abroad, most offers came from friends or relatives.
In the population-at-large study, 14% of the girls and women (general population) had received
offers to go abroad, often in the restaurant and entertainment business, both occupations that can
easily evolve into trafficking situations. Four percent of students in Internats, 47% of sex-workers,
and 59% of businesswomen had received offers. For women who had actually worked abroad, most
offers came from friends or relatives. Fifty-two percent came from friends or acquaintances; 18%
came for relatives.
Recommendation: Emphasize that offers to go abroad (that could result in a trafficking situation)
come mainly from friends and relatives).
While it is common knowledge among trafficking prevention staff that friends and family can draw
women into a trafficking situation, the awareness of offers from friends, family and acquaintances
to work abroad that could lead to a trafficking situation needs to be stressed in preventions efforts.
K. Finding:
Girls as young as 11 are vulnerable to trafficking.
The population-at-large study demonstrated the highest risk of entering a trafficking situation was
among girls ages 18 to 25. However, 38% of girls ages 12-17 desire to go abroad to work under
conditions that could lead to a trafficking situation; while they may not have the wherewithal to get
themselves situated abroad, they are in need of prevention efforts before the opportunity to go
abroad presents itself.
In the Women for Women Center study, 45% of teens in secondary schools, 39% of girls in Internats,
34% of teens in technical schools and 26% of adult women desired to go abroad. As stated, age was
less of a factor than lack of emotional or financial support or presence of violence. The average age
for adult women was 23, so certainly it is clear all ages from 11 to 30 are vulnerable. The older the
person, the less vulnerable she is to being drawn into a trafficking situation.
Recommendation: In order to achieve the most effective prevention effort, it is advisable to begin
directing the trafficking prevention messages to girls as young as eleven.
L.
Finding:
In the Women for Women Center study the numbers of successful job placements and violence
prevention efforts were not consistently tracked.
Recommendation: The centers need additional staff to track the level of success of their programs.
– 209 –
Some suggestions for tracking information are:
a)
How many women find employment following participation in a job skills training.
b) How many employers contact centers for positions and how many of these positions are filled.
c)
What salary do women get following job skills trainings versus what they had been getting.
d) How were the incidences of abuse decreased; how many legal actions were taken.
e)
How many women are deterred from going abroad and ending up in a trafficking situation.
f)
How many women are counseled regarding going abroad.
g)
How many family members are counseled while the woman is abroad or when she returns.
h) How many women have been helped to resettle when they return to Ukraine from a trafficking
situation.
The development of a staff position that would gather this information at all three centers is
imperative.
M. Finding:
In the population-at-large study, there were 14 women who acknowledged working abroad in
the sex-business.
It is difficult to trust this number, as few women would admit to having done so. In the Women for
Women Center study, 18 adult women would consider going abroad to work in the sex-business, and
only if they desperately needed income or were fleeing a violent situation (question was not asked of
students). The only deterrent was a high educational level.
That women want to go abroad for an ‘adventure’ is a commonly held belief among Ukrainians and
funding organizations alike. From anecdotal sources and information gleaned from the
questionnaires, it is clear the most teens and young women do not desire to go abroad at all and only
do so out of desperation. Adult women who consider going abroad as sex-workers gave such reasons
as, “If my children were starving” and “If I couldn’t find any work at all in Ukraine.”
Conclusions
The population-at-large study and the Women for Women Center study both confirm that girls and
young women were more likely to consider going abroad and risk a trafficking situation if there was
poverty and/or violence in their lives. The study demonstrates the success of the Women for Women
Centers in violence and trafficking prevention and in increasing job skills. By all accounts, women
who attend the Women for Women Centers are more able to find employment, decrease violence in
their lives and stay in Ukraine with an improved quality of life for themselves and their families. The
larger the number of girls and women that can be reached, the fewer will risk trafficking situations.
Not only do the Women for Women Center staff teach trafficking prevention, they help improve
girls and women’s overall quality of life, which in the end can enable girls and women to remain in
Ukraine.
– 210 –
There is reason to believe that the prevention model used in Ukraine can be successfully applied in
other Eastern European countries. Educating women about the dangers of trafficking through
public service announcements and then providing more in-depth community based trainings
through the Women for Women Center’s model has proven successful. Data from other Eastern
European countries indicates serious economic and violence issues for women (Watson, 1993),
similar to those in Ukraine. Hiring women who are leaders in the communities to administer and
staff the centers leads to a dedicated, motivated, talented, and caring group who strive to ensure
quality service to the girls and women who come in need.
When further extending the initiative to prevent trafficking, it is strongly recommended that the
connection between violence and vulnerability to trafficking as seen in this study will be a critical
part of the plan.
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– 211 –
Appendix A
“Profile of Teens in Internats”
Teens in Internats by definition have little support and therefore may be vulnerable to traffickers.
However, there are differences among the teen women that would lead one teen more readily into the
hands of traffickers than another. For example, one 13-year-old, T., has a friend who has been
involved in trafficking. T. does not want to go abroad. When asked more specifically, she thinks she
would go abroad to finish her education. She even thinks there may be honest work for her abroad.
She thinks she could find ways to be safe as a sex worker, although she knows it’s possible to get
tricked into sex work. However, even though she lives in an Internat, she has a family who provides
some financial and emotional support. She has not experienced violence.
In the same Internat, another 13-year-old, N., is clearly thinking of going abroad, a view that did not
change after the training. Her reason for going abroad is to escape a violent situation. She wishes to
go abroad to marry or to work as a housekeeper. She knows a lot of friends who have been in
trafficking situations. She firmly believes there is honest work for her abroad, that she wouldn’t get
tricked into sex work, and that if she did, she would still be safe. She doesn’t think her health will be
damaged, nor her chances for marrying, or that her family will reject her if she becomes involved in
sex-work. Currently, she has no financial or emotional support from her family and in fact feels that
no one at all supports her financially or emotionally. She has experienced physical abuse with two
different men and experiences emotional abuse from her employer. She has no understanding of the
causes of the violence. She knew one of the dangers of trafficking before the training and three after
the training. In contrast with T., N. clearly is more vulnerable to being deceived into trafficking.
“Profile” of Teens in Secondary School
L. is a 16-year-old secondary school student. She knows a lot about the dangers of trafficking but
still wants to attend trainings at the Women for Women Center because “all my surroundings and
my life is connected with such problems” as the centers try to address. L. knows about not having
enough money to live and about violence and is hopeful the center can help her with both. First of
all, she and her mother had to move out of their apartment and live with her sister and her husband.
This was because she and her mother were being physically abused by her father. It is hard to live at
her sister’s home because it is crowded and her sister’s husband doesn’t want her or her mother
there. Last summer, her aunt took her to Poland where she worked (illegally) cleaning, and watching
children. She made some money, most of which she gave to her mother and sister.
Since she has been back, things are worse than before, she says. Her boss at work is mean and she
hardly makes any money. On the way home from work the previous month (at 11 p.m.), she was
attacked by a stranger. She was only now coming back to school after healing from her physical
injuries. Now her brother tries to meet her after work to walk her to her sister’s.
L. can’t wait until summer so she can go back to Poland and work with her aunt. In the meantime,
she thinks maybe the Woman for Woman Center can help her. She is an optimist and hopes that
“soon it will be here [in Ukraine] like it is abroad.” Then she won’t have to leave her country.
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“Profile” of Teens in Technical Schools
When O. saw the advertisement in the newspaper about a free training on how to get a job, she
decided to go to the Women for Women Center. She is 18 years old and finishing her studies at the
technical college and has no idea where she might find work. Right now she lives with her parents
and they feed her but she really wants to move out because her father has been physically abusive to
her and her mother for a long time (five years).
The training was wonderful for O., she says. She learned a lot about what she needs to do to get a job.
She also found out that the women at the center might be able to help her and her mother with her
father. She plans to use the Trust Phone. She wishes she could attend another training but she lives
in a small village and so far there has only been a single training in the area.
O. said she talked to two women she went through the training with; she had known them before the
training but not talked about the things they discussed in the training. Now they plan to meet at
school and try to help each other. None of them want to leave the country to find work. All of them
know how dangerous the situation is when one goes to another country without the right papers.
There have been girls they knew who did so and they haven’t been heard from since. She said they
hope they do not get so desperate but if they change their minds and decide to go, they will call the
Trust Phone at the Women for Women Center and tell them where they are going.
“Profile” of Adult Women
M. is 25 years old, works in a state facility where she is regularly paid an amount that is barely
enough to support herself in the city where she lives. Her husband also works and she works at
another job to make ends meet on a total family income of 500 grivnas a month ($90).
She is grateful to the Women for Women Center for helping her with “some domestic troubles” that
include many years of physical and sexual abuse, first as a child and now in her marriage. This was
the main reason she came to the center and she wants to use many of the services, including
trainings that will help her to get better employment. She doesn’t want to leave her marriage, and her
few friends, and go to another country to work but she has often felt desperate and depressed, to the
point where, when someone who was a casual acquaintance offered her a job in the Czech Republic,
she almost said yes, even though she had a feeling it was to work as a prostitute. A woman she went
to university with ended up in that situation because she did not have enough money to feed her
children. She has since returned and her life is in ruins. M. is glad she doesn’t have children,
especially with her marriage a mess and not enough money to support them. She hopes with the help
of the center to improve her marriage and get a better job, and not have to leave the country.
Profile of Adult Women Considering Going Abroad as a Sex-Worker
M., age 29, is an example of a women in this situation. She came to the Women for Women Center
because she wants to feel better about herself. She works in a state facility and, together with her
husband, earns 700 grivnas a month, not enough to support herself and her two children. Her
parents help her from time to time and she has an agricultural garden. She has a few friends for
emotional support.
– 213 –
She has experienced physical and emotional violence from her parents, husband and employer “for a
long time.” She would consider going abroad to work in the entertainment business, even as a sexworker because she believes life could not get worse than it now is and it might get better if she had
more money. She knows the dangers, has had three friends who were trapped into a trafficking
situation but hopes it would be different for her if she decides to go.
Right now, another friend told her about the Women to Women Center and she is hoping they can
help her with her situation. She has already made appointments with the counselor and the lawyer.
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SECTION
3
L’IMPACT DES CHOIX ÉCONOMIQUES, SOCIAUX ET POLITIQUES
Dans les deux sections précédentes, des chercheurs, des experts éminents et des professeurs
d’université nous ont présenté les multiples dimensions de la pauvreté et ses effets nuisibles sur la vie
des enfants partout dans le monde. Dans la présente section, nous vous proposons une série de
textes qui examinent ce qui peut et doit être mis en œuvre pour s’attaquer à ce problème et, par le fait
même, améliorer les conditions de vie de millions de familles et de jeunes gens.
Le professeur Garfield Brown d’Afrique du Sud émet l’idée que changer et façonner les attitudes des
gens peut influer grandement sur leurs choix économiques, sociaux et politiques et contribuer, par
le fait même, à modifier les conditions de vie qui engendrent la pauvreté. Gina Browne et ses
collègues de l’Université McMaster examinent les effets ainsi que les coûts d’ajouter des programmes
d’intervention proactifs et intégrés initiés par les prestataires de services aux services offerts aux
chefs de famille monoparentale et à leurs enfants. Les résultats de leur étude démontrent clairement
que de telles mesures produisent des gains financiers à court terme ainsi que des avantages sociaux à
plus long terme pour les familles pauvres. Lola Fabowalé, chercheuse principale et conseillère en
politique au Conseil national du bien-être social du Canada, met en valeur l’éducation continue et
permanente comme stratégie fondamentale dans l’amélioration de la qualité de vie des gens qui
vivent dans la pauvreté, notamment en ce qui a trait aux familles monoparentales. Elle conclut que
l’assistance financière et l’accessibilité à des services de garde s’avèrent bénéfiques dans la mesure où
elles permettent aux chefs de famille monoparentale d’intégrer le marché du travail et minimisent les
risques de tomber dans la pauvreté.
Mariangela Belfiore Wanderley et Mercedes Cywinski, deux chercheurs du Brésil, démontrent la
viabilité du Programme de revenu minimum en tant que stratégie de lutte contre la pauvreté dans
leur pays. Ce programme a procuré aux familles le moyen de soutenir le développement de leurs
enfants et a donné lieu à une augmentation marquée du niveau d’intégration scolaire ainsi que du
taux d’utilisation des services sociaux et de santé. La professeure Ritha Ramphal d’Afrique du Sud,
dans sa présentation, réclame un accroissement des mesures préventives en matière de lutte contre la
pauvreté. Elle argumente que, dans son pays, cela devrait inclure un système d’aide sociale exhaustif
voué à la promotion des droits socio-économiques des personnes. Son texte donne un aperçu détaillé
des actions que doivent entreprendre le gouvernement et ses divers partenaires pour s’attaquer
efficacement à la pauvreté et en atténuer l’impact sur les familles et les enfants. Dans leur
présentation, Catherine Montgomery, Annie Mailloux et Christopher McAll discutent du rôle des
projets de soutien à l’emploi au sein de quartiers multiethniques et des défis particuliers qu’ils
posent. Ils affirment que de tels projets constituent un outil important pour soutenir l’intégration
sociale et professionnelle des jeunes à long terme. Ils notent cependant que plusieurs jeunes en
marge du système sont souvent exclus ou profitent moins des programmes existants, faisant
ressortir la nécessité de réévaluer les critères actuels de sélection et d’inscription à ces programmes.
En matière d’éducation, Judi Varga-Toth et Lisa Thibodeau suggèrent que le renforcement de la
cellule familiale par le biais de programmes en milieu scolaire améliore grandement les chances de
succès des enfants d’âge scolaire considérés à risque. Le programme « Familles et Écoles Ensemble »,
selon elles, encourage les enfants à se surpasser et à surmonter les barrières que les circonstances ont
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érigées contre eux. La professeure Jane E. Irons présente les résultats de l’évaluation du programme
d’abstinence totale (SMART) du Dallas Independent School District qui s’adresse à des jeunes âgés
de 12 et 13 ans appartenant à des groupes minoritaires vivant dans des quartiers pauvres – une
population qui est souvent associée à la pauvreté chronique et à la marginalisation. Le texte discute
des mérites du programme et souligne son impact positif sur la consommation de drogues et
d’alcool ainsi que le comportement sexuel de ces enfants.
Jean-Pierre Hétu et Manon Gasse, deux chercheurs du Québec, décrivent un programme de
prévention gouvernemental (Naître Égaux – Grandir en Santé) qui s’adresse aux femmes enceintes et
aux familles avec de jeunes enfants vivant en situation de pauvreté. Dans leur présentation, ils
insistent sur la nécessité d’implanter un tel programme afin de dégager de réels bénéfices pour les
jeunes mères défavorisées et leurs enfants. Du Québec également, Martin Goyette rend compte des
avantages de maintenir un haut degré de collaboration entre un centre jeunesse (dont la fonction est
la protection des enfants) et les organisations communautaires locales. La collaboration et le
partenariat constituent des approches très efficaces pour œuvrer auprès des familles désavantagées
et de leurs enfants. Finalement, Cristiana Mercadante Esper Berthoud, Maria de Fatima Camargo
D. Ferreira, Eleonora Silva, Adriana Dias et Adriana Leonidas de Oliveira du Brésil présentent un
projet pilote de recherche et de prévention connu sous l’acronyme INFAC (Enquête et Intervention
Auprès des Familles de la Communauté) présentement en cours au sein d’une communauté à faible
revenu de la ville de Taubaté, São Paulo, Brésil. Leur analyse démontre que la communauté souffre
d’un manque de soutien à plusieurs niveaux ainsi que la nécessité de concevoir un modèle de
programme d’intervention communautaire auprès des familles adapté aux réalités sociales
brésiliennes et ayant pour objectif d’engager et d’habiliter les familles brésiliennes.
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THE IMPACT OF ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CHOICES
In the previous two sections, researchers, notable experts and university faculty members have
illustrated for us the many dimensions of poverty and its deleterious effects on the lives of children
throughout the world. In this section, we present to you a collection of papers that examine what can
and needs to be done to tackle this problem and, in the process, improve the living conditions of
millions of families and young people.
Professor Garfield Brown from South Africa advances the notion that shaping and changing
people’s attitudes can have an important impact on their economic, social and political choices
which, in turn, can alter the conditions of life that give rise to poverty. Gina Browne and her
colleagues at McMaster University examine the effects and expense of adding a mix of providerinitiated interventions to services provided to sole support parents and their children. The results of
their study clearly indicate that such measures do produce significant short and long-term financial
gains and social benefits to poor families. Lola Fabowalé, a Canadian senior researcher and policy
advisor, emphasizes life long learning as a key strategy for improving the quality of life of those living
in poverty, notably single parents. She concludes that financial assistance and accessible childcare
facilities are very helpful in allowing these parents to attach themselves to the labour force and
minimizing the risk of poverty.
Mariangela Belfiore Wanderley and Mercedes Cywinski, two researchers from Brazil, provide an
exposé of the Minimum Revenue Policy as a viable strategy in combating poverty in their country.
This program has enabled families to support their children’s development and to encourage a
much higher rate of school integration and use of health and social services. Professor Ritha
Ramphal from South Africa calls, in her presentation, for increased preventive intervention in the
fight against poverty. She argues that, in her country, this should include a comprehensive social
security system that supports the achievement of socio-economic rights. Her paper includes a
detailed outline of what government and its various partners must do to effectively tackle the
problem of poverty, especially as it affects families and children. In their paper, Catherine
Montgomery, Annie Mailloux and Christopher McAll discuss the role and challenges of preemployability projects in multi ethnic neighbourhoods. They claim that such projects constitute an
important tool in helping youths with their long-term social and professional integration.
Unfortunately, they note that many marginalized youths are often excluded or profit less from
existing programs, prompting for the need to re-evaluate how youth are selected and motivated to
enrol. With regards to the educational system, Judi Varga-Toth and Lisa Thibodeau suggest that
supporting the natural strength of the family unit through school based programs greatly improves
the outcome of at-risk school-aged children. The Families and Schools Together Program, they
maintain, encourages children to be the best that they can and to overcome the barriers that their
impoverished circumstances have built up against them. Professor Jane E. Irons presents the
outcome of an evaluation made of an abstinence-only program (SMART) implemented by the Dallas
Independent School District for 12- to 13-year old inner city minority youth, a population that is
often associated with chronic poverty and marginalization. The results are discussed and its impact
on changing, for the better, the use of drugs, alcohol and sexual behaviour are outlined.
– 218 –
Jean-Pierre Hétu and Manon Gasse, two researchers from Quebec, describe a preventive government
program (Naître Égaux—Grandir en Santé) that’s predicated on working with pregnant women and
families with young children living in the context of poverty. In their presentation, they emphasize
that such a program needs to be implemented in order to have optimum impact on disadvantaged
young mothers and their children. Also from Quebec, Martin Goyette reports on the positive
benefits of maintaining a high degree of collaboration between a youth center (set up for the
protection of children) and local community organizations. Collaboration and partnership is seen as
a very effective approach when working with disadvantaged families and their children. Finally,
Cristiana Mercadante Esper Berthoud, Maria de Fatima Camargo D. Ferreira, Eleonora Silva,
Adriana Dias and Adriana Leonidas de Oliveira from Brazil present an ongoing pilot project of
research and preventive intervention known as INFAC (Investigating and Intervening with Families
in the Community) that is targeted at a low-income community in the city of Taubaté, São Paulo,
Brazil. Their analysis shows that the community suffers from lack of support on many levels and
points to the need for a Model of Community-Based Family Intervention Program that is designed
specifically for Brazil’s social reality and aimed at empowering Brazilian families.
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PROMOTING ATTITUDINAL CHANGE IN CHILDREN’S RIGHTS,
POVERTY AND THE CHANGING FAMILY
B Y : G ARFIELD A. B ROWN , M . A .
SENIOR CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST
D E P A R T M E N T OF C L I N I C A L A N D A P P L I E D P S Y C H O L O G Y
M E D I C A L U N I V E R S I T Y OF S O U T H E R N A F R I C A
MEDUNSA , S OUTH AFRICA
Summary
Human freedom of choice is a very powerful force on our planet. It is capable of frustrating or
thwarting the desires that our parents, our teachers, our loved ones, our policy makers, or even our
Creator has for us. Psychology is one of many fields, which makes an important contribution to the
future of society by pointing out the limitations of certain lifestyles, which can manipulate
individuals into an unhealthy way of using their human freedom. The development, shaping and
changing of people’s attitudes is difficult and a lifelong process. A stable family life provides a
context in which ongoing healthy attitudes are able to develop.
1. Introduction
Poverty has many aspects or dimensions. Relevant to this presentation are the moral, psychosocial
and family dimensions relating to poverty. In a global context the causes of poverty are very similar to
the results of poverty. In other words, what leads to poverty often stems (comes) from poverty.
For example:
◆
lack of employment
◆
lack of education
◆
lack of technical aid
◆
lack of sanitation or safe water
◆
lack of access to health services
◆
lack of access to transportation and communication
◆
lack of family stability
In order to avoid terminological ambiguity in societies of a rapidly changing world, four concepts in
the title of this presentation need to be defined or clarified, namely poverty, children’s rights, attitudes
and the family.
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2. Definition and clarification of key concepts
2.1 Poverty in a society may be described as a loss of, or lack of economic justice in that society.
Absolute poverty may be defined as “a condition of life so characterised by malnutrition,
illiteracy, disease, high infant mortality and low life expectancy as to be beneath any reasonable
definition of human decency” (Jenkins, 1992, p158)
2.2 Children’s rights refers to the just and fair privilege or immunity which a child is entitled to (The
Concise Oxford Dictionary 1976)
2.3 An attitude is a like or a dislike of something or somebody that influences our behaviour towards
that thing or person (Kalat 1996, p689)
Or
A relatively enduring organisation of beliefs, feelings and behavioural tendencies towards
socially significant objects, groups, events or symbols (Jones 1997, p1)
2.4 Family. The Concise Oxford Dictionary (1976) ascribes the following meanings to a family:
2.4.1.1 Members of a household, which includes parents, children, servants, etc.; set of parents
or children or of relations living together or not (Holy family, Royal family).
2.4.1.2 A person’s children.
2.4.1.3 All descendants of a common ancestor or house lineage.
2.4.1.4 A brotherhood of persons or nations united by political or religious ties.
This paper will focus on the first three of the above descriptions.
2.5 The changing family refers to new patterns of family structure, for example, child headed families
(as a result of AIDS) and single parent families (as a result of divorce, or death/abandonment by
one parent).
3. A concern
When we consider that as far back as 1992, worldwide, 450 million people were mentally or
physically disabled, 800 million had no access to health care, and at least 15 million children died
every year, it was apparent that an international group effort was required to help those in need
(Jenkins 1992, p. 158).
In 1999 Mayur (1999, p. 2-4) gave statistics, which were significantly higher. In 2002, the statistics
surrounding poverty problems are still escalating.
It would seem that the international group effort would include responsible and skilled individuals
from the obvious influential professions such as, politicians, economists, jurists, theologians,
engineers, architects, sociologists, anthropologists, psychologists, medical doctors, as well as many
others.
In South Africa, the effects of poverty manifest themselves in many psychological problems and
psychiatric disorders. South Africa houses children who are exposed to First world, as well as Third
world conditions. These conditions often exist only a few kilometres away from each other. When
– 221 –
working with individuals and families in these settings, it is firstly necessary to address their
immediate physical and psychological needs, as described by Abraham Maslow (Adams, 1983). It is
also however necessary to work pro-actively by making sensible suggestions to the authorities
wherever possible. This suggests a new way of looking at social problems, a new mind set promoting
attitudinal changes.
4. Ways of bringing about attitudinal change
It is generally agreed that attitudinal change is brought about by some kind of interactional
persuasion using both positive and negative forms of manipulation, like negotiation, supplication,
intimidation, example and all the competing systems of psychotherapy. According to Plotnik, (1996)
and Kalat, (1996) there are generally two routes to persuasion.
(i)
When information is presented with strong arguments, analysis, facts and logic, which is
referred to as the central route for persuasion
(ii)
When the emphasis is on emotional appeal, the focus is on personal traits in which positive
feelings are generated, which is referred to as the peripheral route for persuasion.
Clinical psychologists remind us that people are especially open to influence or persuasion when
they feel most vulnerable, easily suggestible, are determined to change, or are in trouble.
Social psychologists find that influence or persuasion depends not only on what someone says, but
who says it and what the listener thinks of that person. (Kalat, 1996, p688)
The question arises whether attitudinal change is always easily translated into actions and which
contexts create the best opportunities to foster healthy lifestyles.
5. The role of our attitudes in our decision making
Because our beliefs, attitudes, thoughts, feelings, will and actions are inextricably related to each
other, it is not always easy to understand our true motives when making choices. People are not
always fully aware of the impact or the implications that their choices will have in the long term.
Our attitudes have an impact on all spheres of our life including our economic, social and political
choices. However, where and when we place our priorities depends on how our beliefs, attitudes,
thoughts, feelings, will and actions influence our decisions at that particular point in time. In order
to make a decision, we need to know what we are thinking and feeling before we can translate that
into actions. The question of how rational or irrational some of our beliefs are, are often worked
through in psychotherapy.
Our values may be loosely described as a cluster of attitudes. For example, if I value a stable family life,
then the cluster of attitudes relating to a stable family life (commitment, respect, dignity, integrity,
freedom, individuality, amongst others) will be included in the value.
To a very large extent what we strive for in life is influenced by what we believe in.
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The workings of our minds are very powerful and not always understood. For example, the
cornerstone of psychoanalysis is based on the belief that “… ideas can create and shape physical
symptoms” (Loevinger, 1987, p. 19).
6. Do we believe in the following contributions to the future of society?
1.
In the context of controlling diseases worldwide, former U.S. president, Jimmy Carter, states the
following—
“As we enter the 21st century we have wealth and technology unmatched in human experience …
There are more than six billion of us on earth … Perhaps the most important challenge for the
new century is to share wealth, opportunities and responsibilities between the rich and the poor
….The problems may seem insurmountable, but they are not. We have the tools; we have brilliant
dedicated people to find answers. All we need is a sense of sharing and the will to change.”
(National Geographic, February 2002, p. 2-3)
2.
Addressing a meeting in Washington D.C., President George W. Bush stated the following –
“Statistics tell us that children from two parent families are less likely to end up in poverty, drop
out of school, become addicted to drugs, have a child out of wedlock, suffer abuse or become a
violent criminal and end up in prison. Building and preserving families are not always possible,
I recognise that. But they should always be our goal. So my administration will give
unprecedented support to strengthening marriages. Premarital education programmes can
increase happiness in marriage and reduce divorce by teaching couples how to resolve conflict,
how to improve communication and, most importantly, how to treat each other with respect.
Under the plan that I’m submitting, up to $300 million a year will be available to support
innovation and to find programs which are most effective. You see, strong marriages and stable
families are incredibly good for children. And stable families should be the central goal of
American welfare policy.”
President George W. Bush
th
(February 25 , 2002, meeting and speech at St. Luke’s Catholic Church, Washington D.C.)
3.
In an advertisement in which the United Nations Development Programme features two of the
world’s best-paid football players, the following message is given.
“… We now live in a world where almost a quarter of the population live in absolute poverty? …
For the first time ever, we possess the wealth, technology and knowledge to create a poverty free
world in less than a generation? … We’re closer to ending world poverty than you might think…”
(National Geographic, July 2001)
4.
Referring to children’s rights, in 1959 the United Nations published:
“…The Declaration on the Rights of the Child so that governments could make new laws or
enforce existing laws enabling each child to have the following
◆
the right to an identity
◆
the right not to be discriminated against
– 223 –
◆
the right to equal treatment
◆
the right to family life
◆
the right to education
◆
the right not to be abused or exploited.’’
(Jenkins, 1992, p. 136)
5.
In one of the many proposals in his Plan of Action to identify key values in a new educational
system, Rashmi Mayur, states the following—
“For the sake of the full development required of children, it is fundamental that the present
tyrannical education system is totally revamped. New educational systems should emphasise the
development of intelligence, creativity, imagination, love, friendship, co-operation and
universality—the values of the future.”
(Mayur, R., 1999, p. 6)
6.
Addressing a committee of the United Nations general assembly, in which activities relating to
“… the Decade for the Eradication of Poverty, which started in 1997 and ends in 2006.” The
Vatican’s nuncio to the United Nations, Archbishop Renato Martino, has called on the
international community to recognise that—
“… poverty is above all a moral problem … and that the poor should be thought of mainly as
victims of injustice.’’
(The Southern Cross, October31st, 1999, p. 4)
7.
Appearing in a Pastoral Statement issued by the South African Catholic’s Bishops Conference,
with reference to economic justice in South Africa, the following two statements are relevant—
“Poverty is neither an inevitable nor a necessary part of human life. It is ultimately a product of
human decisions and actions and can therefore be eradicated through human decisions and
actions”
(Economic Justice in South Africa, May 1999, p. 6)
“The greatest obstacle to change is the belief that ‘what is’ is ‘what shall be’, since such a belief
simply plays into the hands of all those who profit from the many injustices in the world.”
(Australian Catholic Bishops Conference “A new beginning: Eradicating poverty in our world” [1996, p. 9]
as quoted in Economic Justice in South Africa, p. 10)
8.
As far back as 1891 Pope Leo XIII issued the encyclical “Rerum Novarum” (The Workers
Charter) in which he clearly spelled out the responsibilities of
◆
the individual
◆
the family
◆
the Church
◆
the state
– 224 –
◆
◆
the employers
the employed
in bringing about a just and charitable work ethic for all people.
9.
As part of a wider effort to fight global poverty, Finance ministers meeting in Washington
pledged to get 125 million children who are now denied primary schooling—two thirds of them
girls—into classrooms. Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, stated that—
“ In a world where nearly one billion adults are illiterate, education is the very best anti-poverty
strategy.”
(Pretoria News, April 2002, p. 1)
10. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 16, clause 3, reads as follows—
“The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection
by society and the State.”
(Cole, W.O,. 1992, p. 221)
11. The following statement is generally accepted by psychologists and sociologists—
“The family is an important factor in the initial and ongoing socialization of children. It is
through family membership and membership of larger organizations, such as the school that an
individual learns to participate in a group, and to internalise and adhere to values, norms and
practices which regulate a person’s conduct within the family and the larger society.”
(McKendrick & Hoffmann, 1990, p. 6)
8. Promoting family unity in shaping attitudes towards social justice
Brown (1999) is of the opinion that it is unanimously and universally agreed upon that family life is
here to stay. As intimated previously in this presentation, attitudes, beliefs and values are often
difficult to change. For example, values encompassing giving, sharing, love and enthusiasm are not
easily taught through information and knowledge, but are caught through example and desire. At the
same time, behaviours of non-sharing and non-giving may be reflected in the attitude of greed, fear
or laziness.
The stable family context provides a very favourable training ground in which attitudes, thoughts,
feelings, values and behaviours can be experimented with.
9. Conclusion
From the above discussion it is clear that there is sufficient worldwide concern for world leaders to
sustain a committed effort to diminish and eventually eradicate poverty.
Keeping in mind, that action without insight is likely to bring about temporary change, calls for an
international group effort, which includes dedicated people from all walks of life.
– 225 –
Bibliography
Adams, H.E. (1983) Abnormal Psychology. WMC Brown Publishers, Dubuque, Iowa.
Brown, G.A. (1999) Family Unity and Conflict Resolution. Paper presented at the 4th International Conference on the Child, Montreal.
Brown, Gordon (2002) Pretoria News. Monday, April 22nd, 2002.
Bush, President George W. (February 25th, 2002, meeting and speech at St. Luke’s Catholic Church, Washington, D.C.).
Carter, Jimmy. National Geographic. February 2002.
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– 226 –
WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS: PROVIDER-INITIATED COMPREHENSIVE
CARE IS MORE EFFECTIVE AND LESS EXPENSIVE FOR SOLE-SUPPORT
PARENTS ON SOCIAL ASSISTANCE
B Y : G INA B ROWNE , P H . D .
DIRECTOR
S Y S T E M -L I N K E D R E S E A R C H U N I T O N H E A L T H A N D S O C I A L S E R V I C E U T I L I Z A T I O N
F A C U L T Y OF H E A L T H S C I E N C E S
C AROLYN B YRNE , M . H . S C .
INVESTIGATOR
S Y S T E M -L I N K E D R E S E A R C H U N I T O N H E A L T H A N D S O C I A L S E R V I C E U T I L I Z A T I O N
A S S O C I A T E P R O F E S S O R , S C H O O L OF N U R S I N G
MCMASTERS UNIVERSITY
HAMILTON , O NTARIO , C ANADA
Abstract
This five-year study conducted in Ontario, Canada is designed to assess the effects and expense of
adding a mix of provider-initiated interventions to the health and social services typically used in a
self-directed manner by sole-support parents and their children receiving social assistance in a
national system of health and social insurance. Results from a two-year interim analysis show that
providing social assistance families with proactive comprehensive care (health promotion,
employment retraining, and recreation activities for children) compared to allowing families to fend
for themselves in a self-directed manner, results in 15% more exits from social assistance within one
year and substantial savings to society in terms of social assistance payouts. It is no more expensive
to provide health and social services in a comprehensive fashion, and equivalent reductions in parent
mood disorder and child behavior disorders, as well as equivalent increases in parent social
adjustment and child competence levels were also observed. This study presents clear evidence that
providing comprehensive care to social assistance recipients produces tremendous short and long
term financial gains and societal benefits.
Key Words: single parents, social assistance, effectiveness, cost, provider-initiated
Introduction
Over the past decade, Canada has been challenged to maintain universally accessible programs in
health care, social assistance, and childcare within the confines of economic restraint. Extensive
reform initiatives have given rise to service cuts in a time of growing poverty and childhood
problems. In the province of Ontario, provincial advisory groups emphasize the need to coordinate
and target health and social assistance services based on evidence about the most beneficial and
efficient mix of service strategies (Advisory Group on New Social Assistance Legislation, 1991;
Premier’s Council on Health Strategy, 1991a, 1991b; Ontario Ministry of Health, 1992; Ontario
Ministry of Community and Social Services, 1992). However, there is little information available to
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inform policy makers as they attempt to restructure how health care, social assistance and childcare
are provided.
It is important to identify the various difficulties facing recipients of social assistance. Poverty and
its deleterious consequences on adults and children have been well understood for some time
(Premier’s Council on Health Strategy, 1991a; Reitsma-Street et al; 1993; Canadian Child Welfare
Association et al., 1989; Child Poverty Action Group et al., 1990; McKay et al., 1996). Specifically,
financial hardships associated with persistent social assistance use have been linked to poor health
and lower personal competence levels (O’Campo and Rojas-Smith, 1998). Independent of poverty,
unrecognized, untreated, and under-treated mood disorders (depression and anxiety) extract an
inordinate human and economic cost despite the availability of an extensive array of effective
pharmacological and clinical interventions (Reiger et al., 1988; Browne et al., in press). Mood
disorders, estimated to be 33% of the general population (Michels and Marzuk, 1993), are two and
one half times more likely in individuals who are separated or divorced, occur at twice the rate in
women compared to men (Weissman, 1987; Klerman et al., 1985), and can affect a parent’s capacity
to work, to parent, and to benefit from counselling or social assistance services.
Single mothers on social assistance are particularly vulnerable. In comparisons between single
mothers and mothers in two-parent families, recent studies have shown that single mothers are more
likely to be poor, have worse health status, have a higher prevalence of psychiatric disorders
including chronic depression, have a higher risk of mental health co-morbidity, and use more mental
health services (Lipman et al., 1997; Brown and Moran, 1997; Hope et al., 1999; Burstrom et al.,
1999). Poor children in single-mother households have increased risk of maladjustment in
childhood, mental health problems, antisocial behavior, co-morbid emotional and behavior
problems, and abuse by their mother (Patterson et al., 1990; Samaan, 2000; Gelles, 1989). Hall et al
(1991) found that 59.6% of single mothers have depressive symptoms that predict parenting
attitudes that in turn predict child behavior. In fact, increased levels of psychological distress in the
single mother lead to greater psychological distress in the child (McLoyd and Wilson, 1990). It is
clear that when both poverty and mood disorder are present in parents, the risk for children could
be synergistic.
The most appropriate way of providing health and social services to people who are experiencing the
combination of financial hardship, mental health problems, and single-parenthood has not been
previously studied using rigorous scientific methodology. Although, there is some promising
evidence from studies conducted to evaluate different programs designed to support people living
on social assistance in the areas of health promotion case management, employment programs, and
subsidized recreation/childcare (Achenbach, 1991; Olds and Kitzman, 1990, Fries et al, 1993, Wasik
et al., 1990, Halpern and Larner, 1988; Sweeny, 1988; The Canadian Council on Social Development,
1991; ARA Consultants, 1987; Ball and Houser, 1989; Opie and DeSantis, 1991; Doherty, 1991;
Howes, 1988; 1990; Goelman and Pence, 1988; Frankish et al., 1998; Zoritich et al., 1998), there are
methodological shortcomings in many of these studies. There is a lack of research that compares
different approaches, documents the utilization of health and social services, or examines specific
sub-groups of social assistance recipients who may be more vulnerable.
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At the outset of this five-year study, families receiving social assistance in Ontario, Canada were
provided with health and social services under a national system of health and social insurance.
Recipients received income maintenance and/or subsidized childcare, plus they had self-directed use
of other health and social services. While a full array of services was in place, funding cutbacks had
resulted in rationing and huge waiting lists. In the neighbouring regions of Hamilton-Wentworth
and Halton, 40% of adults living on social assistance were sole-support parents, 85% of these were
women (Ewart et. al., 1992), and 45% were known to have a depressive disorder (Byrne et al., 1996).
This study was designed to examine the comparative effects and expense of proactively offering
different mixes of provider-initiated health and social service packages to single parents and their
children on social assistance (designated as sole-support families). Although they were a minority
(3.3% of sample), sole-support families headed by a father were also included. The utilization of
health and social services by each sole-support family on social assistance was documented.
Methods
The income maintenance workers with the Hamilton-Wentworth and Halton Regional Departments
of Social Assistance approached sole-support parents who were newly approved to receive social
assistance (income maintenance and/or subsidized childcare) for their willingness to participate in
this study and to have their name forwarded to the project coordinator. The project coordinator
contacted willing parents to explain the study and to obtain their informed consent to participate in
the study and to be interviewed annually during the following four years. The rationing of
community public health and social assistance services was agency policy; therefore, no consent was
required for the randomization to additional services. The sole-support parents were randomized to
one of five treatment strategies using a computerized randomization schedule that blocked after
every fifth or tenth subject (household) to ensure equal numbers in all treatment groups.
Recruitment occurred over a 12-month period commencing in October 1994. The final stages of
one-year interventions (health promotion and employment retraining) were completed by the end of
year two, while the recreation component was available to families for the entire duration of the
study. Income maintenance workers and childcare workers who interacted with the study
participants were not informed of the allocation. Interviewers, blinded to the purpose of the study,
obtained baseline and follow-up outcome assessments from the parents and children. The full
period of follow-up included measurements at one year, two years, and four years after enrolment. A
four-year follow-up was planned because it is known that the typical sole-support family remains on
social assistance for approximately three or four years (Gorlick and Pomfret, 1991). This article
documents the two-year effects and expense of the different approaches to the provision of social
assistance to sole-support parents and their children.
Study Population
Study participants were drawn from two study centers located in the Departments of Social
Assistance in the neighbouring regions of Hamilton-Wentworth and Halton in central Ontario,
Canada. All new applicants who had been approved to receive social assistance and who were solesupport parents (i.e., single parents sharing their home with at least one child) were eligible to be
included in the study. Potential study participants were excluded if they refused to give informed
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consent, were unable to read/write English and an appropriate translator was not available, if they
had plans to move outside the regions of Hamilton-Wentworth or Halton or if they were unwilling
to participate for the entire five-year follow-up period.
Study Design
This was a five-armed randomized controlled trial of various mixes of provider-initiated services
versus a self-directed approach to providing social assistance to the sole-support parent family.
Provider-initiated services included health promotion (public health nurse case management),
employment retraining, and recreation/childcare/skills development. A sample size of 765
households (153 adults per arm) was estimated to be sufficient to address the primary outcomes
including an allowance of an additional 25% to offset drop-outs (one-tailed alpha = .05; beta = .20).
Interventions
All study groups received basic social assistance. In addition, Group 1 received a full package of
services that included health promotion, employment retraining, and the recreation/childcare/skills
development program (i.e., proactive, comprehensive, provider-initiated approach); Group 2 received
health promotion; Group 3 received employment retraining; Group 4 received age-appropriate
recreation/childcare/skills development programs; and Group 5 received no additional services
(self-directed care). The interventions are described below.
Basic social assistance:
During the time of this study, social assistance in Ontario was defined as the receipt of income
maintenance and/or subsidized childcare. Because of growing caseloads (ratio of 1:220 workers to
clients at study start-up), there was minimal case planning available, infrequent social service followups, and only 3% of people living on social assistance received public health nurse visits (Browne et
al., 1995b). Sole-support parents on social assistance were generally designated as unemployable,
hence an employment retraining program was not offered to them and thus they were not eligible
for subsidized childcare/recreation. The basic social assistance function consisted of a clientinitiated intake, eligibility assessment in person, and regular ongoing eligibility assessment. Clients
had self-directed use of other health and social services available under the national health and social
insurance system in Canada.
Health promotion:
An outreach public health nurse case manager visited the home to review the resources the family
currently used, to assess their need for additional resources, and to build a relationship with the
family using a problem-solving empowerment-enhancement approach (D’Zurilla, 1988). This oneyear intervention was designed to enable the parents to assess the 1) interplay of family stressors,
2) the underlying challenges, and 3) the usefulness and choice of a range of services. Intensive
planning occurred during the initial two to three months, and specific six- and 12-month goals were
outlined.
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Employment re-training:
Regional Employment Counsellors delivered the Municipal/First Nations Employment Program at
a worker to client ratio of 1:50. The program consisted of one to six sessions during the initial sixmonth period including a needs analysis, employment preparation, and resource inventory
brokerage, followed by six-month follow-up visits for up to 24 months.
Recreation:
This subsidized age-appropriate, after-school recreation/childcare/skills development program was
a collaborative effort between the YMCA and 21 other youth-serving organizations. The basic
components included active recruitment of children, the development of skills, integrating children
into mainstream recreational programs, and parental involvement. This intervention was offered
four terms per year (two encounters per week) and continued for the entire duration of the study
(four years).
Assessments
Table 1 outlines the variables and their measures, followed below by a brief description of each. The
sole-support parent was designated family respondent regarding measures of all members of the
household.
Parent Characteristics:
Sociodemographic information describing the parent was obtained at baseline, including: gender,
race, family constellation and size, first language, education, work history, prior social assistance
applications, and employability status.
Engagement rate (measure of dose of interventions):
Attendance was considered compliance with and dose of each intervention. For health promotion
and employment retraining, engagement was defined as at least one home or office visit equal to or
greater than ten minutes. For the recreation intervention, engagement occurred when at least one
child per family engaged in one age-appropriate program per year. The outreach approach used to
promote engagement was similar for all provider-initiated interventions: an initial phone call was
made to the consenting sole-support parent by the corresponding intervention caseworker with the
purpose of arranging a home visit. If the participant did not have a phone or the caseworker was
unable to make contact by phone, a letter was sent out. If the parent did not contact the caseworker
in response to the letter, the caseworker made several attempts to contact the parent in person.
Parental mood disorders:
Parent mood (at baseline and at follow-up) was assessed using the University of Michigan Composite
International Diagnostic Interview (UM-CIDI short form) (Kessler et al., 1994). The instrument uses
a stem and branch structure that allowed those with mood disorder to proceed through the
interview very quickly. This screening device is believed to be the best instrument to identify major
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depressive episodes, dysthymia, generalized anxiety disorders, phobias, panic attacks, and alcohol
and substance abuse/dependence.
Adult social adjustment:
The Social Adjustment Scale—Self-Rated (SAS-SR) (Weissman et al., 1978; Weissman and Myers,
1978) is a measure of social functioning over the previous two weeks on a five-point scale measuring
three broad areas of work, family and leisure functioning. It was chosen as a measure of adult
adjustment because of its applicability to the population, prior use in studies of adults with mood
disorder, high degree of reliability, validity, and test use across all samples with varying levels of
mental, social, and vocational competence. In support of its validity, the SAS-SR has been shown to
distinguish between depressed versus non-depressed people and to have good internal consistency
and test-retest stability (Kocsis et al, March 1988; August 1988).
Childhood behavior disorders:
The Survey Diagnostic Instrument (SDI) of the Ontario Child Health Survey (Offord et al., 1987a;
1987b) was developed from the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach and Edelbrock, 1983) which
provided a basic pool of items to assess childhood psychiatric disorders: conduct disorder,
hyperactivity and emotional disorder (neuroses) in children 4 to 16 years old, and somatization in
adolescents 12 to 16 years of age.
Child competence:
Competence of school-aged children (ages six years and older) was introduced at the two-year followup visit using the Achenbach Measure of Competence (Achenbach, 1991). The total child
competence score comprises the sum of three scale scores: activities (sports, hobbies, organizations,
groups, jobs, or chores), social (number of friends, contact with friends), and academic (for ages six
and older, performance in reading or English, history or social studies, arithmetic or math, science,
and other classes); the higher the score (0-26), the more competent the child. A total competence
score cannot be calculated for younger children because they are not in the academic setting and
hence, they do not have an academic score. Childhood competence is thought to be a more
discriminating measure of a population that is 75% to 80% non-disordered at baseline.
Social independence:
Social independence was defined as self-reported voluntary exit from social assistance for the
previous 12 months. The percentage of participants who exited for 12 months was multiplied by the
dollar value of 12 months of social assistance services.
Expense:
The Health and Social Service Utilization Inventory (Browne et al., 1990) was used to tally the
frequency of self-reported use of all types of other health and social services by all members of the
family in the previous two weeks. The two-week frequency was annualized and multiplied by the
dollar value of the service and summed as a per family dollar measure of utilization compared
between groups (Browne et al., 1995a). Savings were defined as expenditures averted due to a self– 232 –
reported exit from social assistance for the previous 12 months or a reduced need for health and
social services.
Statistical methods
Participants who completed the two-year follow-up assessment were compared to those who
dropped out on baseline characteristics. Participants in each study group retained at two years were
also compared on baseline characteristics. The direction and impact of any differences or biases on
results were examined.
The frequency of using different types of planned and unplanned health and social services in each
group were described and quantified as a dollar value. The hypotheses of effectiveness and efficiency
were tested in a five-group comparison of all sole-support parents who completed the two-year
follow-up. Analysis of variance was used to determine if there were any important effects due to the
type of family and type of treatment.
Results
Of the 1,739 sole-support parent families eligible to participate in the study, a total of 765 (44%) were
successfully recruited and randomized (700 refusals; 274 unable to contact). The Study Flow
Diagram (Figure 1) summarizes the disposition of participants throughout the study. As indicated,
the loss of 404 families by the two-year follow-up resulted in a 53% drop-out rate (52% drop-out for
single mothers; 72% drop-out for single fathers). Groups I and IV had significantly higher retention
rates compared to Groups II, III, and V ((2 (4) = 21.10).
A comparison on parent baseline variables was done contrasting drop-outs and the participants
retained at the two-year follow-up (i.e., completers). Completers were similar to drop-outs (p( .05) in
% intake from each geographical region (Halton and Hamilton-Wentworth), family size, prior use of
social assistance, marital status, ethnicity, English speaking, religious orientation, health status, %
worrying half or most of the time, % reporting pain or physical discomfort limiting activities, % with
two or more mental health problems. Completers were different from drop-outs (p( .05) with
significantly more women as the sole-support parent, more had previously received family benefits
allowance, greater prior length of time on social assistance, fewer respiratory problems, more general
anxiety disorders, more desire for job training, poorer work adjustment scores, better extended
family adjustment, higher users of physiotherapy services, and higher recipients of other
government transfers (e.g. family benefits assistance, unemployment insurance). Table 2 presents
additional details on selected parent baseline variables.
A comparison of the children who were retained at the two-year follow-up with those that dropped
out revealed that they were similar in the proportion with behavior disorders at baseline (23.1%
versus 18.0%, ((2 (1) = 2.98, p = .08) and the total direct expenditures for health and social services
utilization (t = .51, p = .61).
Group comparisons on baseline variables of sole-support parents retained at the two-year follow-up
showed that parents in all groups were similar in most variables. As indicated in Table 3, compared
to other groups, parents retained in group II were approximately three years older and had the
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greatest number of children per family. Significantly more parents in groups II, III, and IV reported
they worried more than half the time at baseline compared to groups I and V. Children of parents in
groups II and V used significantly greater total direct per child per annum expenditures for health
and social service utilization at baseline compared to the children in the other groups. The use of
analysis of covariance using baseline expenditures as the covariates in testing the hypotheses
adjusted for the imbalances at the onset of the trial. Due to multiple testing, these differences could
be attributed to chance.
Engagement rates:
Engagement rates varied between 66% and 80% for health promotion, 74%-79% for recreation, with
the lowest engagement rates (35%-38%) occurring in employment retraining (see Figure 1).
Parental mood disorders:
As indicated in Table 4, across the five study groups, 42%-52% of sole support parents were assessed
with mood disorder (depression or dysthymia) at baseline. After two years, this was reduced to
17.6%-21% with no statistically significant differences in this reduction between groups. For the 45%
to 55% across the five study groups who suffered from one or more anxiety disorders at baseline,
there was a reduction ranging from 13% to 26% at two years with no statistically significant
difference in the reduction between groups.
Adult social adjustment:
All five groups were similar with respect to improvements in the total social adjustment scores from
baseline to two year follow-up (p = .39). Although there was no significant difference in the total
improvement score between Group I and Group V specifically, there was a statistically significant
improvement in the sub-score for parent’s economic adjustment at two years favouring Group I
compared to Group V (p = .03).
Childhood behavior disorders:
The behavior of children in all five study groups improved over the two years with a concurrent
reduction in the number of disorders per child. There was no statistically significant difference in
the 8.7% to 25% of children that improved (reduction in the number of disorders per child) between
study groups (see Table 5).
Child competence:
Children offered recreation experienced an increase in activities and skills (p = .03) compared to
children not offered these recreation services, although this statistical difference is not viewed as
clinically important (see Table 5). Of interest, children with any behavior disorder at baseline had
higher competence rates if they received the recreation component compared to those who did not
(p = .04). The favourable effect of quality recreation on the competence of children with a behavior
disorder at baseline is documented in a separate article (Browne et al., 1999).
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Social independence:
As shown in Table 4, at two-year follow-up, a statistically significant greater proportion of parents
who received comprehensive care (25%) reported that they had not used any form of social assistance
in the entire previous 12 months compared to 10% in the self-directed care group (Group I versus
Group V, (2 = 5.23, p = .02).
Expense:
The five study groups were similar at baseline in per parent annual expenditures for utilization of
health and social services. Two years later, most groups had at least a 50% reduction in per parent
expenditures except for Group III (employment retraining) which consumed statistically
significantly more health and social services largely due to hospital costs (p = .04). When hospital
costs are excluded, the five study groups were similar as illustrated in Figure 2 (p = 0.87). By two
years, the cost of health and social services used by the self-directed group was equivalent to the cost
of providing these services proactively to Group I.
For children, at baseline there were differences in total direct annual per child expenditures for use
of direct services; however, two years later, there was no statistical difference across study groups
(p = .08). The provision of provider-initiated services to parents and children had no effect on
changing (increasing or decreasing) children’s self-directed use of other health and social services at
two-year follow-up. As expected, there were significant differences in the expenditures for the use of
recreation services in Groups I and IV reflecting the cost of the recreation/childcare intervention.
Discussion
This is the first randomized trial to report on the effects and expense of adopting a proactive
comprehensive approach to providing social assistance to sole-support parents and their children.
The study predates the current social policy introduced by Ontario Works (Ministry of Community
and Social Services, 2000) and it occurred at a time when single-parent mothers on social assistance
were not required to work. The study was conducted to illustrate the effects of offering proactive
comprehensive care in a system where it was not mandatory for a recipient of social assistance to
actively participate in a program designed to move them as quickly as possible to a job.
Intuitively, social assistance caseworkers have long recognized the linkages between poverty, mental
health disorders, single parenthood and childhood problems. There is a general awareness that
providing income support to sole-support families is, on its own, most often not enough to help
them break out of the welfare cycle. Instead, addressing the multiple needs of the family to treat their
whole circumstance is an alternative that needed to be investigated. The results of this study clearly
demonstrate that compared to self-directed care, providing an upfront comprehensive, providerinitiated package of services to sole-support families receiving social assistance is more effective in
terms of % exits from social assistance and dollars saved due to more exits. In addition, it is no more
expensive to provide health and social services in a comprehensive fashion than to allow parents
to access services in a self-directed manner. Furthermore, over a two-year period, compared to
self-directed care, comprehensive care produces equivalent reductions in parent mood disorders and
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child behavior disorders, as well as equivalent increases in parent social adjustment and child
competence levels.
We were also eager to identify any particular types of sole-support parents who benefited more from
the comprehensive approach compared to self-directed care. We examined parent characteristics
(e.g., age, gender, presence of mood disorder, number of children) that may have interacted with the
approach to treatment. We found an across the board decrease in mood scores and a concomitant
increase in social adjustment scores for all types of parents across all study groups. These results may
have limited generalizability since this study took place in two well-developed urban regions in
central Ontario which may not render the results transferable to recipients of social assistance living
in rural areas or other environments.
Although, our large sample size and the long-term follow-up were major strengths of this study, a
major limitation was the large drop-out rate by the two-year follow-up. This loss of subjects was
disappointing; however, this is typical of community trials involving social assistance populations
with long-term follow-ups (Social Research and Demonstration Corporation, 1996). In this
situation, a large number of participants became lost to follow-up because they moved and we were
unable to locate them; some new addresses were identified, however we were unable to make contact
by phone, letter or by randomly stopping by their homes. As the results show, the sole-support
parents who were retained in the study at two-year follow-up were somewhat more disadvantaged
and more entrenched in the welfare system in that they were higher recipients of other forms of
government assistance. When comparing drop-out rates, we found that 72% (18/25) of sole-support
fathers dropped out compared to 52% (381/733) of sole-support mothers. We were very interested to
determine the reason for the higher drop-out rate in the small group of sole-support fathers who
enrolled in the study; however, we were unable to locate the 18 fathers. Generally, the two highest
retention rates were for the comprehensive package (58%) and the recreation package (55%). It seems
that higher retention rates where achieved when the program involved recreation for the children. It
may be that parents had more incentive to stay involved when they perceived that their children were
benefiting.
If comprehensive care actually makes any difference, it should really have been most evident when
comparing the results of Groups I (comprehensive package) and V (self-directed care). Although the
change in parent mood scores and total social adjustment scores were equivalent between these two
groups, participants in Group I did have a statistically significant higher voluntary exit from social
assistance compared to Group V (25% versus 10%). This 15% difference in exit rates between the two
groups has major implications. Exiting social assistance earlier than the usual three-four years
(Gorlick and Pomfret, 1991) results in substantial savings. In addition, over the two years from
baseline to two-year follow-up, study results showed equivalent reductions in the use of other health
and social services across groups commensurate with improvements in mental health. After
including the cost of all proactive care, it was no more expensive to help them proactively than to rely
on their on-demand use of more expensive hospital/physician services. In addition, due to the
savings resulting from more rapid exits from social assistance, it can be argued that it is actually less
expensive to society to provide comprehensive care.
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Applying what was learned from our study results, we have developed a costing scenario (expressed
in Canadian dollars) to estimate the savings that could be achieved by providing comprehensive care
to social assistance recipients based on the following assumptions:
◆
There are approximately 8,000 sole-support families in Hamilton-Wentworth/Halton regions.
◆
It costs, on average, $20,000 per year to provide social assistance to a sole-support family
($12,000 in income support and $8,000 for benefits) resulting in a cost of approximately
$160 million per year for 8,000 families.
◆
Study results show that it costs no more to proactively provide a comprehensive package
compared to allowing parents to fend for themselves and to access services in a self-directed
manner; therefore, it is not necessary to include the cost of the program in the costing scenario
since from a cost perspective, it makes no difference to society how the services are delivered
(Figure 2).
◆
Engagement rates might vary between 35.1% and 78.8% depending on the intervention.
◆
The retention rate, once engaged in a comprehensive package is 58%.
◆
25% of parents receiving comprehensive care will not use social assistance in the previous year
compared with 10% when parents direct their own care; therefore, we can expect a 15% difference
(more) in exit rates due to comprehensive care.
Using these assumptions, if providing comprehensive care triggers 100% engagement and causes
15% more families to exit social assistance, then we would expect 1,200 of 8,000 families to exit. This
would result in a $24 million per year (1,200 ⳯ $20,000) reduction in social assistance payouts.
Recent re-investment initiatives in Ontario have been introduced with the goal of providing low
income families with support as they move into the workforce (Ministry of Community and Social
Services, 1999). If current recipients of social assistance were to retain the benefits portion of their
subsidy when they exited social assistance (approximately $8,000 per year), then the amount saved in
social assistance payout would now be reduced to $12,000 per year instead of $20,000. If there was a
15% exit rate, the 1,200 exits would results in a $14.4 million (1,200 ⳯ $12,000) annual reduction in
total social assistance payout. Therefore, even with continuing to provide benefits to the families
exiting social assistance there would still be a $14.4 million annual savings to the system.
Taking into account that we cannot expect that all 8,000 families will engage in the comprehensive
service package or that all who engage will continue to participate in the program, we calculated how
engagement and retention rates could affect the above estimations. Specific engagement rates in our
study varied: 73.8%-78.8% for the recreation component; 66.2%-79.7% for the health promotion
component; and 35.1%-38.4% for the employment retraining component. The lowest engagement
rates for each component (73%, 66%, 35%) have been plugged into the costing scenario. Fifty-eight
percent has been used as the retention rate since, of those who engaged in the comprehensive
package, 58% were retained at two-year follow-up.
If we assume an engagement rate of 73%, we would expect 5,840 of 8,000 families to engage
in any given year. If 58% of these were retained, 3,387 families would receive the benefits
of the comprehensive package. If 15% of these exit social assistance due to receiving the
– 237 –
comprehensive package, then 508 families would exit. Using the complete cost of providing
both income maintenance and benefits ($20,000), if 508 families exit, we would expect an annual
savings of $10.2 million. On the other hand, if those who exited social assistance retained
$8,000 in benefits, there would still be a savings of $6.1 million (508 ⳯ 8000 = 4.1 million;
10.2 million – 4.1 million = $6.1 million).
In comparison, an engagement rate of 66% would result in between $5.5 million to $9 million
savings in social assistance payout depending on whether $12,000 or $20,000 in reduced social
assistance was used in the calculation. Even an engagement rate as low as 35% (2,800 families) results
in annual social assistance savings between $2.9 million and $4.9 million.
Clearly, this costing scenario demonstrates the potential for major savings in social assistance
payouts when sole-support families on social assistance receive a comprehensive package of
provider-initiated services. These estimates are considered conservative given that there was a large
drop-out rate and due to lack of evidence, we are forced to assume that all of those who dropped out
of the study received absolutely no benefit from their participation, that they did not voluntarily exit
social assistance as a result of the intervention, and that they did not have reduced utilization of
health and social services. This may, in fact, not be the case and it is disappointing that we could not
measure the impact that the interventions ultimately had on these drop-outs.
Another interesting finding of this study is that, similar to the Canadian Self-sufficiency Project
(Social Research and Demonstration Corporation, 1996), one-third of the sole-support parents who
were offered employment retraining elected to attend at least one session. As a rule, social policy
designates these parents as unemployable; however, if as seen in this study, sole-support parents are
willing to attend retraining sessions and this accelerates their return to work, it seems a strategy that
merits further examination.
In summary, our study results demonstrate that a comprehensive package of care provided to solesupport parents receiving social assistance is both more effective and less expensive to society as a
whole, in terms of more exits and dollars saved in reduced social assistance payouts. Furthermore,
the returns on the investment with comprehensive care are greater than when individual services are
offered in a diluted fashion. In fact, our findings suggest that under serving sole-support parents
and allowing them to direct their own use of services is considerably more expensive since it results
in a sustained reliance on social assistance by a greater number of parents over the long term.
A comprehensive approach provides sustained support that addresses the needs of the entire family.
Considering that it costs no more to provide services to social assistance recipients in a
comprehensive fashion compared to a self-directed manner, that we can expect equivalent
improvements in parent mood disorder and social adjustment, and that parents will make a quicker
exit to the workforce, it is clear that comprehensive care provides tremendous short and long term
financial gains and societal benefits. Lessons learned from this study have been enthusiastically
endorsed by community stakeholders and are currently being used to inform municipal
reinvestment strategies in an Ontario initiative to reduce child poverty and to promote employment
for low income and welfare families by providing income supplements and essential benefits and
services to families as the parent re-enters the workforce (Ministry of Community and Social
Services, 1999).
– 238 –
Acknowledgements
The study was conducted by The System-Linked Research Unit on “Health and Social Service
Utilization” at McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) with funding from the National
Health Research and Development Program (NHRDP), Health Canada’s Children’s Mental Health
Division, and Hamilton’s Community Foundation. We would like to acknowledge and extend our
thanks to the following System-Linked Research Unit collaborators: Bonnie Ewart, M.S.W.
Commissioner, Halton Regional Department of Social Services; Michael Schuster, M.P.A.
Commissioner, Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Department of Social Services; Jane Underwood,
B.ScN., M.B.A. Director, Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Departments of Public Health; Sheila Flynn
Kingston, M.Sc.N. Director, Halton Regional Departments of Public Health; Kathy Rennick, B.A.
Program Supervisor, Hamilton-Wentworth Area Offices for the Ministry of Community and Social
Services; Ida Thomas, General Manager, Children’s Services, YMCA, Hamilton, Burlington; Scott
Haldane, C.E.O. Children’s Services, YMCA, Hamilton, Burlington; Don Jaffray, Social Planning and
Research Council of Hamilton and District; Joey Edwardh, Ph.D. Halton Social Planning Council.
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– 242 –
Table 1
Variables and their measures
– 243 –
Table 2
Comparison of completers versus drop-outs on selected baseline variables
– 244 –
Table 3
Differences at two-year follow-up between groups on baseline variables
– 245 –
– 246 –
Table 4
Group Comparisons of Parental Mood Disorders, Social Independence, and Adult Social Adjustment at baseline and two-year follow-up
– 247 –
Table 5
Group comparisons of Children’s Behavior Disorders and Children’s Competence at baseline and two-year follow-up
– 248 –
Figure 1
Study Flow Diagram
Figure 2
Percent of Single Parents’ Exit From Social Assistance in the Previous 12 Months
– 249 –
POVERTY AND SINGLE-PARENT MOTHERS:
DO TAXES AND TRANSFERS ACROSS CANADA MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
B Y : L OL A FABOWALÉ , M . M . S .
SENIOR RESEARCHER AND POLICY ADVISER
N A T I O N A L C O U N C I L OF W E L F A R E
Introduction
Policy discourse at all levels of government in Canada emphasizes life-long learning as a key strategy
for improving the quality of life of all Canadians1. This strategy, if well implemented, has the
potential to promote greater social inclusion of many households headed by single-parent mothers
especially those who live in poverty or are dependent on social assistance. For contrary to popular
belief, members of such households seek to exit poverty or social assistance by increasing their levels
of education in order to obtain more secure employment2. It is well established that although
education is not a full guarantee against poverty, households whose heads either have the highest
levels of education, or are most strongly attached to the labour force, or both, face the lowest risks
of poverty3.
Yet, across all Canadian provinces, it is difficult if not outright impossible for single-parent mothers
to receive financial assistance towards higher levels of education while on social assistance4.
Although low-income families are more likely to qualify for childcare subsidies, inadequate funding
both for child care architecture and for child subsidies has translated into an inadequate number of
quality childcare spaces for both poor and non-poor families. Although Canada has more than three
million children under 12 years of age, it has fewer than one million child care spaces to
accommodate those living in poverty let alone all families with children5. Moreover, the quality of
1
Leroy O. Stone and Nathalie Deschênes with the assistance of Catherine Pelletier. Importance of Time and Money Poverty as Barriers to Education and
Training, A Review of the State of Knowledge. Prepared for the National Council of Welfare University of Montreal and Statistics Canada (June 7,
2002:1).
Knowledge Matters: Skills and Learning for Canadians. Human Resources Development Canada, 2002.
2
See Mothers and Children: One Decade Later Department of Community Services, Nova Scotia, (1991: 92-93). Also see Carolyne A. Gorlick, Taking
Chances, Single Mothers and their Children Exiting Welfare. School of Social Work, King’s College The University of Western Ontario (1995: 16-17).
3
Poverty Profile, 1999. The National Council of Welfare (July, 2002).
Mothers and Children: One Decade Later. Department of Community Services, Nova Scotia, (1991: 116, 122).
In Women in Canada: Work Chapter Updates, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 89F0133XIE (2002: 6), the authors report an almost direct
relationship between levels of education and levels of paid employment even after adjusting for age. Among university graduates, 75 percent of
the women and 79 percent of the men had paid employment in 2001. In contrast among those who did not complete Grade 8, the rate of
participation in paid employment was 14 percent among women and 29 percent among men. Gender-based differences in employment tend to
be more pronounced among persons with lower levels of education.
4
Carolyne Gorlick. Taking Chances: Single Mothers and their Children Exiting Welfare. School of Social Work, King’s College, The University of Western
Ontario (1995).
5
Donna S. Lero. The Importance of child Care in Welfare-to-Work Initiatives and in a Broader Agenda to Support Families and Children, Paper presented to
the National Council of Welfare Roundtable on Welfare-to Work Issues (June 7, 2002: 3).
– 250 –
nearly half of available regulated childcare spaces is in question6. At the same time, welfare reforms
that seek to reduce supposed intergenerational dependence on social assistance increasingly mean
that many single-parent mothers spend less time with their children to work longer hours at low
wages with limited opportunities for life-long learning for parents and children alike 7.
In a recent Adult Education and Learning Survey conducted by Statistics Canada, more than half of
the respondents who have not engaged in continuous learning cited lack of time due to paid work
and family responsibilities; about 40 percent cited lack of funding8. Such barriers are likely to be
more daunting for single-parent mothers who experience greater poverty of time, wealth and income
compared to the rest of the population. The challenges are even more acute for households whose
single mothers either face long-term disability or illness, or have to care either for elderly parents or
for other family members living with long-term disability or illness9. It comes as little surprise then
that compared to the engagement of persons with university degree in continuous learning, the rate
of participation in adult training is nearly five times lower among family heads who did not
complete high school and who need further education and training the most10.
This paper supplies quantitative and qualitative research evidence that shows that without adequate
financial assistance and child care architecture, Canadian single-parent mothers are not likely to
participate effectively in life-long learning initiatives that would promote meaningful social
inclusion of all women (especially those with young children) in Canadian society. It demonstrates
that efforts of public policy to address some of the time barriers to life-long learning and effective
labour force participation that single-parent mothers face are largely uncoordinated across levels of
government or target specific groups or are work-based11. Such efforts include provisions of
childcare subsidies to help welfare recipients acquire short-term training and employment insurance
benefits which include long-term training and income support.
Unfortunately, such work-based and targeting approaches risk creating at least four types of poverty
traps12. First, inadequate funding often means that not all targeted groups can access available
childcare subsidies or spaces. Second, most child care spaces are available from nine to five even
though many parents in low-wage jobs are required to do early morning or night shifts. Third, there
6
Donna S. Lero. The Importance of child Care in Welfare-to-Work Initiatives and in a Broader Agenda to Support Families and Children (June 2002: 3).
7
Donna S. Lero. The Importance of Child Care In Welfare-to-Work Initiatives and in a Broader Agenda to Support Families (June 7, 2002:2).
8
2002:5).
9
Donna S. Lero. The Importance of Child Care In Welfare-to-Work Initiatives and in a Broader Agenda to Support Families and Children Summary Points for a
National Council of Welfare Roundtable Discussion on Welfare-to-Work Issues. Centre for Families, Work and Well-Being The University of Guelph
(Canada June 7, 2002:2).
10
2002:5).
11
Wanda Wiegers, The Framing of Poverty as “Child Poverty” and its Implications for Women. Status of Women Canada (June 2002).
12
Wanda Wiegers, The Framing of Poverty as “Child Poverty” and Its Implications for Women. Status of Women Canada (June 2002).
Terrance Hunsley, Lone Parent Incomes and Social Policy Outcomes. School of Policy Studies, Queen’s University Kingston (Canada 1997).
– 251 –
is evidence that training provided may not coincide with the qualifications or aspirations of the
participant or with labour market needs.
Finally, targeting usually means that the childcare needs of non-targeted groups such as non-poor
single-parent mothers and working mothers in multiple-earner households are ignored. Yet targeted
and non-targeted groups may share similar aspirations and characteristics despite differences either
in income levels or in household status. Virtually all families with children need adequate care,
regardless of their income levels. In many two-parent families where one parent is absent much of
the time, the parent left behind often faces similar time pressures as any single-parent family. In
addition, even families with no children but with the need to care for elderly or disabled members,
may face similar time pressures.
Policy Implications
Ironically then, the solution to the higher levels of time poverty facing single-mother households
may not be increased targeting, much as that may appear to save scarce state dollars in the shortterm. Rather, Canadian governments must ensure that the programs and services they deliver at all
levels reflect a key reciprocity principle that to be the innovative, responsible and included citizens
that Canadian governments desire, members of Canadian households need and are entitled to a fair
share of state support and resources.
There is strong research evidence both from Canada and other countries that an integrated familywork policy which includes adequate child care provisions eventually pays for itself as a majority of
citizens improve their educational, work and income status and as poverty levels substantially
decrease. The reciprocity principle is in fact only a variant of the equity principle underpinning the
Social Union Framework Agreement (SUFA), which the federal government signed with the
provinces and territories (except Quebec) on February 4, 199913. That underlying principle of equity
means that the signatories agreed to ensure that social programs and services will be “delivered
reasonably to all Canadians based on need no matter where they live or move”14.
In this regard, this paper identifies direct government transfers, tax policy and non-cash transfers as
three interrelated policy instruments to facilitate continuous learning and labour force participation
for members of Canadian households, especially those headed by single-parent mothers. The paper
assesses some of the trends and impacts of these three instruments on the well-being of households
led by Canadian single-parent mothers relative to other Canadian households. It also evaluates
differences in how the instruments are used in Canada and in other countries to promote the welfare
of single-mothers.
13
Christian Dufour, “Restoring the Federal Principle: The Place of Quebec in the Canadian Social Union”. In Policy Matters, The Institute for
Research on Public Policy, Canada (January 2002, Vol. 3 no. 1: 6, 11).
14
Martha Friendly, “Is this As Good As It Gets? Child Care As A Test Case for Assessing the Social Union Framework Agreement”. In Canadian
Review of Social Policy, Issue Number 47 (2001: 77-82).
– 252 –
To these ends, the paper draws on:
a.
the pertinent literature up dealing with recent reforms to social policy architecture in OECD
countries including Canada, especially as these impact on households headed by single-parent
mothers;
b.
some of the special data the National Council of Welfare requested from Statistics Canada for
use in National Council of Welfare publications on the incidence, depth and duration of poverty
among Canadian households, and
c.
data from Statistics Canada’s Income Trends in Canada, 1980 to 1999 on comparative levels of
direct government transfers, market income and total income among Canadian households.
Key Findings
The findings suggest that contrary to the principle underpinning the Social Union Framework
Agreement, Canadian tax and transfer programs (including the Child Care Expense Deduction, the
National Child Benefit Supplement, the Employment Benefits and Supports Measures and the Early
Childhood Development Agreement) are being delivered neither reasonably nor equitably across
Canada because of their work-based or targeted nature. For example, the Child Care Expense
Deduction is a work-related expense. Parents must pay the caregiver first before claiming the expense
on their income tax return. That is based on the assumption that a childcare space that is affordable,
flexible, of high quality and acceptable to the parents exists. Many single-parent mothers who are
currently unemployed and seeking to upgrade their skills before returning to work cannot afford the
outlay of funds involved to claim this expense deduction. For parents who work, the expense
translates into reduced income.
Similarly, although the Employment Benefits and Supports Measures which the Federal
Employment Insurance program offer a wide range of flexible child care arrangements such as sick
leave for working parents and long-term training programs with income support for the newly
unemployed15, those benefits are generally unavailable to single-parent mothers who work parttime, are self-employed, or are seeking to upgrade their skills. Moreover, some low-income families
who work adequate hours to qualify may not exercise their claim because of the low levels of income
support involved. Indeed, the employment insurance benefits in Canada pale in comparison with
generous parental leaves coupled with universal child care infrastructure and high levels of income
support which have promoted employment and life long-learning among single mothers in
European countries such as Sweden and Belgium
With the exception of Quebec where a universal $5 a day childcare program was instituted in 1997,
only a patchwork of daycare services exists across Canada. Moreover, both in Quebec and elsewhere,
low wages, growing levels of shift work and the availability of formal child care from only nine in the
morning to five o’clock in the evening and only to non-ill children continue to constrain the lifelong learning aspirations, labour force participation and earnings of single-parent mothers.
15
Human Resources and Development Canada, Employment Insurance, 2001 Monitoring and Assessment Report (March 28, 2002).
– 253 –
Despite evidence that part of the $2.2 billion in federal funds recently allocated to the Early
Childhood Development Agreement will be spent on child care, there are no federal standards to
guide provincial and territorial allocations in this regard in ways that will promote life-long learning
of both parents and children and the effective labour force participation of household heads.
Moreover, the National Child Benefit Supplement, through greater income support to low-income
families with children, could potentially subsidize part of the child care costs that parents assume to
seek work or to improve their education. Yet, it is often clawed back from those who need it the
most--families on social assistance.
The research findings suggest that a bold redesign of the National Child Benefit Supplement, the
Early Childhood Development Agreement, the Federal Employment Insurance program as key
stepping stones towards an integrated family/employment policy. A key element of this would be to
widen the options of single-parent mothers to provide effective care for their children, to participate
in life-long learning or to engage in work that provide adequate incomes for both their own future
and their current family needs.
Demographic and Poverty Trends, 1980-1999
Between 1980 and 1999, at least three key shifts took place in Canada’s demographics and family
structure. First, Canada’s population aged rapidly. Second, the number of households headed by
single parents rose considerably. Third, the numbers of poor households with either children or
single earners or both significantly increased.
Table 1 at the end of the paper presents the growth rates of various age and household groups
between 1980 and 1999. The table shows that over the two decades, whereas the number of all
children grew by less than 5 percent, the number of those living in poverty grew by more than a
quarter. In the opposite direction, although the number of seniors also rose, the number of poor
seniors, especially men and couples, actually decreased. Though the number of senior women living
below the pre-tax poverty line increased, this growth was less appreciable than the rise in the number
of poor families with children, especially those headed by single-parent mothers.
The disproportionate increase in the number of poor children can be traced to the dramatic growth
in the number of families with children living in poverty, especially those led by single-parent
mothers. As Table 1a shows, the total number of couples with children (both poor and non-poor
couples) barely changed at all between 1980 and 1999. Yet, the number of poor couples with children
rose by more than 13 percent over the same period.
In the case of single parents, the numbers of both poor and non-poor families rose significantly.
The total number of single-parent mothers under 65 with children under 18 grew by more than
50 percent from 360,000 in 1980 to 570,000 in 1999. Similarly, the number of single-parent mothers
living in poverty increased by more than two-fifths over the same period.
The growth rate of single-parent fathers was even more striking than that of the two other family
types with children, almost doubling from 57,000 in 1980 to 108,000 in 1999. The number of poor
single-parent fathers also grew significantly by about a quarter but was still more moderate than the
growth rate of more than 40 percent recorded for single-parent mothers living in poverty over the
– 254 –
same period. Moreover, single-parent mothers constituted the majority of households headed by a
single parent. The ratio of single-parent mothers to single-parent fathers in 1999 was 2.7 to one,
much less than the ratio of 3.6 to one in 1980 but still quite high. Thus, by 1999, single-parent
mothers headed fewer than a fifth of all families with children but were raising more than two-fifths
of all poor Canadians under 18 years of age at the same time.
Poverty Incidence
As Figures 2, 3 and 4 show single-parent mothers have the highest poverty rates based on total
income (including government transfers), before taxes. In Figure 2, they are the only group of
families with children whose poverty rate surpassed 50 percent every year between 1980 and 1999.
Figure 3 indicates that their 1999 pre-tax poverty rate was the highest of all family types in Canada.
Poverty Duration
Figure 4 further reveals that in at least one of the six years between 1993 and 1998, more than threequarters of single-parent mothers were exposed to poverty. The proportion of single-parent mothers
that lived in poverty for more than three years exceeded each of the annual poverty rates between
1980 and 1999. Moreover, the proportion of single-parent mothers who lived in poverty for all of the
six years between 1993 and 1999 was a striking two-fifths. This pattern remains consistent,
regardless of the index of poverty incidence chosen. Although unattached individuals and singleparent fathers had poverty rates that were higher than the rates for two-partner families, no other
poverty rate approached the very high rates for households led by single-parent mothers.
Depth of Poverty
Not only are households led by single-parent mothers more likely than any other family type to live
in poverty, they also live in deep poverty. Between 1980 and 1999, a low-income household led by a
single-parent mother in Canada needed, on average, more than $8,000 dollars just to get to the
poverty line. This is virtually the same amount of income that a low-income two-parent family
needed to escape poverty. Yet single parent mothers face greater time poverty than two-parent
families. Additionally, in 1999, the average pre-tax income of a single-parent mother was only
65.8 percent of the poverty line—several points below the comparative figure of 72.2 percent for
two-parent families with children16.
Moreover, in 1999, single-parent fathers, two-partner families (both with and without children) and
unattached individuals under 65 years of age are half to 2.5 times more likely than single-parent
mothers to have incomes that exceeded 125 percent of the poverty line17. Unattached senior women
are only 3 percentage points less likely than single-parent mothers to have incomes over 125 percent
of the poverty line. Even then, more than half of unattached senior women had average incomes that
varied from 75 percent to 125 percent of the pre-tax poverty line whereas more than half of singleparent mothers had incomes below 100 percent of the pre-tax poverty line18.
16
National Council of Welfare, Poverty Profile, 1999 (2002: 93).
17
National Council of Welfare, Poverty Profile, 1999 (2002: 100-102).
18
– 255 –
Poverty Predictors
Why is the risk of income poverty so high for single-parent mothers relative to other family types in
Canada? The incidence of poverty is generally lower among households whose major income earners
are of the prime working age of between 35 and 44 years, are men, have graduated from high school,
worked at a job or business, report earnings as a key source of income, have no children under
18 years of age or have secondary earners19. Such families are also less likely to live in poverty for
longer than a year and to have average incomes higher than the poverty line.
In contrast, single-parent mothers in addition to being women, sole earners and parents and
therefore more prone to poverty, are also over-represented among major income earners whose level
of education, main activity, employment status, sources of income and children’s age predispose
them to high risks of poverty. Among households headed by single-parent mothers non-poor family
heads are nearly twice as likely as single mothers living in poverty to have obtained a bachelor’s
degree or better and are more than twice as likely to have worked at a job or business in 1999 (Figures
6a to 6d).
The Effects of Gender, Sole Earner Status and Parenthood on Poverty among Single-Parent Mothers
However, even after controlling for various predictors of poverty such as age, level of education, main
activity, employment status, sources of earnings and age and number of children, Canadian singleparent mothers still face substantially higher levels of poverty compared to either unattached
individuals or two-partner families with or without children.
The higher risk of income poverty that households headed by single-parent mothers face relative to
other households reflects but also belies the greater incidence of time20 and wealth poverty that
single-parent mothers face as sole-income earner, as sole parents and as women combined.
Single-parent mothers are more likely than single fathers and women in two-parent families not to
own their own homes, to live in houses needing minor to major repairs, to face housing affordability
problems due to having to pay rent, not to have their own vehicles, and to lack devices such as home
computers and internet services, automatic washing machine, clothes dryer, dishwasher, freezer,
microwave oven, video cassette recorder, gas barbecue, air conditioner, fire extinguisher or
computer21. This means that there is far less time available for other activities such as child
development, learning and employment and that the security of the households is also
compromised.
19
20
Single parents in general and low-income single parents in particular are the sole or primary income earner as well as primary caregiver. Child
support default rates in Canada are still quite high and for low-income families, there is often simply not enough income to meet the children
needs following separation and divorce. Single-parents on welfare usually get little or no benefit from support and welfare cheques are often
reduced according to the amount of child support received. See also Clair Vickery, The Time Poor: A New Look at Poverty, The Journal of Human
Resources, (XII, 1: 27-47). In her analysis, Vickery notes that parents invest not only income but also time in nurturing their children. Families
with two-parents generally have more time and income, given the presence of two adults. Counting the shortfalls of parenting time that single
parents face in addition to having only one major source of income would lead to higher poverty rates than is generally reported.
21
Marcia Almey, “Housing and Household Facilities” in Women in Canada: A Gender-Based Statistical Report, Statistics Canada (2000: 159-162).
– 256 –
About 45 percent of single-parent mothers reported that their main economic activity is to keep
house, care for family members or deal with a long-term illness (Figures 7a to 7b). This is twice the
comparative proportion of heads of two-partner families with children under 18 and more than
twice the proportion of heads of two-partner families with no children under 18 or of unattached
individuals under 65 years of age.
Clearly, the higher levels of time deprivation that single-parent mothers face constrain their ability
to benefit from initiatives aimed at developing their skills and abilities and their effective
participation in the labour force22. As Figure 7a to 7b show, in 1999 only one third of single-parent
mothers, compared to more than two-fifths of the major income earners of two-parent families
worked at a job or business and only a tenth of single-parent mothers, compared to more than twofifths of unattached individuals were either at school or looking for a job.
Poverty Impacts of the Canadian System of Taxes and Transfers
Most pre-tax poverty statistics are based on total income before taxes but after taking government
direct transfers into account. The foregoing discussion suggests that the market system and the
system of direct government transfers have generally been less than adequate for reducing the
incidence, depth and duration of poverty among households led by single-parent mothers in
Canada. Using current pre-tax dollars, a single-mother household with no earner had less than
$5,000 from the Canadian market23. After government transfers, this amount increased by about
$10,00024. However, the overall amount is still substantially lower than what a single-parent family
with only one child needed to escape poverty between 1980 and 1999. Yet, when considered in real
dollar terms, the average transfers to single-parent mothers actually declined between 1980 and
199925.
Available post-tax data provide an insight into the extent to which the Canadian income tax system
mitigates poverty rates among single-parent mothers. This is because compared to pre-tax measures,
post-tax statistics are more geared towards the concept of “disposable” income--what is actually
available to spend after taking income taxes into account. However, post-tax measures are limited
even in this respect because they do not factor in the effects of sales or payroll taxes which may
constrain the actual amount of income available for household use.
Across all family types, post-tax poverty rates were generally lower than pre-tax poverty rates.
However, the post-tax measures were significantly lower for some family types than for others.
Among the different categories of individuals, seniors had the largest difference in annual and
long-term poverty rates after taxes were considered. Among families with children, single-parent
mothers saw the greatest percentage reduction in poverty rates. Nonetheless, they still had the
highest post-tax poverty rate of all family types.
22
“Executive Summary”. In Knowledge Matters: Skills and Learning for Canadians: Canada’s Innovation Strategy, Human Resources Development
Canada (2002:2).
23
Income Trends in Canada, Statistics Canada (1980 to 1999).
24
Ibid.
25
Ibid.
– 257 –
In addition, in 1999, using post-tax measures, the average income of single-parent mothers went up
to 73.8 percent of the poverty line from 65.8 percent while that of two-parent families with children
increased from 72.2 percent to 77.4 percent26. Moreover, the average post-tax poverty gap for singleparent mothers in 1999 was more than $5,000. What this suggests is that the Canadian tax system
has some moderating and positive effects on the disposable incomes of single-parent mothers but
certainly has the potential for more improvement.
The Impact of Non-Cash Transfers
In many Canadian provinces and territories, non-cash transfers such as child care subsidies and
housing subsidies are generally targeted towards low-income families especially those headed by
single-parent mothers27. One would expect that after factoring the effect of such non-cash subsidies,
the poverty rates among single-parent mothers relative to other household types would substantially
decrease from the perspective of general living standards. There are few studies that have looked into
the impact of such non-cash transfers on the living standards of single-parent mothers beyond 1992.
A Statistics Canada study found that in 1992, Canada’s total spending on health, education and
housing relative to European countries placed Canada higher than those countries in terms of total
non-cash subsidies, implying that Canada’s total spending on non-cash subsidies significantly
improved the living standards of single-parent mothers and thereby decreased their poverty rates28.
However, the study was inconclusive as to how Canada ranked when both cash and non-cash
transfers and taxes were taken into account.
Existing research suggests that Canada’s ranking relative to that of many European countries on
poverty measures has worsened. While virtually all countries in the European Union plan to boost
their family/employment through more generous parental leaves, higher levels of income support to
children, flexible day-care arrangements and opportunities for continued training and education,
Canada has not kept pace or has restricted access to many social benefits that would reduce barriers
to effective labour force attachment and continuous education, with particularly serious
implications for low-income households headed by single-parent mothers29.
International Comparisons
In a recent report, using the post-tax low income measure (LIM) or half of the national median
income, the United Nations Children’s Fund found that among the 23 countries it examined, the
poverty rate among single-parent families was considerably higher than that of two-parent families
as well. The UN-calculated poverty rate for single-parent mothers in Canada was about 51.6 percent,
however, while for Sweden, the comparable rate was only 6.7 percent. Canada was still ahead of the
26
27
Donna S. Lero, The Importance of Child Care in Welfare-to-Work Initiatives and in a Broader Agenda to Support Families and Children Summary Points for a
National Council of Welfare Roundtable Discussion on Welfare-to-Work Issues, Centre for Families Work and Well-Being, The University of Guelph
(Canada, June 7, 2002: 2).
28
Terry Hunsley, Lone Parent Incomes and Social Policy Outcomes Canada in International Perspective (1997: 51-52).
29
Wanda Wiegers, The Framing of Child Poverty as Child Poverty and its Implications for Women, Status of Women, Canada (June 2002).
– 258 –
United States by about three percentage points but it lagged behind the United Kingdom by about
five percentage points30.
Demographic differences appear to account only minimally for higher poverty rates among singleparent mothers in Canada than in Nordic countries. In most OECD countries, poverty rates are
generally higher among women who had children in their teens compared to women who had
children later on in life. Such women are more likely to have low levels of education and a narrower
range of skills, with more constrained life chances due to early parenthood. Canada’s higher poverty
rates among single-parent mothers may thus be partly explained by its eighth ranking among
28 OECD countries in order of the highest teenage births. Other Anglophone countries including
the United Kingdom and the United States had even higher teenage pregnancy rates31. In contrast,
teenage births are generally lower in Nordic countries and so too are the poverty rates of singleparent mothers.
Nonetheless, while the demographics of low-skilled single-parent mothers who had their children in
their teenage years must not be ignored, young teenage mothers currently account for less than a
fifth of all single-parent mothers. Moreover, the majority of households led by single-parent mothers
are products of divorce, separation or death of spouses. Therefore, it would be hasty to simply
conclude that Canadian single-parent mothers are poor because of the higher rate of teenage births
among them relative to other OECD countries.
Research shows that many women’s life chances would be hurt, regardless of the age at which they
get pregnant because of lack of educational and training opportunities, poor housing and
inadequate nutrition. Moreover, teenage births and poverty risk factors such as substandard
housing, unstable family life, lack of educational supports and a low-income background are highly
linked. It is significant that poverty rates are highest in those national jurisdictions that have
rigorously pursued welfare reforms that ignore entitlement to social support as an inalienable
human right. This is especially true in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom32.
Out of the 10 countries examined in one study including Australia, the United States, Netherlands,
Germany, Luxembourg, Italy, United Kingdom, Sweden and France, Bradshaw (cited in Hunsley,
1997: 44-45) found that before taking taxes and transfers into account, Canada had the best poverty
rate out of 10 countries. The same study found that using post-transfer and post-tax measures,
Canada had the second highest poverty rate among single-parent families33.
International research shows that differences in the level of direct government transfers, in tax
policies and in the integration and quality of social services account for the differentials in poverty
levels among single-parent mothers between Canada and Nordic countries. Countries such as
Sweden recognize the value of non-market labour in raising pre-school children through high levels
30
A League Table of Child Poverty in Rich Nations, Innocenti Report Card, United Nations Children’s Fund, Innocenti Research Centre (Florence,
Italy) 2001: Page 10.
31
A League Table of Teenage Births in Rich Nations, Innocenti Report Card, United Nations Children’s Fund, Innocenti Research Centre (Florence,
Italy) July 2001: Page 7.
32
Wanda Wiegers, The Framing of Poverty as “Child Poverty” and Its Implication for Women, Policy Research Status of Women Canada, June 2002: 7.
33
Terrance Hunsley, Lone Parent Incomes and Social Policy Outcomes: Canada in the International Perspective,1997: 53.
– 259 –
of direct government transfers to families with children under six years of age, state support to assist
care-giving parents to collect child support payments from the non-custodial parent, flexible child
care arrangements and generous parental, family and sick leaves to enable parents to take care of
family members while remaining strongly attached to the labour force combined with continuous
education systems that enable citizens to upgrade their skills on an on-going basis and at a high
minimum wage level. Direct government transfers in these countries are based on need, are highly
integrated and are often geared to lift both parents and children out of poverty34.
There is strong research evidence both from Canada and internationally35 confirming that a
comprehensive family/labour force policy which includes generous parental leaves, availability of
child care spaces and high levels of income support are key to promoting life-long learning and
effective attachment of parents to the labour force. While Canada also has relatively generous
parental and maternity leaves in its employment insurance schemes, such leaves are generally
restricted to parents of new-born children rather than children of all ages. Sick leaves and related
income support are generally available to full-time employees working in the private sector. Most
leave provisions are unavailable or unattractive to part-time or low-wage workers depending on
sector and employer.
Federal/Provincial Context in Canada
In Canada, constitutional jurisdiction for many programs affecting family and civil rights, including
post-secondary education, income support and child care lie primarily with provincial and territorial
governments rather than with the federal government. Due to its key constitutional spending power
and jurisdiction on civil issues such as divorce, the federal government has always been able to
influence and provide leadership in the development of social policy. It first exercised this high
profile federal power in the passing of the Unemployment Insurance Act in 1941 following assent by
the provinces36. Over the years, the employment insurance program has provided income support
often coupled with training and job-search strategies to individuals with some history of labour
force attachment that are unable to work for reasons related to parenthood, illness, disability or
unemployment. To assist individuals faced with long-term unemployment, through generous
transfers on a shared-cost basis, the federal government initially provided funding for income
support and social services to Canadians on the basis of need through the Canada Assistance Plan.
Increased emphasis on debt and deficit reduction in the previous two decades led to the gradual
erosion of the Canada Assistance Plan and to its eventual replacement with the Canada Health and
34
Wanda Wiegers, The Framing of Poverty as “Child Poverty” and Its Implication for Women, Policy Research Status of Women, Canada (June 2002: 18).
35
Terrance Hunsley, Lone Parent Incomes and Social Policy Outcomes: Canada in the International Perspective (1997:100).
Gina Browne et al.
“Benefiting All the Beneficiaries of Social Assistance: The Two-Year Effects and Expense of Subsidized versus Nonsubsidized Quality Child
Care and Recreation”, In National Academies of Practice Forum, vol. 1, no. 2 (April 1999).
“When the Bough Breaks: Provider-Initiated Comprehensive Care Is More Effective and Less Expensive for Sole-Support Parents on Social
Assistance” In Social Science and Medicine, 53 (2001: 1697-1710).
New Results Affirmed Positive Effects of Financial Work Incentives for Long-Term Welfare Recipients: Innovative Program Increased Employment and Reduced
Poverty. Report on the Impacts of the Self-Sufficiency Project Prepared for the National Council of Welfare Roundtable Discussion on
Welfare-to-Work Issues, Social Research and Demonstration Corporation, June 7, 2002.
36
Employment Insurance 2001 Monitoring and Assessment Report, Human Resources and Development Canada (March 2002).
– 260 –
Social Transfer. Unlike CAP, the CHST provides block grants to the provinces to provide social and
health services to Canadians.
On February 4, 1999, the federal government in concert with the provinces and territories (with the
exception of Quebec), signed a Social Union Framework Agreement (SUFA) to govern the delivery of
social programs and services across Canada. A key principle underpinning SUFA was that Canadians
should have reasonable access to social programs and services regardless of where they live or move
to within the country. However, as a post-CAP initiative, SUFA devolves considerable discretionary
power to the provinces on how federal funds received for social programs would be spent. The result
has been that few national standards govern the delivery of social programs and services such as
childcare and social assistance support across Canada. With respect to childcare, what actually exists
is a patchwork of social programs and services rather than one cohesive and integrated system.
The lack of a national integrated family-work policy translates to policy contradictions across
different programs. For example, recipients of the General Welfare Assistance and Family Benefits
Program under the Ministry of Community and Social Services in Ontario are not allowed to
continue receiving benefits to help meet their children’s needs if they receive grants or loans for
education from the Ontario Student Assistance Plan (OSAP) under the Ministry of Colleges and
Universities or the Federal Canada Student Loans Program. This is the general situation across
Canada and means that single parents are forced to withdraw from school for lack of resources or
assume extremely high debt loads.
While child care subsidies are generally targeted towards low-income families especially households
headed by single-parent mothers in order to assist them to exit social assistance, inadequate funding
and lack of policy integration have resulted in insufficient child care spaces that are inflexible to
meet the needs of targeted and non-targeted groups alike.
In 1992, only about 36 percent of regulated childcare spaces in Canada were subsidized. That
proportion dropped to about 31 percent in 1995 and has either fallen or remained constant because
means-tested eligibility rules were tightened in seven provinces. Moreover, the quality of the available
regulated and subsidized childcare spaces did not meet criteria essential for effective early childhood
development37.
In 1995, only about 27 percent of Canadians under 12 years of age had access to regulated child care
spaces38. Thus, in 1999 only an estimated 131,300 of Canadian children had access to subsidized and
regulated child care spaces. Yet, in 1999 alone, more than one million Canadians under 18 years of
age lived in poverty. These statistics suggest that there is a gap of more than one million subsidized
childcare spaces, assuming targeted social services and programs. The gap is wider if a universal
childcare program is envisaged.
37
The Health of Canada’s Children, Canadian Institute of Child Health (Third Edition, 2000: 61–63).
38
In her discussion paper, The Importance of Child Care in Welfare-to-Work Initiatives and in a Broader Agenda to Support Families and Children Summary
Points for a National Council of Welfare Roundtable Discussion on Welfare-to-Work Issues, June 7, 2002: 3) Donna S. Lero reported a slightly higher but
still inadequate 158,000 subsidized child care spaces out of the 516,734 child care spaces in regulated centres and family day care homes…to
meet the needs of 3,323,000 children age 0-12 with mothers in the labour force”.
– 261 –
Housing is also an important issue for families with children. Prior to the 1990s, many single-parent
mothers were able to access housing-geared-to-income because of the involvement of the Canadian
Mortgage and Housing Corporation in social housing across Canada (CMHC). However, the
withdrawal of CMHC from social housing led to a collapse of national standards in housing. Some
provinces have reduced funding for new social housing units, privatized existing units and restricted
eligibility for housing subsidies, despite high levels of demand for affordable housing. This has
reduced the number of housing subsidies available to low-income single-parent mothers, putting
them at greater risk of homelessness or poor housing compared to other family types. Abject
housing conditions are hardly conducive to effective learning.
Policy Directions
The move towards increased targeting of government transfers and programs in Canada to lowincome families has not significantly reduced the incidence, duration and depth of poverty among
single-parent mothers. Rather, every year between 1980 and 1999 more than half of single-parent
mothers lived in poverty, with incomes that barely approached three-quarters of the poverty line,
with an average pre-tax poverty gap that exceeded $8,000 and a post-tax poverty gap that was
more than $5,000. In the 1970s, single-parent mothers were more likely to be employed compared to
women in two-parent families. Yet, although the numbers of single-parent mothers who were in paid
employed grew by 16 percentage points between 1995 and 2001, in 2001, single mothers were about
five percentage points less likely to be employed than mothers in two-parent families39.
Available data suggest that due to inadequate funding, the targeting of non-cash transfers such as
child care subsidies and housing subsidies to single-parent mothers have not resulted in significant
improvements to their living standards either. Rather, tighter eligibility and clawback rules for
income support programs such as the National Child Benefit, the lack of a comprehensive national
child care program, increasing costs for post-secondary education and exit of many provincial
governments from housing are making it difficult for many single-parent mothers to exit social
assistance and benefit from education, training and labour force participation.
The solutions to the dilemma of poverty for single-parent mothers are more likely to be found in
universal programs of direct transfers, non-cash transfers and social programs and services that are
available to support families in meeting the time and income needs of their children in a variety of
diverse circumstances. The example of many European countries show that generous parental leaves,
high levels of direct government transfers and good social infrastructure for child care and eldercare
pay dividends in keeping poverty rates of single-parent mothers low and keeping them attached to
the labour force while ensuring the effective early childhood development of their children.
Canadian direct government transfers, tax structure and social programs and services fall short of
the European model in achieving these results, despite a great deal of state rhetoric about tackling
family and child poverty, improving labour force participation and developing our human resources
through life-long learning.
39
Women in Canada: Work Chapter Updates, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 89F0133XIE (2002: 6).
– 262 –
Towards the development of a more effective family-work policy for Canada, the findings
highlighted in this paper suggest that a bold redesign of the Social Union Framework Agreement is
needed, along with changes to the National Child Benefit system, setting national standards to
govern the implementation of the Early Childhood Development Agreement and greater
coordination among bodies implementing the federal government’s innovation and skills strategy
with provincial and territorial ministries responsible for the delivery of social assistance and post
secondary education.
The federal government needs to reinstitute the National Child Benefit as a universal child support
program that reflects the variety of family circumstances in Canada. The NCB supplement should
not be clawed back from families on social assistance who are already far below the poverty line and
often face multiple barriers to combining employment and child-rearing. Rather the NCB should
reflect the costs not only of feeding, clothing and sheltering children, but also of caring for them.
This change places appropriate value on the non-market labour of parents and recognize that even
though they may not currently vote, children are our future. The increase for childcare should also
reflect the higher care costs of children under six years of age especially in the first year. However, it
must also reflect the growing costs of recreational activities for older children. Finally, federal and
provincial governments must work in concert to ensure that single parents are enabled to pursue
post-secondary education and supported in the work of raising a family while they study rather than
penalizing them.
Social assistance recipients may be in greater need of the long-term employment training and
education programs, compared to beneficiaries of employment insurance, the majority of whom
under the new rules already have strong and only temporarily broken attachment to the labour force.
Second, the federal government needs to work with the provinces to put in place labour force
policies and necessary supports active training and educational programs that will promote
meaningful employment both of employment insurance beneficiaries and of recipients of social
assistance support. Of course, the success of this essential policy change is premised on the
availability of childcare spaces for both types of recipients.
Finally then, governments need to put in place national standards through the Social Union
Framework Agreement to ensure that all provinces and territories consult with families with
children on their service priorities to ensure effective delivery of the Early Childhood Development
Agreement in all the four critical areas identified. The federal government’s key role would be to
allocate additional funding to promote effective delivery of a national and flexible childcare program.
In essence, Canadian governments should establish, through the ECDA, a national child care policy,
based on public consultations, that would increase child care spaces in provinces and territories
outside of Quebec at a minimum rate of percent per year over the next five years to address the
present gap of about 70 percent. Such a policy must make provisions for adequate infrastructure,
training and remuneration of child care givers to promote quality in early childhood development
across Canada40. Since the proven expected results are more educated Canadians, better quality of
40
Cleveland and Krashinsky cited in Martha Friendly and Laurel Rothman “Early Childhood Development Services: How Much Will They Cost?”,
prepared for the Canadian Association of Family Resource Program’s Play and Parenting Connections (Fall 2000).
– 263 –
life overall and a competitive economy, these changes should be top among the priorities in the next
Federal Speech from the Throne.
– 264 –
– 265 –
Source: Population estimates and Pre-Tax Poverty Rates: Custom Tabulations Prepared by Statistics Canada for the National Council of Welfare, 1999
Table 1
Population and Poverty Trends in Canada
Figure 2
Poverty rates for families with children, 1980-1999
Figure 3
Poverty Rates by Family Type in Canada, 1999
– 266 –
Figure 4
Duration of Poverty by Family Types, 1993-1998
Figure 5
Depth of Poverty Among Families with Children in Constant 1999 – Dollars, 1980 to 1999
– 267 –
Figure 6a
Distribution of Single Mothers by Level of Education Completed, 1999
– 268 –
Figure 6b
Single Mothers Who Graduated High School by Level of Education, 1999
– 269 –
Figure 6c
Distribution of Heads of Two-Parent Families by Level of Education, 1999
– 270 –
Figure 6d
Distribution of Heads of Two-Parent Families Who Graduated High School by Highest
– 271 –
Figure 7a
Distribution of Single Mothers by Main Activity, 1999
– 272 –
Figure 7 b
Distribution of Heads of Two-Parent Families by Main Activity, 1999
– 273 –
LE PROGRAMME DE REVENU MINIMUM DE SANTO ANDRÉ :
UNE STRATÉGIE DE COMBAT CONTRE LA PAUVRETÉ
P A R : M ARIANGEL A B ELFIORE WANDERLEY , D . S . W .
DIRECTRICE , P ROFESSEURE ASSOCIÉ
I N S T I T U T D E S É T U D E S S P É C I A L I S É E S D E L ’U N I V E R S I T É P O N T I F I C A L E C A T H O L I Q U E
M ERCEDES M ANCHACO C IWYNSKI , M . S . W .
PROFESSEUR , T RAVAIL SOCIAL
I N S T I T U T D E S É T U D E S S P É C I A L I S É E S D E L ’U N I V E R S I T É P O N T I F I C A L E C A T H O L I Q U E
S ÃO P A U L O , B R É S I L
DE
S ÃO P A U L O
DE
S ÃO P A U L O
Notre exposé a comme objet l’analyse des Programmes de Revenu Minimum (PRM), comme une
stratégie pour affronter la pauvreté au Brésil, dans le cadre de la protection sociale brésilienne. Nous
vous présenterons également l’expérience du PRM de Santo André, sa proposition et ses
contributions qui illustrent les considérations présentées dans la première partie de cet exposé.
Nombreuses sont les analyses qui étudient la crise du « Welfare State », depuis les années 80, vécue
de manière et d’intensité différentes dans plusieurs pays du monde entier, et qui est devenue une
crise structurelle, et non conjoncturelle comme on le croyait à cette époque-là. Comme tout le
monde le sait, les progrès technologiques et leur conséquente réduction d’offre d’emploi ont mis en
question les systèmes de protection sociale qui étaient, surtout dans les pays centraux, associés à
l’existence des liens d’emploi. Or, dans les pays où il y avait une situation d’emploi, on voyait une
sécurité sociale ayant des caractéristiques universalistes. Le monde a commencé, donc, à vivre avec le
chômage structurel. La croissante mondialisation économique a réduit la capacité de régler, à
l’intérieur de chaque État-nation, et a augmenté la compétitivité. Cette mondialisation a également
conduit à la recherche de solutions (l’augmentation des technologies réductrices de postes de travail;
la réduction du coût de la main-d’œuvre) qui ont eu des conséquences, parmi lesquelles la réduction
des sources de financement du « Welfare State ». Les anciens systèmes de protection sociale n’étaient
plus fonctionnels dans le nouveau contexte économique et social qui se dessinait à l’époque et qui est
devenu de plus en plus consolidé.
Des pays qui n’avaient ni même atteint l’État de Bien-Être Social, comme le Brésil, ont subi des
conséquences de la restructuration productive et ont accentué les (mauvaises) conditions de
reproduction, qui étaient déjà précaires, de la plupart de la population. La pauvreté et l’exclusion
sociale, amplifiées par les énormes inégalités sociales, continuent à figurer parmi les principaux
problèmes que le pays doit affronter.
Le débat politique contemporain souligne l’affirmation que la citoyenneté et la démocratie ne
peuvent pas vivre dans une situation si précaire. De cette façon, la question du combat contre la
pauvreté gagne une place centrale.
– 274 –
1. Pauvreté et exclusion sociale
La pauvreté comme expression d’un lieu social
Nous partons du postulat que la violence de la pauvreté, ainsi que les multiples faces de l’exclusion
font partie de l’expérience quotidienne dans la société brésilienne et que les impacts destructeurs du
système laissent leur marque sur la population appauvrie, marques qui se manifestent par :
◆
l’abjection du travail;
◆
le chômage, la dégradation de la santé;
◆
le manque de confort, la précarité et l’insalubrité du logement;
◆
l’insuffisance de l’alimentation;
◆
l’ignorance et la fatigue, la résignation.
Tous ces éléments sont des indices qui mettent souvent en évidence les limites des conditions de vie
des exclus de la société.
Mais ces indices, s’ils sont révélateurs, peuvent également occulter la résistance et la capacité de cette
population à combattre pour survivre. Et ils peuvent également démontrer combien la société peut
supporter la pauvreté sans tenter d’intervenir pour la minimiser ou même l’éradiquer.
Ainsi la première question à se poser est la suivante:
Les pauvres et les exclus, qui sont-ils dans la société brésilienne?
Pénétrer dans l’univers de la pauvreté, même de manière élémentaire, n’est pas chose aisée! Cela
suppose, au contraire, un chemin long et pénible, où l’on constate les multiples effets d’une pauvreté
matérielle et morale qui doivent être compris dans la trame constitutive des rapports sociaux, et qui
caractérisent la société brésilienne contemporaine.
Voyons maintenant quelques données générales qui permettront d’ébaucher le profil de la situation
de la pauvreté au Brésil.
◆
La population brésilienne est de 169 800 000, selon le IBGE (Institut Brésilien de Géographie et
Statistique) en août 20001.
Les données révèlent une croissance de la population brésilienne, au XXe siècle, de quasi 10 fois.
Classé comme l’une des 10 premières économies du monde, le Brésil est le pays le plus riche parmi
ceux ayant le plus grand nombre de personnes misérables.
D’après les données de l’IPEA (Institut de Recherche Économique Appliquée), 54,4 millions de
brésiliens sont considérés comme « pauvres », c’est-à-dire :
« ceux qui arrivent à manger le minimum nécessaire, mais qui ne gagnent pas
assez ni pour se loger ni pour s’habiller ».
1
Données extraites de l’IBGE, Recensement Démographique 2000, et du Rapport de l’IPEA.
– 275 –
Par ailleurs, il y a 13,6 millions d’indigents :
« ceux qui n’arrivent pas à gagner suffisamment pour satisfaire leurs besoins
alimentaires élémentaires ».
Les personnes âgées de 15 ans et moins représentent 30 % de la population. Les enfants et les jeunes
représentent 45 % de l’univers des Brésiliens misérables.
Source: Fundação Getúlio Vargas (Fondation Getulio Vargas)
Il y a dans le pays environ 11 % de personnes de 10 ans ou plus, non alphabétisées, ce qui représente
l’un des plus grands pourcentages d’analphabétisme de l’Amérique Latine. De 10 à 14 ans, le taux est
de 7,2 %2.
En ce qui concerne la réduction de la misère, le Brésil a si peu avancé qu’il maintient un grand
système d’inégalité sociale. D’ailleurs, notre pays est le champion mondial de la concentration du
revenu et de la richesse.
D’après des indices sociaux/1999, 1 % de la population détient 13,8 % du revenu total et 50 %, parmi
les plus pauvres, ne détiennent que 13,5 %.
2
De telles données montrent nettement la priorité des politiques sociales vers les enfants et les adolescents, comme nous le discuterons pendant
cet exposé.
– 276 –
Source : IBGE ( Institut Brésilien de Géographie et Statistique)
Une autre manière d’exprimer cette inégalité, c’est de prendre 10 % des plus riches : ceux-ci
concentrent ensemble 50 % du revenu national.
Un riche gagne la même somme que 50 individus pauvres
Le tableau ci-dessous montre la distance entre le revenu de 20 % des plus pauvres et 20 % des plus
riches dans certains pays :
Source: IPEA
Dans les dernières années, l’économie brésilienne présente de bas indices de croissance par rapport
aux modèles historiques et par l’augmentation de la population.
– 277 –
Dans les années 90, plus exactement depuis 1995, il y a eu une chute de la croissance économique.
Bien que le Plan Real3 (introduit en 1994) ait mis fin aux indices élevés d’inflation et ait causé une
amélioration de revenu relatif aux couches les plus pauvres, le ralentissement de l’économie a
commencé à détruire ces gains (Lesbaupin, 2000).
Le salaire minimum (US 754, à peu près) est l’un des plus bas du monde. D’après plusieurs études, la
perte de sa valeur réelle est un autre signe de l’appauvrissement de la population.
51,9 % des brésiliens (PEA) gagnent jusqu’à deux salaires minimum.
2,6 % seulement gagnent plus de 20 salaires minimum.
Durant les dernières années, l’économie brésilienne a présenté des indices infimes de croissance par
rapport aux taux historiques et par rapport à l’augmentation de la population.
Pourtant, la pauvreté contemporaine ne se traduit pas seulement par des indices économiques. Il
s’agit d’un phénomène multidimensionnel qui atteint les pauvres traditionnels (des indigents, des
analphabètes...) et aussi d’autres secteurs de la population appauvrie par la précarité du marché du
travail et les difficultés d’insertion qui en résultent. Ainsi la pauvreté n’est pas imputable
uniquement au manque de revenus, mais à d’autres facteurs, comme la difficulté d’accès aux services
publics et, particulièrement, l’absence de pouvoir. Dans ce sens, le concept de pauvreté est lié à celui
d’exclusion, tout en s’en distinguant. L’un et l’autre sont rattachés à des inégalités existantes, et
spécialement à la privation du pouvoir d’action et de représentation. L’un et l’autre doivent être
également compris en fonction des relations sociales d’une société donnée.
Ainsi nous voyons que pauvreté et exclusion sociale se profilent comme les indicateurs d’un lieu
social, d’une condition de classe, qui expriment les rapports existants dans la société. Elles sont les
fruits de ces rapports, produisant et reproduisant à l’infini l’inégalité dans les domaines sociaux,
politiques, économiques, définis quant à eux pour donner aux pauvres une place dans la société.
3
Plan de stabilisation économique, introduit au Brésil en 1994. Real, c’est le nom de la nouvelle monnaie qui a été, alors, adoptée dans le pays.
4
On a pris comme référence les taux du dollar américain, par rapport à la monnaie nationale – le Real – avril 2002.
– 278 –
Cette question sociale est récurrente depuis la colonisation latino-américaine. Il s’agit d’un processus
d’appauvrissement historique et social, dont les déterminants économiques, politiques et culturels
tendent à se reproduire par le biais de mécanismes qui renforcent et étendent cet appauvrissement.
Il importe aussi de faire ressortir deux autres aspects du phénomène de l’exclusion, tels que sa
banalisation ainsi que son rôle stigmatisant, qui, dans le cas de la société brésilienne, contribuent au
cycle de reproduction de l’exclusion, représenté par l’acceptation et/ou la résignation, quel que soit
le niveau social, et montrent ainsi la fragilité du lien social.
Cette fragilisation du lien social amène à une mutation du concept de droit. Ainsi pour la société et
pour les exclus, les actions entreprises ne relèvent plus de la logique du droit, mais de celle de la
faveur! Et cette transformation du droit en faveur devient un facteur renforçant du processus
d’exclusion.
Voyons maintenant quelle est la logique sur laquelle s’appuie l’État brésilien pour élaborer sa
politique sociale de lutte contre la pauvreté.
2.
La politique sociale au Brésil : l’effet peu significatif des investissements dans le champ social
Compte tenu de la dynamique même de la pauvreté et de l’exclusion, l’intervention de l’État brésilien
se révèle inopérante et incapable de changer le profil d’inégalité qui caractérise notre pays. De cette
façon, l’ensemble des politiques sociales brésiliennes établies pendant les dernières décennies ont
très peu contribué à diminuer les conditions de pauvreté et d’exclusion de la population. Au
contraire, les manques s’accumulent et se superposent défiant de possibles solutions. Les limites
d’ordre structurel, comme le manque de travail et la mauvaise distribution des revenus, sont des
facteurs aggravants de la crise avec laquelle les politiques sociales s’affrontent. Crise qui, dans le
domaine de la restructuration du capitalisme mondialisé, s’explique et se construit par le biais des
politiques conservatrices néolibérales. Et ceci dans un contexte de précarisation du marché du travail
et de démembrement des droits sociaux et des droits du travail, qui configurent et expriment la
question sociale brésilienne avec de nouvelles caractéristiques et de nouvelles manifestations, parmi
lesquelles nous pouvons citer: le manque de sécurité et la vulnérabilité au travail, ainsi que la
pénalisation des travailleurs qui ne possèdent aucune protection sociale.
La proportion de travailleurs brésiliens embauchés sans bulletin de salaire dans l’industrie, et donc,
sans avoir aucune des garanties du système de protection sociale, a doublé dans la dernière décennie.
Aujourd’hui, 20 travailleurs sur 100 n’ont pas de contrat de travail signé. Ce phénomène empire
encore à São Paulo, principal pôle industriel du pays, où l’informalité, qui atteignait 9 % des
travailleurs embauchés au début de la décennie, atteint aujourd’hui 22 %. Il convient également de
signaler que plus de 50 % de la population économiquement active est hors du marché formel de
travail.
La réduction de l’action régulatrice de l’État ainsi que la rupture du pacte social et politique font
également partie de ce cadre. Ce qui, en tout état de cause, aboutit à un état de crise permanent des
politiques sociales, à leur redéfinition et à leur subordination aux politiques de stabilisation de
l’économie avec leurs cortèges de restrictions de dépenses publiques et de leur perspective de
privatisation.
– 279 –
Dans le cas particulier de l’Assistance Sociale – qui, grâce à la Constitution de 1988, peut s’affirmer
comme un droit social – comme politique publique de combat de la pauvreté, il est prévu que la
population participe à la gestion décentralisée de cette politique.
Au Brésil, le passage de l’Assistance Sociale de type philanthropique à une politique de Sécurité
implique une redéfinition de la manière d’affronter la pauvreté, passant de l’Assistance au champ de
la Politique Sociale qui replace la question de la pauvreté et de l’exclusion sociale à leur juste place,
c’est-à-dire dans le domaine de la responsabilité publique.
L’implantation de ce système est un processus en devenir. Ainsi, qu’il s’agisse d’Assistance ou
d’autres politiques comme celle de la Santé par exemple, on voit naître dans le pays des Forums et des
Conseils qui comptent sur la participation du gouvernement, de la société civile, et de ceux-là même
qui en sont les usagers! Ces Conseils constituent des espaces de représentation et de négociation des
intérêts collectifs et du contrôle social.
Il convient toutefois de souligner que ce n’est pas par les voies des politiques socio-assistantielles que
les abîmes d’inégalité et les distances sociales pourront être affrontés dans notre pays. Pourtant nous
savons qu’elles sont nécessaires, qu’elles doivent être de qualité, mais également, impérativement
associées à d’autres mesures structurelles.
Bien que l’on sache que ce n’est pas possible d’affronter ni la pauvreté ni l’exclusion sociale
seulement par le travail des gouvernements locaux (municipaux), c’est par le biais de ce plan que les
actions pour l’inclusion sociale ont plus de résultats concernant la promotion de la redistribution
du revenu et de la démocratisation des relations entre l’État et la société civile.
C’est dans ce contexte que se trouve le PRM de la Municipalité de Santo André, située dans la région
métropolitaine de l’État de São Paulo, sur lequel nous parlerons à la fin de cet exposé.
Les PRM, dans le cas brésilien, ont comme cible les enfants/adolescents et leurs familles. Nous
ferons, tout de suite, une brève réflexion sur la place occupée historiquement par la famille, l’enfance
et l’adolescence dans la politique sociale brésilienne.
2.1
La famille, l’enfance et l’adolescence dans les politiques sociales
et dans les programmes brésiliens de Revenu Minimum
Le trait commun des politiques sociales publiques dans l’histoire brésilienne est de traiter les
conséquences de la pauvreté dans le sens de la minimiser au lieu de l’éliminer en affrontant les causes
structurelles responsables de sa production et de sa reproduction sociale.
Dans la perspective de minimiser la pauvreté et de contrôler ses conséquences – surtout celles qui
menacent l’ordre social – les politiques sociales au Brésil ont pris la famille comme objet principal
d’intérêt au cours des années 30 à 50, l’ont oubliée pendant les années 60 à 80 – quand on a centré
l’attention sur l’individu qui devrait être développé avec l’aide de l’État et du travail –, et l’on a repris
la famille depuis les années 80-90, avec la perspective des Programmes de Revenu Minimum5 qui
5
Selon un sondage réalisé par le « Núcleo de Seguridade e Assistência Social da PUC-SP » (Centre de Sécurité et d’Assistance Sociale de la PUCSP), en septembre 1997, il y avait à cette époque-là 76 propositions de Revenu Minimum dans le pays, 1 proposition nationale, 13 de l’État et
62 des Municipalités.
– 280 –
mettent la famille, l’enfance et l’adolescence comme les principaux destinataires des politiques
d’Assistance Sociale, quand la réflexion est tombée de nouveau sur la famille pauvre brésilienne :
« [la famille] apporte plusieurs désavantages : ses adultes ont des emplois de qualité inférieure, « de mauvais
emplois » qui n’offrent pas de conditions d’ascension sociale et ... ses enfants s’insèrent, dès leur enfance et
adolescence, dans le marché du travail, contribuant pour le budget familial. » ... (Fonseca, 2001).
Le coût pour que la famille pauvre puisse maintenir le fils dans l’école est trop élevé, puisque l’on
considère ce que l’enfant ou l’adolescent renonce à gagner s’il travaillait dans le marché informel.
C’est-à-dire que les enfants et les adolescents pauvres commencent à travailler tôt, sortent tôt de
l’école et, comme adultes, s’engagent dans des travaux peu qualifiés et sans avoir des perspectives
professionnelles. Certainement, ils deviendront des adultes pauvres et qui reproduiront, dans
l’avenir, des familles pauvres.
Cette compréhension renforçait les propositions qui envisageaient de supplémenter le revenu des
familles pauvres, en leur offrant, donc, de réduire le prix (le coût) si leurs enfants étudiaient et, ce
faisant contribuer à rompre le cercle de la production et de la reproduction de la pauvreté. Pourtant,
d’ailleurs, c’était nécessaire également d’optimiser d’autres services d’appui à la famille.
L’enfant et l’adolescent sont le public cible des programmes de revenu minimum brésiliens.
D’une manière générale, la famille, dans les programmes de revenu minimum, est l’intermédiaire
par lequel on évite que l’enfant et l’adolescent, à cause de la pression provoquée par le bas
revenu, s’engagent de façon précoce et mal qualifiée dans le marché du travail, en quittant l’école
prématurément.
Lorsque l’on appuie et renforce la famille en lui offrant un complément de revenu et, dans certains
programmes de RM, un ensemble de supports socio-éducatifs, on souhaite garantir à la famille des
instruments qui puissent l’aider dans son effort d’être le groupe de base, l’intermédiaire de la
croissance et du développement des enfants et des adolescents. La famille est désormais revalorisée
par les politiques sociales. Sa fonction protectrice est récupérée, c’est-à-dire celle de construire des
liens relationnels et de socialiser les enfants, les adolescents et les jeunes. Les Programmes de RM
sont envisagés comme des instruments qui leur donnent de l’appui et de la force, en contribuant, à
court terme, au soulagement de la pauvreté et, à moyen terme, en conduisant vers la rupture de l’un
des liens forts de la pauvreté, soit les conditions éducationnelles des nouvelles générations.
Le potentiel des programmes de revenu minimum, comme des stratégies d’affrontement contre la
pauvreté est relatif, si les causes structurelles du phénomène de la pauvreté ne sont pas combattues.
Cependant, leur capacité de la diminuer et de confronter certains mécanismes qui renforcent la
pauvreté et qui contribuent à ce qu’elle soit reproduite socialement semblent exister si les politiques
sociales, les programmes et les actions n’objectivent pas la perspective individualisée de la
supplémentation de revenu et de l’inclusion des enfants et des adolescents dans l’école, mais
développent également les actions collectives avec ces groupes qui renforcent des politiques
publiques et élargissent leur citoyenneté et leur inclusion sociale.
– 281 –
3.
Le Programme de revenu minimun à Santo André6
Santo André, ville qui se trouve dans la région métropolitaine de São Paulo, a environ
676 000 habitants. Parmi d’autres villes de la région, elle a été l’un des plus importants pôles
du processus d’industrialisation brésilien et elle a connu une situation de développement avancé
après les années 50. De cette façon, elle a souffert aussi, d’une façon accrue, du processus de
restructuration productive depuis les années 80.
Elle compte environ 8 500 familles qui ont 120 $ US comme revenu mensuel parmi des groupes
familiaux ayant, en moyenne, 5.1 membres. La plupart de cette population appartient à un groupe
de 75 000 personnes qui, pendant les 20 dernières années, ont constitué et augmenté les 140 noyaux
de favelas qui existent dans la ville.
Parmi les priorités politiques de l’administration municipale, il y a, depuis 1997, le combat contre
l’exclusion sociale et la pauvreté. Ayant compris l’exclusion sociale par son côté multidimensionnel
et par rapport à la pauvreté, l’administration municipale a préféré développer des actions sur place,
dans certains noyaux de favelas, qui intègrent à la fois des actions urbaines – infrastructure, des
améliorations de logement; des actions économiques – complément de revenu et des actions
de réinsertion sur le marché de travail – et des actions sociales – l’éducation, la santé, des appuis
socio-économiques et la participation communautaire.
Le Programme de Revenu Minimum de Santo André, ici présenté comme une expérience brésilienne
de PRM, est attaché aux politiques économiques et sociales de la ville, concernant la pauvreté et
l’inclusion sociale. Le Programme développé depuis 1998 s’est occupé jusqu’à la fin 2001 de
950 familles et 4 874 personnes. Nous allons résumer, tout de suite, certains des aspects signifiants
du programme, pour que nous puissions recueillir quelques caractéristiques et, plus tard, faire
certains commentaires.
3.1
Qu’est-ce que le Programme?
C’est une stratégie de la politique de l’assistance sociale de la municipalité qui est basée sur une
allocation de revenu minimum destinée aux familles vivant en dessous d’un certain seuil de pauvreté,
de façon à complémenter leurs revenus, accompagné d’un ensemble d’actions socio-éducatives.
Le programme complémente le revenu de la famille de façon à ce que chaque membre reçoive 0,5 fois
le salaire minimum par mois. L’allocation mensuelle moyenne pour chaque famille, en 2000, était de
90 $ US.
3.2
◆
6
Quels sont ses objectifs spécifiques?
Garantir la permanence des enfants et des adolescents dans l’école publique et le succès
progressif de leurs résultats scolaires;
Les données et réflexions sur le Programme de Revenu Minimum de Santo André, présentées ici, ont été développées d’après l’article élboré par
Cywinski, M.M., « Le Programme de Revenu Minimum à Santo André, présenté au Forum de mercocidades – Unité Thématique de
Développement Social – Des Politiques Sociales : des Stratégies de la Participation Citoyenne, à Montévideo, Uruguay, août 1998 », et de
recherche des documents de la Mairie de Santo André sur les Programmes : Intégré de l’Inclusion Sociale (PIIS) et « Mais Igual » (plus égalitaire).
– 282 –
◆
réintégrer les jeunes et les adultes des familles dans le système éducatif et des programmes
d’alphabétisation et de formation professionnelle;
◆
inclure des adultes dans des programmes locaux de promotion de l’emploi et de formation de
coopératives de travail;
◆
favoriser la consolidation du groupe familial, au niveau de l’estime de soi et des conditions de
gérer son processus de développement et d’inclusion sociale;
◆
garantir l’accès des familles aux services publics de santé.
3.3
Quelle est la population-cible du Programme?
Elle est constituée de familles ayant un revenu per capita inférieur à la moitié du salaire minimum,
soit 40 $ US par mois. Ces familles ont des enfants et des dépendants, de 0 à 15 ans, en situation de
risque personnel et social. En plus, elles doivent habiter à Santo André depuis trois ans ou dans les
microrégions des noyaux de favelas concernés par le Programme.
La conception de la famille adoptée par le Programme est celle d’un groupe constitué par un ou
plusieurs adultes (les parents, le père ou la mère, la grand-mère, la tante ou un autre adulte
responsable), par des enfants et des adolescents, et/ou des handicapés qui vivent sous la
responsabilité des adultes.
Il s’agit de familles, monoparentales en majorité, qui se trouvent en situation de pauvreté et
d’exclusion sociale, dont les membres adultes sont au chômage ou engagés dans des services
précaires, ayant pourtant des potentialités, dans le sens de réagir de façon satisfaisante aux
stimulations et aux services du programme, pour qu’ils soient intégrés dans un processus
d’autonomisation du programme, après un certain temps d’intervention d’au maximum 18 mois.
3.4
Qui fait la gestion du Programme et comment fonctionne-t-il?
C’est le Secrétariat d’Inclusion Sociale et d’Habitation qui se charge d’élaborer les consignes, les
normes, les critères et les procédés opérationnels des équipes qui exécutent le Programme et qui sont
formées par des assistants sociaux, des psychologues et des stagiaires.
Au-delà des actions spécifiques de complément du revenu et des actions auprès des groupes de
familles, le Programme procure l’intégration d’un ensemble d’actions et de services publics et des
réseaux de la communauté. Les partenaires sont stimulés à travailler ensemble et les familles sont
invitées à participer à ces réseaux de services et d’activités, selon leurs besoins, par exemple :
◆
des activités socio-éducatives complémentaires à l’école, pour les enfants et les adolescents
(Programme Enfant Citoyen).
◆
service d’assistance médicale aux familles (le Programme de la Santé de la Famille).
◆
des actions de prévention de la violence familiale;
◆
l’alphabétisation des jeunes gens et des adultes;
◆
formation professionnelle (des cours qui qualifient et requalifient des jeunes gens et des adultes
au travail).
– 283 –
◆
des actions pour la formation des entrepreneurs populaires (soutien aux petites et aux microentreprises);
◆
la Banque du Peuple (une concession de micro-crédits pour l’ouverture et le développement
d’activités qui peuvent engendrer des revenus);
◆
des incubatrices de Coopératives (des soutiens nécessaires aux groupes de travail);
◆
des services d’urbanisation des favelas (mesures en vue d’améliorer le logement local et les
conditions de vie dans les favelas dans le cadre de la politique urbaine).
Des résultats et des considérations sur le Programme
de Revenu Minimum de Santo André7
L’Institut des Études Spécialisées a travaillé en partenariat avec la Municipalité, et d’après un
ensemble d’indicateurs qui ont été débattus ensemble (et qui ne sont pas encore tout à fait au point),
quelques résultats peuvent être observés auprès des familles.
◆
L’insertion (et réinsertion) des enfants et des adolescents dans l’école :
Le premier résultat vient des élèves et des adolescents. Tous vont à l’école depuis le début de
l’insertion des familles dans le Programme. L’école est une valeur pour la population en général
et, surtout, pour les familles pauvres, qui l’envisagent comme une possibilité de changement des
conditions précaires de vie.
◆
L’amélioration de la part de l’adulte de sa propre image :
L’augmentation de l’estime de soi des adultes est la manifestation la plus visible et la plus
rapidement perceptible, soit par des manifestations extérieures (façon de s’habiller, par
exemple), soit par des attitudes, des réactions envers la famille, le groupe, etc.
◆
L’inclusion des jeunes et des adultes dans les services d’éducation et de formation
professionnelle :
La recherche des actions de capacitation/qualification s’exprime de plusieurs manières : par
l’insertion des jeunes et des adultes dans les cours offerts (l’alphabétisation, les cours
« supletivos » équivalents au lycée et des cours de formation variés); par l’insertion des personnes
responsables ou d’autres membres des familles en coopératives et autres actions collectives
de travail.
◆
L’inclusion dans le marché de travail et dans les opportunités de production de revenu aux
jeunes gens et des adultes, par rapport à cela :
Le profil de la situation/occupation de ces familles montre qu’elles sont éloignées du marché
formel du travail; il est possible d’observer des mouvements dans ce cadre, mais il est vrai que la
transformation de cette situation ne sera pas atteinte par le Programme, car il s’agit de questions
structurelles qu’il n’est pas possible de transformer simplement au niveau local.
7
Les résultats présentés ici ont été extraits de l’article élaboré par Belfiore-Wanderley, M. et Blanes, Denise. « Monitorando a implatação de um
programa social », publié dans Barreira e Carvalho (org.). Tendências e Perspectivas na Avaliação de Políticas e Programas Sociais, São Paulo,
IEE/PUC-SP, 2001.
– 284 –
◆
La qualité des rapports et des liens dans les familles et l’élargissement des rapports des
membres de la famille avec d’autres groupes :
Les répercussions sur la qualité des liens sociaux sont nettement exprimées par les évaluations
techniques et par les bénéficiaires, ayant un reflet dans la vie quotidienne. Le renforcement des
rapports conjugaux et familiaux est dû, d’une part, à l’accès des femmes (qui sont la majorité des
titulaires du Programme) aux ressources financières, en leur donnant une nouvelle qualité
concernant leur position familiale. La nouveauté est que les femmes ont la possibilité d’élargir
leur univers culturel, par l’ensemble de connaissances acquises qui permettent de développer le
sens critique, le goût, le jugement.
◆
L’insertion des membres de la famille dans le réseau de services publics de protection sociale :
Le programme stimule l’augmentation du nombre de familles dans d’autres services et
programmes du réseau de protection sociale, d’après le résultat des sondages concernant leurs
besoins, et en les conduisant aux ressources existantes. Comme le Programme travaille la notion
de droit, il développe également de nouvelles demandes chez la population, surtout en ce qui
concerne les services et, de façon plus éloignée, la participation sociale.
◆
L’amélioration des conditions de logement et de la qualité de vie :
La concentration des actions sur un même terrain, avec la participation de plusieurs secrétariats
du gouvernement, potentialise l’ensemble des actions vers l’amélioration des conditions de vie.
Par exemple, concernant l’amélioration des conditions de logement, souvent les familles
épargnent le bénéfice reçu afin d’acheter des matériaux de construction ou pour payer les
services d’un maçon afin d’améliorer les conditions de la maison. En outre, l’amélioration de
l’environnement, des services de ramassage des ordures, de l’hygiène et autres ont contribué à
améliorer l’environnement où ces familles habitent; l’articulation de ces actions est, pourtant,
un processus en cours. Le Programme contribue à fortifier ces actions, crée des conditions pour
la réflexion sur les conditions de vie dans la communauté et favorise l’acquisition et l’échange
des expériences de vie.
Considérations finales
Le Programme de Revenu Minimum de Santo André fait partie d’une politique publique locale qui
cherche le développement économique et la lutte contre l’exclusion sociale de façon à en fournir des
réponses simultanées et multidimensionnelles.
Le Programme a pour but d’intégrer de manière stratégique un ensemble d’actions et de services
originant de plusieurs politiques de secteurs. Pourtant, c’est là encore sa plus grande faiblesse, car,
pour développer une gestion dont les politiques sont vraiment articulées, il faut rompre avec toute
une culture politique encore très fragmentée et tournée vers les programmes de chaque secteur.
En privilégiant, par ses actions, les adultes des familles et leurs enfants et adolescents, le Programme
parie sur deux choses :
a)
sur la récupération de la capacité des adultes de protéger et de s’occuper de leurs enfants, au fur
et à mesure qu’il offre des conditions matérielles et affectives pour qu’ils puissent se développer
de façon salutaire;
– 285 –
b) sur l’inclusion des enfants et des adolescents dans les écoles, sur des services complémentaires et
sur l’accès aux services de santé, en élargissant et en renforçant un réseau de protection sociale,
nécessaire pour affronter des conditions vulnérables et des risques sociaux dans lesquels ces
enfants et ces adultes se trouvent et, dans un moyen terme, contribuer, surtout par l’éducation,
à réduire l’un des principaux facteurs de production et de reproduction de la pauvreté.
Les Programmes de Revenu Minimum, certainement, n’éliminent pas la pauvreté. Pourtant, s’ils
sont des stratégies d’une politique locale/régionale qui cherche le développement économique et
l’inclusion sociale, ils peuvent contribuer à des changements des conditions de vie de ces
populations. Pour atteindre ces objectifs, il faut que le montant du soutien monétaire destiné aux
familles soit significatif et, aussi, soit suivi d’actions socio-éducatives. Il faut aussi leur procurer un
ensemble de services publics qui leur donne les conditions pour qu’elles développent soit leur
autonomie, en tant que capacité et possibilité comme des citoyens de remplir leurs besoins, ainsi que
leurs conditions d’inclusion sociale.
– 286 –
CHILDREN AND POVERTY IN SOUTH AFRICA:
A CALL FOR PREVENTIVE INTERVENTION
B Y : R ITHA R AMPHAL , P H . D .
PROFESSOR AND DIRECTOR , S CHOOL
U N I V E R S I T Y O F D U R B A N -W E S T V I L L E
DURBAN , S OUTH AFRICA
OF
SOCIAL WORK
Poverty Defined
Poverty, for the purpose of this paper, can be defined as the inability of individuals, households or
entire communities to command sufficient resources to satisfy a socially acceptable minimum
standard of living.
The poor are disadvantaged in various ways e.g.: the inability to provide sufficient or good quality
food for the family; crowded homes; lack of safe and efficient sources of energy and piped water; lack
of employment opportunities, low wages, lack of job security; and fragmentation of the family. In
many poor households fathers are absent or children live apart from their parents.
Poverty is a very useful predictor of the direction a person’s future life is likely to take. The negative
impacts of poverty tend to accumulate through a person’s lifetime. Considerable vulnerability
results from poverty in youth as a consequence of continuous exposure to various risks such as
unemployment, ill health, disability. This traps people and their dependents in a cycle of poverty
(New Agenda: 2002).
Poverty in South Africa
Poverty is not a new phenomenon in South Africa. What is new and significant for South Africa is
the rapid rate of urban growth, which has resulted in major crises in terms of provisional services,
shelter and employment in the urban centres. This has been compounded by poor economic
performances in recent years and declining rates of productivity in all the key sectors of the economy.
South Africa has suffered from a legacy of over-centralisation of government, which has resulted in
many municipalities having very little or limited powers over resource allocation. Therefore
addressing poverty requires a restructuring of centre-local relationships in such a way that they
bestow adequate powers and autonomy.
Another major problem arising from South Africa’s past was the designation of a responsible
ministry or agency with a responsibility for poverty reduction. This was a major weakness, because
poverty reduction can only be achieved in the long term through mainstreaming with the ongoing
government programs and projects. Under the old dispensation the poor and low income residents
in most large cities were mostly abandoned and they had to look after themselves.
Poverty in South Africa today is very much an issue of inequality of resources and inappropriate
service delivery. Poverty in our country is characterised by:
– 287 –
◆
Gender: Female-headed households are more likely to be poor than those headed by a resident
male.
◆
Race: 61% of Africans and 38% of Coloureds are poor, compared with 5% of Indians and
1% of Whites.
◆
Unemployment; and
◆
Education: Anything less than a high school education increases the probability of being poor.
With the change of government in 1994, followed by a new constitution (with a Bill of SocioEconomic Rights) in 1996, there has come some hope of alleviating poverty and deprivation in the
country. Poverty alleviation is at the core of the country’s social security system (Report: State of the
Nation’s Children, 2001).
Economic globalisation is yet another factor changing the labour market scene. Full time regular
employment is being displaced. Most new jobs being created are in the “informal sector” or of a parttime, casual, temporary, or home-based nature. Thus there are growing numbers of unemployed
people and this is increasing poverty, social polarisation, job insecurity and crime.
What Needs to be Done to Reduce Poverty
There is a need to develop a more effective and comprehensive social security system that supports
the achievement of socio-economic rights. The emphasis should be on reducing poverty and
deprivation; reducing income and social inequality; and increasing access to basic services. In order
to meet these challenges, the 1998 Presidential Job Summit—comprising government, labour,
business and community—agreed to implement a comprehensive social security system aimed
especially at those living in poverty and at the unemployed. The envisioned social protection “end
state” has the following goals:
◆
drastically reducing poverty;
◆
managing crises and immediate needs as they arise;
◆
greater administrative simplicity.
Shortcomings in the South African Social Security System
The following categories are not covered by social assistance:
◆
Children—75% of poor children below seven years of age do not get the child support grant. All
children over seven do not get any support. Finally, all children without primary caregivers, and
child-headed households do not get any grant.
◆
Disabled—Those with a chronic illness but who do not meet the strict medically-based criteria are
excluded. Thus if the disability is not medically complete, but it prevents that person from
carrying out his trade, he would not qualify for a grant.
◆
Unemployed—The UIF covers only 5% of the unemployed. Therefore, excluding those
unemployed getting disability and childcare related grants, about five million unemployed
people are without any form of income support from the social security system.
– 288 –
◆
The Poor—Currently about 60% of all those with incomes below the poverty line (i.e. 11 million
people) are without any social security transfers.
Women are particularly disadvantaged. The United Nations Commission for Social Development
[1998-6] has stressed: “.... Many women are still barred from paid employment because of their home
making and childcare duties. Inferior access to health, education and training places them in a
disadvantageous position in the labour market where many women predominate in low-pay lowstatus part-time or contract work, which offers limited opportunities for social security coverage.”
These gender barriers aptly describe the plight of the greater proportion of women in South Africa.
The Impact of Poverty on Children
When South Africa’s democratic government was elected in 1994 it was faced with the formidable
task of finding ways to nurture, develop and protect children whose growth environments had been
distorted by the political, social and economic policies of apartheid and colonization (Report: State
of the Nation’s Children, 2001).
Children’s growth, development, well-being, welfare and safety depend largely on the ability of their
parents to provide for them. In South Africa, 6 out of every 10 children live in poverty, with children
in rural areas more likely to be poor than those in the urban areas (Central Statistical Services, 1998).
Economic stress is a major contributor to family problems and breakdown. Unemployment rates are
generally high especially for African women. Female-headed households are the poorest in South
Africa (Report: State of the Nation’s Children, 2001).
South Africa is experiencing a rapidly growing HIV/AIDS epidemic. In 2000, 24.5% of women at
anti-natal clinics were HIV positive. AIDS mostly affects the economically active generation and
places added financial and time costs onto already strained households. This can cause children to
drop out of school. Under these circumstances children can be forced onto the streets into criminal
activities or exploitative forms of child labour. Child-headed households are appearing.
The key departments responsible for social services—social development, health and education—
have developed HIV/AIDS policies. Breastfeeding mothers are counselled on the dangers of HIV
transmission through breast milk.
A national integrated plan for children, infected and affected with HIV/AIDS has been developed.
Cabinet has allocated an amount of R 450 million for the plan. The four main components are
community/home-based care, voluntary counselling and testing, life-skills programmes and
community outreach programmes (Department of Social Development, 1996).
Poor children in South Africa suffer and die from diseases such as tuberculosis, measles, typhoid and
diarrhoea. The department of heath has introduced a strategy to improve the quality of care of
children. This strategy includes dealing with HIV/AIDS. Maternal Healthcare is being strengthened
through the introduction of the peri-natal education programme for all health-care workers
(Department of Health: Health Strategies Plan, 1998).
A South African National Drug Masterplan focuses on youth. Objectives include provision of
counselling, treatment, rehabilitation services for young people who are at risk of misuse or drug
– 289 –
dependency. However, the emphasis is on prevention through awareness-raising and education of
youth, their parents and teachers.
Children whose circumstances place their survival, protection and development at risk form a
category in need of special protection. In South Africa, this includes children who have been abused,
neglected and abandoned, street children, children with disabilities, refugee children, immigrant
children, children in conflict with the law, children involved in labour, and children exposed to
violence. Children living in conditions of poverty are particularly susceptible to abuse (South African
Participatory Poverty Appraisal, 1997).
Projects for street children range from street outreach, soup kitchens and drop-in centres to shelters
and children’s homes. Programmes include therapeutic drama, health and personal welfare, basic
literacy and numeracy, job skills, bridging education, music, arts and crafts. Re-entry in to
mainstream society is facilitated through school placements and family reunification.
Overall, health and health care for children is high on the government’s list of priorities. Many
preventable illnesses and diseases are being addressed by improving basic health conditions such as
water and sanitation and access to health resources. Policies to improve maternal and child health
care include free healthcare of pregnant women and children under six, the Integrated Nutrition
Programme, the Expanded Programme of Immunisation, Integrated Management of Childhood
Illnesses, policy on child and adolescent mental health and decentralisation in delivery of health
services through the district health system. Clinic upgrading and building programmes are
addressing the needs in under-serviced areas (World Health Organisation Report, 1998).
Tackling Poverty on a Broader Front
Towards the end of the apartheid era, rapid urbanisation and high rates of urban growth
precipitated a crisis for many municipal governments whose planning and management capacities
were weak, and had a high degree of dependence on central government for resources. One major
problem was that while municipal governments recognised the existence of poverty in their
geographical areas of jurisdiction, they still lacked both the procedural and substantive means to
generate effective poverty action plans and means to implement them. Most continued to view
poverty reduction in simplistic welfarist which means dealing with the absolute poor, the beggars
and street children. This narrow vision of urban poverty resulted in the establishments of welfare
departments whose task was geared only to provide relief and assistance to the desperately poor.
Most such efforts, which attempted to alleviate poverty, did not systematically contribute to the
reduction of urban poverty.
With the installation of the ANC government, the capacities of municipal governments have been
strengthened so that they can address the challenge of poverty in a comprehensive way. Existing
institutional frameworks for management, the promotion of policies and programmes which
promote the generation of new employment, improved access to basic services and social integration
are in the process of being reviewed and revitalised. Partnerships are being forged involving the
government, municipalities, civil society and the private sector. Each of the major stakeholders
accepts that it has a role to play, but more fundamentally, the people who live in poverty are being
empowered so that they can participate in the decisions that affect their lives.
– 290 –
Government, for its part, acknowledges that poverty-reducing development has five crucial
ingredients:
◆
a foundation of law;
◆
a benign policy environment, including macro-economic stability;
◆
investment in people and infrastructure;
◆
protection of the vulnerable;
◆
protection of the national environment.
These ingredients constitute the fundamentals on which good policies can develop.
A summary of some important undertakings and actions taken to tackle poverty and its
accompanying problems are listed below.
◆
The Government acknowledges that economic inequality results in considerable suffering for
poor people. Poverty is closely linked to racism, sexism and crime. Seen in this light the need for
getting rid of poverty becomes even more urgent. We need to move away from just crisis
management to crisis prevention.
◆
A Local Economic Development Fund has been set up, allowing municipalities to stimulate
local economic development. The fund is already giving hope—and an income—to unemployed
people.
◆
Several improvements have been made to the Government’s Public Works Community
Programmes, which have improved the quality of life of rural people by providing roads, piped
water and other forms of infrastructure.
The Government has also recently launched its Integrated and Sustainable Rural Development
Programme. This will ensure there are sustainable programmes for each rural community or district
by the year 2010.
◆
The Government is getting rid of bottlenecks that slow down the distribution of poverty
relief funds.
◆
Decisions from the 1998 Jobs Summit, such as the joint ventures with the business sector to
promote tourism, are being implemented. The response from all quarters—to the call to
transform ourselves into “a nation at work”—has been very positive. The earlier view that it is the
Government’s responsibility to create jobs is, happily, changing.
◆
In addition, the government is speeding up the growth of small and emerging businesses by
reviewing the functions of its small-business development agencies and revising regulations
that hamper small business.
◆
In order to promote continued economic growth the Government has set up a high-profile
International Investment Council that will play a crucial role in attracting more foreign
companies to South Africa. Some of the world’s most successful and respected business leaders
serve on the council.
– 291 –
The Government is also introducing measures to make sure that the economy continues to be well
managed. This includes setting inflation targets, phasing out foreign exchange controls, and
encouraging people to save money.
◆
An AIDS-related problem that is causing concern is the slow progress that bureaucracy is
making in adjusting to orphan households. There is, for instance, a big backlog with child
support grants. The Social Development Minister has acknowledged this and strenuous efforts
are being made to streamline the process so that this very important aspect functions more
efficiently.
Owing to their relatively recent implementation, it is difficult to accurately assess the impact of the
actions and undertakings mentioned above. However, the trends suggest a general movement in the
positive direction.
South Africa still faces formidable challenges in addressing the rights and needs of her children. The
legacy of apartheid, inherited national debt and budget deficits has posed many challenges for the
democratic government. Despite policy interventions by the government, prevailing socio-economic
conditions do not support the normal, healthy development of many of the country’s children.
In a climate of high unemployment, limited resources and a population which is growing younger,
children and families live with the stresses of hunger, overcrowded and unhealthy accommodation,
a lack of recreational facilities, and unacceptably high levels of violence and crime, including high
rates of sexual abuse especially of girls.
The impact of HIV/AIDS is beginning to be felt and will profoundly affect family structures and the
economy. The breakdown of traditional family life is reflected in the high incidence of single parents
and the lack of parenting support from fathers, either financial or physical. Women, who take most
of the responsibility for child-rearing, are themselves vulnerable to poverty and violence (Report:
State of the Nation’s Children, 2001).
References
Department of Social Development, National (1996) Government Printers, Pretoria.
Department of Health (1999). Health Strategic Plan. Government Printers, Pretoria
New Agenda (2002). South Africa Journal of Social and Economic Policy. Edit Omotoso R. Issue 5. Institute for African Alternatives.
Cape Town.
Report: State of the Nation’s Children (2001) National Programme of Action for Children in South Africa. The Presidency. Government
Printers, Pretoria.
South African Participatory Poverty Appraisal (1997). Government Printers, Pretoria.
UNAIDS/UNDP (1998). HIV/AIDS and Human Development in South Africa. Government Printers, Pretoria.
– 292 –
DEVELOPING TOOLS FOR THE FUTURE: THE ROLE AND CHALLENGES
OF PRE-EMPLOYABILITY PROJECTS IN MULTIETHNIC NEIGHBOURHOODS
B Y : C ATHERINE M ONTGOMERY , P H . D .
RESEARCHER , R ESEARCH AND TRAINING CENTER
C L S C C Ô T E - D E S -N E I G E S
A NNIE M AILLOUX , M . S . W .
SOCIAL WORKER , Y OUTH PROGRAM
C L S C C Ô T E - D E S -N E I G E S
We are often reminded, whether in the media, in academia or in intervention circles, of the
sometimes difficult life situations faced by some segments of the youth population. Young
immigrants, for instance, have been identified in various policy papers as having particular needs.
Figures provided by the Canadian Council for Social Development provide a rather alarming
portrait of this population. According to this study, the number of immigrant youth between the
ages of 15 and 24 living below the poverty line is almost the double (41%) of that of Canadian youth
in general (21%) (CCDS, 1998). It is also to some extent this image of poverty which was at the origin
of two recent studies in Montreal, which examined the role of community youth organisations, for
the 13 to 18 age group, in the struggle against youth poverty in two multiethnic neighbourhoods.1
Establishing Poverty Profiles
Paradoxically, it is not an image of ‘poverty’ strictly speaking which we found. It is important to note
that the notion of poverty itself is an ambiguous one. In its most widely circulated form, it is often
reduced to statistical categories based, for the most part, on economic indicators such as revenue. In
and by themselves, such indicators are insufficient for understanding the complexity and
heterogeneity of the life situations of youth. Despite the widespread acknowledgement of this fact in
academia and in social policy (CPJ, 1993; Gauthier & Mercier, 1994; Montgomery, McAll, Tremblay,
Seminaro, 2000), the use of economic indicators nonetheless remains predominant. There is a risk,
however, that such indicators become objectified as representing ‘the’ reality of populations faced
with difficult life situations, when in fact they reflect only one aspect of their life experiences.
Statistical categories may also be used simply as labels for establishing population profiles. This way
of naming populations can be highly stigmatizing for those who, despite themselves, have been
placed in pre-constructed categories and, consequently, have become ‘poor’ by ascription. This
process of stigmatization is well illustrated in our studies of the youth organisations. According to
statistical descriptions, the neighbourhoods in which the organisations are located are amongst the
most underprivileged in Montreal, some sectors being labelled as ‘poor’ and others as ‘very poor’
1
Montgomery, C., Mailloux, A., Fournier, G. Jeunes, immigration et pauvreté : vers une citoyenneté inclusive. Centre de recherche et de formation, CLSC
Côte-des-Neiges; McAll, C., Montgomery, C., LeGall, F., Felices, M., Vanbremeech, M., Henry, L. (2002) « Stratégies de lutte communautaire
contre la pauvreté », Centre de recherche et de formation, CLSC Côte-des-Neiges, internal document.
– 293 –
(Ferland, Pageau, Choinière, 1997). Most of the youth participants in the organisations live in these
sectors, which are also the target of other stigmatizing labels equating poverty and multiethnicity,
such as ‘ghetto’ and ‘Bronx’. Yet, this image of extreme poverty does not correspond to the
perceptions of the youth themselves, who tend instead to emphasise the positive aspects of their
neighbourhoods such as the ethnic diversity of their residents, the number of parks and the
community resources in their area. Nor does this image correspond to the perceptions of the
practitioners who work with them (Montgomery, Mailloux, Fournier, in press). Some commented
on the dramatisation of this portrait which is imposed on the youth by decision and policy makers.
In so doing, they were not negating the fact that some youth and their families are confronted by
very difficult living situations, but rather wanted to draw attention to the great strengths of the
population, the heterogeneity of the youth experiences and the insertion of many in existing support
networks.
The sole use of statistical categories as descriptors of youth poverty may also have the effect of
masking the real basis of poverty as a form of social exclusion. Some prefer the notion of precarity,
rather than poverty, when describing the situations experienced by youth, because it opens the field
for identifying forms of exclusion which are not always economic in character (René, 1994; Gauthier,
Molgat, Saint-Laurent, 1999). In addition to marginalisation in the job market, other forms may
include inadequate housing conditions, limited access to post-secondary education, absence of
significant social links and barriers to civic participation and spheres of decision-making
(Secrétariat de la jeunesse, 2000; Molgat, 2000; Gauthier, Molgat, Saint-Laurent, 1999). For
immigrant youth more specifically, language barriers, discrimination, immigration status and lack
of established networks have been identified as some of the obstacles which may contribute to their
exclusion in these same spheres of activity (Aubert, Tripier and Vourc’h, 1997; Potvin, 1999, 2000;
Montgomery, 2002). While some of these forms of exclusion apply more specifically to ‘older’ youth
who have already left home, they can be defined more specifically in terms of the possibility of future
access to these sectors of activity for those who are under 18 years of age.
An analysis of the barriers faced by immigrant youth, however, should not be limited to the
expression of their exclusion, but also to the modalities of their inclusion; that is, the capacities of
youth themselves to negotiate the constraints with which they are confronted (Simard, 1999;
Roulleau-Berger, 1999). Insertion in support networks, use of existing resources and the
development of skills and abilities are among the capacities which underlie inclusionary practices.
Youth policies and programmes in the 1990s have placed increasing emphasis on the role of the
community sector in developing these capacities. In 1991, the report entitled Un Québec fou de ses
enfants, recommended the creation of a coordinated service for community-youth programmes
whose objective would be to “contribute to the prevention of youth marginalisation by enabling a
useful and gratifying form of social integration” (MSSS, 1991). More recently, in 2000, the plan of
action of the Youth Summit places emphasis on participation as a central element of youth policy,
expressed in the vocabulary characteristic of recent years, “active citizenship” (Secrétariat de la
jeunesse, 2000). These declarations remain nonetheless ideals and it is worthwhile to reflect on the
way in which an ‘active citizenship’ is translated into practice for young immigrants.
– 294 –
The present paper examines more specifically the role of community youth resources in the
realisation of this objective and their capacity for constituting spaces of inclusion for youth in
multiethnic neighbourhoods. For purposes of illustration, we have limited the discussion here to a
single type of youth resource: employability projects. The choice of this type of resource reflects an
increasing preoccupation for youth employability in social policy and programmes in recent years.
This focus represents a significant shift in orientation from the 1960s when youth programmes
tended to be structured around leisure as a principal form of social participation. The increasing
emphasis on employability reflects the poor economic climate of the past decade and the perceived
urgency for measures addressing the integration of youth into the job market (Dagenais, 1996).
The projects, which we have included here, are in fact pre-employability projects in that their
mandate is to prepare youth aged 13-18 for their eventual entry into the job market. Unlike regular
employability programmes, their immediate objective is not job placement, but rather to offer a
significant learning experience and, in so doing, to encourage the development of skills and
capacities which will facilitate social and professional integration in the long term. The four projects
on which this illustration is based are all situated in multiethnic areas of the city. For the most part,
employment takes the form of odd jobs and services to the community, such as house cleaning and
painting, gardening and car washes. One of the organisations also created a small business that sells
sports equipment and accessories in a local arena. The illustration draws principally on interviews
with the project coordinators and, in one organisation, complementary interviews with the youth
participants.
Inclusion through employability
The four projects define themselves in opposition to other forms of youth employment in the
private sector, such as fast food restaurants, gas stations, clothing boutiques, food stores and
telemarketing firms. In part, this opposition can be traced to the origins of the projects. Three of the
four projects belong to a structured network of youth cooperatives, which regroup close to a
hundred such organisations across Quebec. Rather than a project developed by policy planners for
youth, the cooperatives emerged instead from within the local community, as an initiative set up by
and for youth (RQCCT, 1998). The model draws on a community-based philosophy, which places
emphasis both on alternative forms of employment and on the empowerment of collectivities. As for
the fourth project, it was also initiated by a group of youth who wanted to do something with their
summers, but who weren’t interested in the types of employment they could find elsewhere. Like the
others, this project is also strongly grounded in the community network of the neighbourhood.
Thus, in all cases not only were youth involved in initiating the organisations but, unlike the private
sector, the objectives which underlie them are both social and economic.
These projects also differ from other forms of youth employment by the skills which are acquired.
They do not only provide jobs, but rather constitute learning experiences. The emphasis on learning
is well expressed in the following account by one of the organisation coordinators:
We help them to have rich experiences of all sorts. Rich, that’s a big word…
Financially, it gives them a certain wealth in their minds. Then there is the
diversity of the tasks that have to be performed, that’s another type of wealth.
– 295 –
[…] If the youth is open enough, information is stocked up and, with time, it
creates something. It creates strengths. It is a good trampoline.
The skills acquired are essentially of four types. First, youth develop work and organisational skills.
In addition to the more manual skills related to the tasks being performed (i.e. painting, gardening,
distributing pamphlets), they also learn how to communicate with clients, evaluate the quality of
their work and manage their time. In the cooperative projects more specifically, the youth are also
involved in the management of the projects and learn how to draw up budgets, set up marketing
campaigns and organize work schedules. For the participants, this type of work is much less routine
than in private sector jobs. Second, these projects encourage the development of autonomy and the
capacity of youth to make their own decisions and choices. As one participant noted, “Sure we’re
guided [by the coordinator], but we have to decide ourselves to do things. When you work anywhere
else, you have a boss who tells you to ‘do this’ and you do it. [The project] enables us to have sense of
initiative”. Third, the participants learn the importance of teamwork. Although they do have some
individual contracts, all the projects encourage collective contracts which reinforce group
solidarities. Organizing neighbourhood festivities, holding car washes and working for the local
recycling centres are among some of the examples. In the cooperatives, the participants must also
work as a group in order to ensure the internal functioning of the projects. The construction of
solidarities, however, goes beyond the work-related tasks. For the participants, the team spirit that
emerged during the summer was one of the most positive aspects of their experience, as the
following comment suggests: “What I liked was the team. We had a super solidarity. Anyway, we cried
at the end, it was so good”. Finally, a greater awareness of the community and its resources were
among the forms of knowledge acquired by the youth. The development of a social consciousness
was part of the explicit mandates of some of the organisations which specifically look for contracts
which will benefit the local community, such as drives to collect old clothing and furniture for
distribution among the aid organisations in the neighbourhood, painting a community centre and
doing clean-up in local parks.
For immigrant youth more specifically, the projects provide other types of tools which can facilitate
their access to societal resources. With the exception of one project, the composition of the groups
reflects the diversity of origins within their respective neighbourhoods. Generally speaking, this
diversity is highly valorized and, in itself, is considered to be a form of protection for the youth. Since
diversity is the norm in these projects, the participants in the study suggested that do not feel singled
out for being different, whether because of language, skin colour, immigration status or country of
origin. This perception is well expressed by one participant who commented that “one of the
advantages is that you find yourself with people from all sorts of different cultures and you don’t feel
alone. For example, if I go to an area where there are just ‘québécois’, people look at me differently”.
However, while diversity is valorized, one of the project coordinators emphasised that they do not
attempt to “artificially maintain differences” within the group. That is, intervention strategies are
not necessarily adapted along ethnic lines. Instead, participants are considered first and foremost as
youth and only secondly as immigrant youth (Montgomery, Mailloux, Fournier, in press). Another
coordinator commented on two of the principal challenges of intervention in a multiethnic context:
the isolation of some immigrant youth and the tendency for others to group together in ‘cliques’
comprised of individuals from the same origin. In either case, the project creates a common space for
– 296 –
interaction intended to break the solitude of the first and, for the latter, to promote opportunities
for contacts with youth from other origins. In this sense, the project becomes a sort of pretext for
encouraging interaction between youth from different origins: “There is also an objective related to
the group dynamic itself. [T]hrough the pretext of an economic activity [it] brings together youth
from different milieu, different cultures, different origins, different socio-economic strata”.
For youth who do not have a full command of either French or English, the contacts with other
youth create an ideal context for immersion. This was the case, for instance, of two participants who
had been in Quebec for less than a year. In both cases, the youth believe that the organisation was
instrumental in improving their language skills. One commented more specifically on the fact that
his participation in the project enabled him to put into practice what he had learned only in books
at school:
I remember the first meeting [of the project]. I didn’t understand […] I learned
French at school, but I didn’t know how to speak with people. I just learned
French in general. But when I am at work or in a group it is so different. It is a
very serious thing. It is very good, because at school we talk about how to talk,
easy things like how to borrow a book […] at school I will just learn a bit of
French.
The development of work-related skills, autonomy, group solidarities, social consciousness,
tolerance and language skills all constitute forms of power for the immigrant youth who frequent
these projects. It is in this sense too that these projects can be considered as spaces of inclusion; that
is, spaces in which they acquire the abilities necessary for exercising a greater degree of control over
their life situations. These abilities form part of what is commonly referred to as the process of
empowerment (Ninacs, 1995). The practitioners in the studies were reluctant to use this term,
suggesting that it has been appropriated by decision and policy makers and, consequently, has lost
much of its grounding in practice. Despite the differences in terminology, however, there was a
general consensus as to the role of the projects in better equipping youth for negotiating barriers
which they might encounter in the access to diverse resources, whether in terms of employment or
other domains of activity.
The Other Side of Inclusion
The line of demarcation between inclusion and exclusion, however, is sometimes a fine one. Those
who benefit from the projects, as would be expected, are those who participate in them. An analysis
of the recruitment strategies, however, reveals some systemic barriers which limit the participation
of some youth.
For instance, although the origins of the youth in three of the employability projects were
representative of the composition of their respective neighbourhoods, the fourth organisation was
comprised almost exclusively of young ‘French Canadians’, despite important concentrations of
Haitian and Italian youth in the sector. In this project, the recruitment is done by the participants
themselves. While this role is an important one in terms of the acquisition of decision-making skills
and group autonomy, the findings reveal a tendency towards an auto-selection which reinforces the
homogeneity of the group. Those selected to participate belong to already constituted networks
– 297 –
formed for the most part at school. In the explanation given by the coordinator for the absence of
these youth, the process of selection is not called into question. Instead, the coordinator invokes
cultural and familial reasons. On the one hand, it is suggested that it is not part of the cultural
universe of these youth to participate in this type of organized activity and, on the other, that these
youth need to earn more money than the project can offer because they have to complement poor
family revenues. Given the fact that youth from these two origins are active in the other projects,
however, it would appear that this explanation stems more from stereotyped images projected on
these youth, rather than from objective facts. In another organisation, one of the youth animators
commented on the difficulties in working with youth who have significant language barriers. In her
recommendations at the end of the summer, she wrote that “one of the characteristics of the youth
should be the requirement that they be bilingual, given the presence of English and French in the
neighbourhood”. Although this point of view was opposed to that of the project coordinator, it
nonetheless illustrates the way in which exclusionary practices can seep through even despite the
valorization of diversity on a discursive level.
The exclusion of some youth from the projects is not only expressed in terms of ethnic origin or
language skills, but also in terms of other types of differences. For instance, the coordinator of the
project in which recruitment was a responsibility of the youth, noted that the group tended to select
‘strong’ participants: “At the moment, I have very strong personalities […]. When someone arrives
who is a bit slower, it doesn’t work, it creates conflicts. I have names on a list, but they know each
other at school. ‘Ah! That one isn’t very swift. We won’t take him’. That’s the way it is. Because they
are very strong, they are pretty well at the same level.” This tendency to select strong candidates was
also noted in the other organisations. When asked about the profiles of their participants, they used
such descriptors as “those who are better equipped”, “easier youth”, youth who are “pretty well
oriented in what they want to do”. Also, youth who are experiencing difficulties at school or who
have abandoned it altogether are not allowed to participate in one of the organisations.
We are thus confronted by a dilemma. On the one hand, the underlying objectives of youth
employability programmes are to give a helping hand to youth in precarious living conditions. While
it is true that the participants in these projects all live in sectors which have been designated as ‘poor’
or ‘very poor’, the findings suggest that it is not necessarily those whose life situations are the most
difficult who are benefiting the most from the projects. This is not to say that the projects are not
worthwhile. On the contrary, the studies suggest that those who do participate do acquire skills and
abilities which can facilitate their social and professional insertion. In this sense, the projects do play
an instrumental role in the neighbourhoods where they are situated. The question that should be
addressed is rather how to facilitate the access of youth who are confronted with more significant
integration barriers, whether because of their origins, language skills or other characteristics.
The reflection around this question proved a very rewarding part of the second study. In fact, two of
the project coordinators had acknowledged themselves that the composition of the groups was
directly linked to intervention practices and that, unconsciously, these practices tended to produce a
certain type of group. During the summer, both experimented with new ways of integrating youth in
more precarious situations. One organisation, for instance, adopted a strategy of ‘non-selection’, as
they called it. This strategy consisted in publicizing the activities of the organisation early in the year
– 298 –
and letting anyone interested participate. In this way, there was no pre-selection of the youth by the
organisation itself. Instead, the selection was done by the youth themselves who chose to stay or to
leave by their own accord. As for the second organisation, it began doing more outreach in the
schools in order to reach a greater range of potential participants. Social workers in the schools were
also contacted to help identify youth with special needs. In terms of recruitment, these methods did
enable the coordinators to change the profiles of their groups, which became more a mix between
‘easier’ youth and those confronted with more difficulties.
Despite the commitment and enthusiasm to integrate these youth, it became clear that other factors
related more specifically to internal interaction dynamics also contributed to the marginalisation of
these youth within the groups. The other participants, for instance, were highly critical of the lack of
motivation and maturity of those considered to be ‘different’ from the group norm. When asked to
give their opinion on the integration of youth facing more significant difficulties within the
organisation, the responses of the participants were divided. For some, it was a categorical no.
Others were more discrete in their answers and acknowledged the role that the organisation could
play for them, but at the same time were hesitant about letting them participate in ‘their’
organisation. Their reaction can be illustrated by two incidents which occurred in one of the
projects. In the first, the participants had a contract to animate activities for children during a
neighbourhood festival. One of the participants, whose job was to supervise the games, got bored
and left without telling anyone and the group had to replace him at the last minute. This youth had
already been ‘spotted’ by the others as being problematical. They accused him of undermining the
reputation of the organisation with regards to the client and, after reflection, decided to expulse him
from the project for an indeterminate period of time. In the second example, the group reacted
negatively to two participants who had very significant language barriers. According to the other
participants, the presence of these persons created significant communication barriers for the group
as a whole, both in internal interaction within the group and in contacts with clients. Despite the
general respect for diversity within the project, in which all of the participants are from different
origins and speak with accents, some of the youths’ accounts displayed in fact very little compassion
for these particular individuals. The following comment, for instance, demonstrates the distance
that can exist between the ideal of tolerance and its application:
What I didn’t like was that there were some persons…. There were some who
didn’t really speak French or English. When you’re with them, you don’t really
know what to do to speak with them. Because they don’t speak French or
English, they can’t really do anything, because if you ask them to do
something they will answer ‘I don’t know [understand]’. That’s what I really
didn’t like, because there were two-three who were with us. That’s the
problem. They hardly do anything.
On the one hand, these examples illustrate the way in which groups may act as a block to protect
their interests, for instance, the reputation of the organisation. On the other hand, they also
demonstrate the limits of inclusion for those who are perceived as being a threat to the cohesion of
the group.
– 299 –
Conclusion
The four employability projects examined in the present paper do constitute important tools in the
preparation of youth for long term social and professional integration. In addition to providing an
opportunity to acquire valuable knowledge and skills, in most cases they create a significant space
for interaction between youth from a wide diversity of origins. As the findings suggest, however, this
role seems to benefit most those who are already reasonably well ‘equipped’ for realising their
personal projects and dreams.
In the field, the integration of youth facing more serious barriers of integration—whether because of
language skills, origin or other factors of ‘difference’—is more complex. Although an unintended
consequence, there appears nonetheless to be a tendency for these projects to select ‘easier’ youth
who are more likely to adapt to the group dynamic. Meanwhile, the experimentation of new
methods of recruitment in two of the organisations demonstrates the importance of a certain
reflexivity in intervention and a willingness to constantly rethink actions in order to better attain
their objectives with respect to those in more precarious situations. The internal youth dynamic
remains a significant barrier to the inclusion of youth who do not ‘fit’ into the group image. Who
does, and does not, correspond to this image cannot be defined solely in terms of ethnic origin, since
most of the projects are multiethnic in composition. Despite this fact, however, they are not
completely immune to prejudicial stereotypes. In the day-to-day operation of the projects,
exclusionary practices do exist, which may reinforce the marginalisation of those considered to be
outside of the group ‘norm’.
It is possible too that this marginalisation is reinforced by the mandate of employability in these
projects. Despite the social objectives (i.e. integration, services to the community, development of a
critical consciousness) which accompany the economic objectives, the projects must ‘sell’ their
services in a ‘market’. Granted, this ‘market’ is largely within the local community, which is perhaps
more accepting than private sector employment for youth. Nonetheless, market imperatives such as
reputation, quality, and client satisfaction did seem to come into play in the group dynamic. These
pressures of employability, by which the group acted in reaction to client accountability, also brings
the group to sanction those who they perceive as posing a threat to the success of ‘their’ business.
Youth with significant communication barriers and those described as ‘lacking motivation’ are thus
caught up in a double constraint. Singled out for their ‘difference’ from the group norm, they are
also considered by the other youth participants to be obstacles to the collective effort. Due to the
small number of employability projects in the samples, these findings must be taken with some
degree of caution. They do nonetheless illustrate the limits of inclusion and the challenges with
which these projects are faced in the struggle to combat the precarious living situations of some
categories of youth.
Acknowledgements
The presentation is based on two research projects funded by the Conseil québécois de la recherche
sociale: Jeunes, immigration et pauvreté : vers une citoyenneté inclusive (directed by C. Montgomery) and
Stratégies de lutte communautaire contre la pauvreté (directed by C. McAll). The study was made possible
by a great number of persons. We would like to thank in particular Georges Fournier, Juan Perez,
– 300 –
Sylvie Sylvain and Roger Côté, all community organizers. Their input in the early stages of the
project and throughout the fieldwork was indispensable. We would also like to thank the numerous
practitioners and participants in the community projects who participated, directly or indirectly, in
the study.
Biographical Notes
Catherine Montgomery, Ph.D., is a Social Researcher at the CLSC Côte-des-Neiges and Adjunct
Professor in Sociology at McGill University. Specialized in questions relating to immigration and
social inequalities, her recent research work examines more specifically the difficulties faced by
young refugees and immigrants in the process of integration.
Annie Mailloux is a Social Worker at the CLSC Côte-des-Neiges. She works primarily in
neighbourhood schools where there are important concentrations of young immigrants. In addition
to her responsibilities in the schools, she was involved in the fieldwork for one of the research
projects on which the presentation is based (Jeunes, immigration et pauvreté : vers une citoyenneté
inclusive).
Christopher McAll, Ph.D., is a Professor in Sociology at the Université de Montréal. His recent
research work has focussed particularly on social inequalities and poverty. He also directed the
second project on which this presentation is based (Stratégies de lutte communautaire contre la pauvreté).
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no. 2, p. 56-67.
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citoyen dans la société moderne. Montreal: Les Presses de l’Université de Montréal
Regroupement québécois des coopérateurs et coopératrices du travail (RQCCT). 1997. CJS. Pour la promotion de la santé et du bien-être.
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FAMILY AND SCHOOLS TOGETHER CANADA
PROGRAMME DESCRIPTION
B Y : J UDI VARGA -T OTH , M . A .
NATIONAL PROGRAMMES MANAGER
FAMILY SERVICE CANADA
Introduction
The rise in child poverty in Canada has been well documented and has developed as an area of
particular social concern over the past several years. As a society, we all want what is best for our
children and want to see them live a happy, healthy and fulfilling life. However, for families living in
poverty, such a future might not seem so optimistic or attainable. Fortunately our publicly funded
school system is ideally suited to partner with organizations which offer academic and social skills
training to children and families in need. As a way of enhancing positive social skills and helping
families in need, Family Service Canada, a national non-profit voluntary organization which
represents the concerns of families and family serving agencies, has worked with schools and
communities to implement a family strengthening and community-building programme called
Families and Schools Together Canada (F&ST). F&ST is a research-based approach with roots in family
therapy and family stress theory and was originally developed by Dr. Lynn McDonald at a local
family service agency in Madison, Wisconsin in 1988. Family Service Canada partnered with the
Alliance for Children and Families in the United States to deliver this American-developed model in
1996. Hundreds of school-based F&ST teams have been systematically trained and evaluated in
43 states, Canada and five other countries with a variety of federal, state, foundation and local
funding supports.
What is F&ST?
Families and Schools Together is a school-based, collaborative, family focused programme designed to
increase the self-esteem and improve the outcomes of at-risk pre-school, elementary and middle
years children and youth by supporting the natural strength of the family unit. A benefit of the
model is its multi-disciplinary approach. A trained team that includes a community health partner,
a school partner, an addictions partner, and a parent partner lead the programme. The Middle Years
Programme has an additional three team members to help facilitate the programme: another parent
partner, a youth partner and a youth advocate partner. Family profile data collected over five years of
programme operation in Canada shows that nearly 20% of families that participate in F&ST receive
some form of social assistance and approximately 44% have a family income of less than $20,000.
Families and Schools Together aims to:
I.
Enhance family functioning.
◆
Strengthen the parent-child relationship in specific and focused ways.
– 303 –
◆
Empower the parents to help them become the primary prevention agents for their own
children.
II. Prevent the at-risk child from experiencing school failure.
◆
Improve the child’s behaviour and performance in school, both short-term and long-term.
◆
Empower the parents in their role as partners in the educational process.
◆
Increase the child’s and family’s feelings of affiliation toward their school.
III. Prevent substance abuse by the child and family.
◆
Increase the family’s knowledge and awareness of substance abuse, and the impact of
substance abuse upon child development.
◆
Link the family to appropriate assessment and treatment services, as needed.
IV. Reduce the stress that parents and children experience from daily life situations.
◆
Develop on ongoing support group for parents of at-risk children.
◆
Link the family to appropriate community resources and services, as needed.
◆
Build the resilience and social networks of each family member.
As a prevention and early intervention programme, Families and Schools Together works to support and
encourage children in poverty by focussing on healthy family functioning to help reduce risk factors
associated with living in poverty such as: social isolation, disorganized neighbourhoods, lack of job
opportunities, alcohol and substance abuse and depression. By providing the skills to enhance
family functioning and increase family bonds, families and children in poverty can come together in
times of stress/crisis rather than letting the stress run their lives, breaking down the family unit and
putting all members at risk for anti-social behaviour. Furthermore, because it is a community
building programme as well as family building programme, parents and children develop social
support networks that help alleviate the feelings of isolation and hopelessness often associated with
living in poverty.
Results of Winnipeg, Manitoba Two-Year Follow-Up Study
The Family Centre of Winnipeg and the Children and Youth Secretariat of the
provincial government have been collaborating on a two-year, comprehensive
evaluation of the overall impact of the programme in the Winnipeg area. Over
the first two years of this study, F&ST has been delivered at five schools in
Winnipeg (Machray, Margaret Park, Lavalee, Wellington, and Glenwood).
Combined, these schools have hosted twelve eight-week cycles of F&ST for
88 families, with a combined total of over 400 individuals graduating from
the programme. In general, recruitment and attrition issues are common
barriers to parental involvement in any family-based intervention. Prior
research documents that approximately 30% of families that begin an 8-12
week intervention are likely to drop out prior to completing the programme.
– 304 –
Despite these difficulties, 98% of families invited to participate in F&ST
attended and 94% graduated by attending at least six of the eight weekly
sessions. Comparable national data show a consistent 92% retention rate for
F&ST across Canada.
Results after one year of the study give the following results. Family profile
data in Winnipeg show that approximately 60% of mothers and fathers have
finished high school education; 37% of women and 49% of men have some
education beyond high school. Fifty-six percent of families have annual
incomes of less than $20,000. Twenty-four percent of families derive some
portion of their income from social assistance.
The Winnipeg study used the same instruments to evaluate the impact of the
programme as other sites across Canada and the USA. However, in addition,
the Children and Youth Secretariat extended their evaluation to follow
families for two years after completion and included a supplementary scale to
measure family coping. One of the primary instruments used is the Revised
Behaviour Problem Checklist—RBPC (Quay & Peterson, 1987) to measure the
programme’s impact on conduct disorder and three other behaviour scales
associated with poor child outcomes: attention, anxiety, and motor excess.
Using the RBPC, both teachers and parents rate target children prior to
programme participation and immediately after as well as six months, one
year and two years after completion.
Parent Ratings
The differences between pre-F&ST and post-F&ST scores on all four scales
were statistically significant after programme completion. While subsequent
scores were not significantly different from previous ratings, the overall
direction of change, over time, indicates that the positive behaviour changes
are maintained after one year (results of the two-year follow up are not yet
analysed).
Teacher Ratings
Similarly, teacher ratings on all four behaviour scales also decline over time.
With respect to the Conduct Disorder scale, the changes in scores from
baseline are not statistically significant until compared to the scores at one
year. The same is true for the Attention scale. However, the differences
between pre-F&ST and post-F&ST scores on Anxiety and Motor Excess scales
are significant. Comparable national data show that there is a highly
consistent and statistically significant overall decrease in problems as
measured by the RBPC of 25% as reported by both parents and teachers.
– 305 –
Connections to Community Services, Supports and Resources
All participants in this F&ST study completed a questionnaire that measures
families’ involvement in a series of activities and organisations.
The results indicate that following F&ST, a substantial percentage of families
that previously were not participating in the listed activities have subsequently
become involved. The percentage of families involved in church, voluntary
organisations, further education and employment have notably increased.
Thirty-six (36%) percent of families that were not employed at baseline have
either part-time or full-time work six months after F&ST and one year later
the percentage has increased to over forty-five (45%) percent.
Identification and Referral
The school’s teachers complete screening protocols to identify children with problematic behaviours
who are considered to be at-risk for serious future academic, health and social problems. For
students who are referred to the programme, the F&ST school partner will contact the parents to
obtain permission for other F&ST team members to conduct a home visit to explain the programme.
A family’s introduction to F&ST consists of a home visit by a community health professional and a
F&ST parent graduate. They explain the programme and issue an invitation. F&ST partners are
sensitive to different family needs and work with the parent to identify and resolve any potential
barriers to participation such as: transportation, childcare, scheduling and employment conflicts.
Programme Design/Activities/Strategies
Families and Schools Together brings 10-15 families together for a series of 8 or 11 weekly sessions
in the evening at their local school. They participate in activities that have been specifically designed,
based on research, to build parents’ confidence and to give them new tools for effective parenting. All
family members, from the youngest to the oldest, are encouraged to attend each session. The F&ST
curriculum follows the same routine every week. This structure and routine is modeled for chaotic
families to help them develop structure in their own home and family life. Although the curriculum
is consistent from week to week, the specific activities vary and are structured in age-appropriate
ways to provide different types of stimulation for the families and to meet the different
developmental needs of the at-risk children.
The following is a basic agenda for F&ST:
1.
F&ST ‘Hello’
◆
A simple greeting that involves the introduction of each individual family member and a
general greeting from the other F&ST families.
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2.
3.
Family Meal
◆
Families eat dinner as a unit at separate tables, thus providing members with the opportunity
to sit down and share a meal together as a family ritual which they may not otherwise be able
to do.
◆
Each week, one of the families prepares the meal for the rest of the F&ST group.
F&ST Song/Music
◆
4.
Family Time
◆
5.
For 15 minutes, all F&ST families get together and sing the F&ST theme song or ‘I Think
You’re Wonderful’ and various other songs as selected by different families.
A 30-minute period in which each family gets together as a unit and participates in a variety
of games and activities, such as Feeling Charades and Scribbles
Parent Buddy Time and Parent Group
◆
Parents and children/youth are separated for 55 minutes. While the children go off for
supervised recreation, parents participate in one-on-one discussion with another adult. If a
parent is at the session with his/her partner, the parent must spend the 15 minutes talking
with his/her partner. If the parent is a single-parent or a partner is not present for that
session, then the parent is paired up with another adult for adult interaction.
◆
The following 40 minutes are dedicated to parent group discussion. Parents are given the
opportunity to share experiences and coping strategies with regard to handling conflict,
addiction and other issues they might be experiencing at that time.
F&ST Club/Kids’ Play
1.
◆
Following Family Time, the children/youth are separated into two groups: one with only the
at-risk F&ST children/youth and one with the remaining children/youth.
◆
Children/youth participated in activities designed to build their self-esteem and socialization
skills and reinforce positive behaviours.
One-to-One Time/Special Play
◆
The at-risk child/youth receives one-to-one quality time with his/her primary caregiver for
15 minutes. One-to-one time is designed for youth in the Middle Years Programme and the
Special Play time is designed for the children at the elementary school level. During the
One-to-One time, youths and their parents engage in structured conversation with specific
rules about various issues that they have been experiencing recently. Special Play involves
child and parent engaging in some sort of game, sport or other activity together where the
child gives instructions on what to do and how to do it.
◆
The parents and children/youth are instructed to participate in one-to-one time at home
daily as well as during the weekly sessions.
– 307 –
◆
2.
3.
The activity opens communication to help build the child’s self-esteem, reinforce positive
parent-child ties and increases the child’s resilience. It also increases the child’s sense of power
in the family unit and bonding between parent and child.
Door Prize draw
◆
Involves a draw for a basket of prizes worth approximately $35 that usually includes
something for each family member, a household item, and a family game to continue
supporting and strengthening family togetherness.
◆
The draw is rigged so that each family wins. The children and youth do not know that the
draw is rigged. The parents know that the draw is guaranteed and random but they do not
know what week their family will win.
Closing Circle and “Rain”
◆
Family members are invited to share any recent special events (i.e. birthdays),
accomplishments, experiences, etc. with the entire F&ST group. After each announcement,
the entire group claps.
◆
“Rain” is a nonverbal, meditative exercise that makes everyone feel special and fosters a sense
of closeness. It works to help end the evening with families feeling calm and positive as they
depart.
Given that F&ST is a research-based programme, it is important to discuss the reasoning behind the
various programme activities. The following are some of the key components of the F&ST
programme and their research foundations:
Research Foundations
Carl Dunst, a developmental psychologist who has done tremendous research on children and their
families, explored various ways of encouraging the participation of families and building the
empowerment of parents in various social programmes. In his research he explains the importance
of the universal cultural rule of reciprocity: if you receive, then you want to give back. Accordingly,
Dunst suggests that structuring opportunities for reciprocity, rather than only giving to parents,
increases their self-esteem, and also diminishes their feelings of helplessness and dependency. It is
essential to the empowerment of parents who are low-income to exchange, barter, and reciprocate.
To only receive and not expect giving in return is often offensive. So in a given F&ST session, the
family that won the door prize package during the previous F&ST session provides the meal for all
of the other F&ST families. Thus, in exchange for being the winners, they become the hosts for the
next week. The goal is that parents will feel a sense of accomplishment and pride in providing a meal
for everyone.
Research identifies that in a family at-risk for alcohol involvement, such as families under stress,
family activities without alcohol strengthen the likelihood of children not becoming alcoholics.
Rituals that are shared together as a unit and that do not include the presence of alcohol, build
family resistance to transmission of alcohol and other drug abuse. All of the F&ST activities focus on
– 308 –
respect, honesty, communication and fun and provide the necessary tools to engage in family
activities without alcohol.
Findings by Egeland at the University of Minnesota suggest that high stress combined with social
isolation can increase the likelihood of child abuse and neglect. She argues that activities that
promote group cohesiveness and reduce social isolation are an antidote for highly stressed families.
The verbal and nonverbal components of all F&ST activities shared by everyone at a Families and
Schools Together session help build feelings of affiliation and group cohesion and thus help reduce the
impact of stress.
Similarly, research on childhood resiliency in the face of adversity suggests that relationships and
support enhance the child’s ability to cope with various stressors. Time with peers in age-appropriate
activity, while knowing where there parents are and that they are safely busy, facilitates the child’s (or
youth’s) own peer network with other children from the same neighbourhood and school.
In families experiencing multiple stressors, including poverty and unemployment, Reuben Hill
found that two protective factors stood out: social support and the perception which the family had about
the stressors. According to Hill, perception was about optimism and the family’s ability to reframe a
perceived disaster into an opportunity for growth and change. Families and Schools Together addresses
negative perceptions with the weekly selection of a “winning family”. The designation as ‘winners’
places focus on the winning family and merits the applause of the F&ST group. The experience of
winning as a family and being at the center of attention helps instil hope in the family and build
self-esteem.
Deborah Belle’s research of mothers suffering from poverty and depression showed that these
mothers interacted with their children in negative ways: neglecting them when they were
preoccupied, hostility, anger, and sometimes potentially abusive interactions when the child tried to
engage with their mothers. Belle found that when these mothers had a supportive, intimate, daily,
adult relationship, interactions with their children were not as harmful. Each week in Families and
Schools Together, the Buddy Time activity allows the parents to have a taste of the supportive one-toone time they each need to build intimate relationships with other parents. Parent Buddy Time helps
parents reduce stress, change their perceptions of stress and curb any negative and potentially
harmful reactions to stress that can affect the health of their children.
Similarly, Werner and Smith conducted a 25-year study of over 600 children of families in Hawaii
who had multiple problems, including living in poverty. They analyzed the data to identify the
resilient survivor children of these unfortunate circumstances. One of their major findings was that
the mother needed to have other adults supporting her parenting and sharing with the burdens of
parenting. Such social support helped to produce a child who, during his/her developmental years,
could and did survive the isolation, oppression, illnesses, and poor housing conditions characteristic
of their impoverished lifestyle. In this case, developing a parent support network that shares the
impact of raising children under stressful circumstances, proved to increase the resilience and the
mental and physical health of children at-risk. This ideology is exemplified in F&ST’s 40-minute
Parent Group and 15-minute Buddy Time activities.
– 309 –
Programme Evaluation
Since the first implementation of F&ST, there has been a commitment to both process evaluation
and outcome evaluation of each new site-based implementation. The success of the F&ST
programme has been documented through ongoing evaluation of these programme outcomes at
sites throughout Canada, the United States and Australia. Evaluation reports of the F&ST
programme include measurements of specific indicators (including The Revised Behaviour Problem
Checklist, Quay & Peterson 1987 and The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale, Olson, Portner & Lavee,
1982, 1986) as well as narrative responses by participating parents and children. By using an openended questionnaire, parents and children are able to provide feedback regarding their thoughts on
the program and the changes F&ST has introduced into their lives.
Programme Effectiveness
Statistically and anecdotally, the impacts of the F&ST programme are profoundly positive. Thus,
the value of the F&ST programme can be stated in two words: It works! Results after the
8-week programmes show clear improvements in the child’s classroom behaviours, home
behaviours, self-esteem, and in family closeness, parent involvement in school and social support.
Follow-up data suggest that children continue to improve and many parents self-refer for
counselling and substance abuse treatment, get part-time or full-time jobs, go back to school and
attend community events (as seen in Winnipeg study).
Conclusion
Essentially, the Families and Schools Together programme is structured to reduce feelings of loneliness,
of defectiveness or dysfunction, of failure, and to increase feelings of connectedness, competence,
and of victory. Families and Schools Together recognizes the central importance of providing support for
parents and schools in order that they may encourage their children to become the best they can be
and to overcome the barriers that their impoverished circumstance has built up against them.
Working together in a comprehensive partnership, families, schools and community-based
professionals join together to help reduce risk factors and improve outcomes for children. Given the
current academic and governmental interest in the emerging field of Social Capital, the F&ST
approach is a timely and proven vehicle to further examine the multi-faceted and complex role that
social capital plays in the lives of Canadian families. In the context of increasing child poverty, and
thus family poverty, in Canada, it is all the more important that such approaches be thoroughly
evaluated and examined in order to determine its applicability to realities faced by Canadian families
with children, living in poverty.
– 310 –
PROJECT SMART—A PROGRAM EVALUATION:
A HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAM FOCUSING UPON
TEENAGE PREGNANCY AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE ABSTINENCE
B Y : E. J ANE I RONS , E D . D .
A S S O C I A T E P R O F E S S O R OF T E A C H E R E D U C A T I O N
EXTERNAL PROGRAM EVALUATOR
TEXAS WOMAN ’S UNIVERSITY
DENTON , T EXAS , U.S.A.
P HYLLIS S IMPSON , P H . D .
DIRECTOR , P ROJECT SMART
D I R E C T O R OF H E A L T H E D U C A T I O N
DALLAS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
DALLAS , T EXAS , U.S.A.
Abstinence Only: Education for 12-Year-Old Urban Minority Youth
The reported use of drugs and alcohol at younger ages, high numbers of teen pregnancies in the early
1990s, and heightened awareness of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) precipitated
national concern for the health of children. In 1996 welfare reform legislation provided funding for
abstinence only programs nationwide (Brown, 1997; Coles, 1999a; Kato, 1998), and Public Law
104-193 funded over 700 abstinence-only grants to education agencies and community-based
organizations by 1999 (Rabasca, 1999). Although abstinence-only programs existed in the 1980s,
published evaluation results focused primarily on white, middle-class, high school students who
may have been less at risk for pre-marital sexual activity than low income minority students
(Christopher & Roosa, 1990). Project Students Making Abstinence Real Today (SMART) is an
abstinence-only program developed and implemented by the Dallas Independent School District.
This paper discusses preliminary results of a longitudinal program evaluation of Project SMART,
which focuses upon 12- to 13-year-old inner-city minority youth. The framework for the paper
includes the following topics: abstinence-only programs, Project Students Making Abstinence Real
Today (SMART), evaluation results, and implications.
Abstinence Only Programs
From the 1960s into the 1980s, there was public opposition to any form of sexuality education
within the public school curriculum and only two states and the District of Columbia maintained
sex education programs in the public schools (Bailey & Piercy, 1997). With the rapid rise in teen birth
rates during the 1980s public concern generated initiatives for reducing teen births and by 1989
two-thirds of the states had initiated policies for AIDS and sexuality education (Blinn-Pike, Berger,
& Rea-Holloway, 2000).
Public Law 104-193 specified that abstinence-only programs must offer mentoring, counseling,
adult supervision, and promote abstinence from sexual activity until marriage without use of birth
– 311 –
control methods (Coles, 1999b). Funding for abstinence only programs required the states to
provide a 75% cost match (Gough, 1997). During the first two years of funding most of the states
applied for and received abstinence-only funds using different approaches for matching fund
requirements. Over 90% of the states funded abstinence-only programs in local public school
districts. About one-third of the state programs targeted children under age 10, while over half
targeted children ages 10 to 14 and 15 to 17. Finding appropriate and approved abstinence-only
education curriculum was problematic (“Abstinence Education in the States,” 2001).
Project SMART
SMART is an abstinence-only education program that teaches the importance of attaining
self-sufficiency before engaging in sexual activity. The application of a social learning theory
approach to abstinence integrates factual abstinence information and training. Project SMART is
designed to trigger healthy behaviors by integrating mentoring with persuasion and encouragement
tactics and providing incentives and praise as reinforcement of the abstinence message.
Males and females enter SMART in grade 6 and continue the curriculum and activities through high
school. Participants engage in more than 110 hours of knowledge and skills activities each year
through 8 different components. SMART has adopted the FACTS curriculum. A FACT is taught by
a campus liaison who is trained to use the curriculum. This curriculum addresses dating,
self-respect, decision-making, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, physical fitness, nutrition, AIDS, and
abstinence. Other activities include community partners from the Urban League or other agencies
who meet with the SMART participants once or twice a semester to discuss goals, leadership skills,
and decision-making. Each girl identifies a faculty member to serve as her mentor. Mentors meet
with the girls at least twice a month for 30 to 45 minutes. The physical education faculty or a
community partner conducts weekly fitness or dance instruction. A National Service Learning
Coordinator assists the campus SMART program liaison with implementing a service learning
community caring project once each year. Cultural events are provided through collaboration
between the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs and the Dallas Public Schools ARTS partners
where music, dance, and theater opportunities are provided. An annual awards ceremony recognizes
the achievement of students and celebrates the commitment of mentors, liaisons, administrators,
and parents. Parents are invited to participate in workshops. The parent workshops are conducted
by trained facilitators of a nationally recognized parent program sponsored by the National
Education Association and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
SMART Student Participants
Dallas Independent School District is classified as a large urban district. The ethnic composition of
students is 49.4% Hispanic, 39.4% African American, 9.2% White, 1.6% Asian, and 0.4% American
Indian. The SMART program targets both male and female students, grade 6 through grade 10. The
elementary schools for initial participation were selected by Dallas County Health Department zip
code information regarding the number of sexually transmitted diseases in the adolescent
population below 19 years of age. The second criteria used for selection was the number of reported
cases of unintended pregnancies recorded by school nurses in each school. Students at each of the
– 312 –
eight campuses were selected by administrators, recommended by teachers, and approved to
participate by parents. About 50 students per campus were selected each year of the program with an
initial group of about 350. Selection criteria included the desire to participate, commitment to
complete the program activities, and a parental involvement commitment. Project SMART is now in
the third year of implementation. Student and parent data were not analyzed during start-up
because instruments were being developed and field-tested. During the second year data were
collected during both fall and spring semesters from student participants and from a comparison
group during the spring. A discussion of differences found between spring semester SMART
students and comparison group student responses and results of a parent perception survey follow.
Characteristics of Student Respondents
Two hundred and eighty-nine students completed a student risk survey developed for project
SMART. The majority of the sample were 12-year-old females in the sixth grade. Ethnic composition
was 50% African American and 46% Hispanic. Of the total 289 students, 204 participated in project
SMART and 85 completed the survey who did not participate in project SMART, the comparison
group. Survey responses were analyzed using the chi-square statistic at the .05 level of significance.
Results of interest follow.
Results of Student Risk Survey—Significant Differences
SMART participants (N=204)
Comparison Group (N=85)
The mother was rated as the individual with whom 50% of all respondents stated they would discuss
sexual abstinence. X2 (8, N = 261) = 15.71, p< .05 suggests some differences in responses between
SMART participants and the comparison group with almost twice the percentage of comparison
students discussing sexual abstinence with their brother and more than three times the percentage
discussing sexual abstinence with their sister. None of the comparison group would discuss sexual
abstinence with their teacher in contrast to about 4% of the SMART group.
X2 (8, M = 264) = 18.34, p<. 05 suggests different responses to whom is considered the most
important person to talk to about the importance of abstinence from the use of alcohol, tobacco and
other drugs. The majority of SMART (47%) and comparison (39%) would discuss substance use with
their mother. Almost twice the percentage of the comparison group to their brother. Conversely,
more than twice the percentage of the SMART group talk to their sister than the comparison group
do. Few members of the SMART group discuss substance abuse with their boy or girl friends, while
none of the comparison group reported doing so. Seven times the percentage of the SMART group
reported talking to their teacher in contrast to the comparison group and about twice the
percentage of the SMART group reported talking to the school counselor about the importance of
abstinence from tobacco, alcohol and other drug use.
X2 (1, N = 288) Fishers Exact Test, p< .05 suggests a significant difference in the response to the
question “Have you ever had a drink of alcohol, other than a few sips?” A significantly higher percent
of the comparison group (67%) report having never had a drink of alcohol other than a few sips (no)
in contrast to 54% of the SMART group responding no. The large difference between group sizes of
– 313 –
the SMART and comparison groups may account for the percentage of the comparisons groups no
response being larger than the percentage of no responses of the SMART group.
X2 (1, N = 289), Fisher’s Exact Test, p< .05 suggests a significant difference in responses to the
question “Have you ever used any other drugs?” More than two times the percent of the comparison
group (12%) responded yes to this question in contrast to 5% of the SMART group.
X2 (1, N = 288), Fisher’s Exact Test, p< .05 suggests a significant difference in responses. Three
percent of the SMART group in contrast to 9% of the comparison group responded that they had
been sexually involved within the past 30 days.
Significant gender differences among SMART Participants
Girls N = 130 and Boys N = 72
A significant gender difference emerged when SMART respondents were asked to respond to the
question “Have you ever smoked a cigarette even one or two puffs?” X2 (1, N = 199) Fisher’s Exact
Test, p< .05 shows that 44% of the boys in contrast to 29% of the girls responded yes to the question.
X2 (1, N = 197), Fisher’s Exact Test, p< .05 shows gender differences for the age participants began
smoking. Boys (14%) show they were 8 years old or younger when they began smoking while another
10% indicated they began smoking at age 11. Girls (6%) indicated they began smoking at 10 years of
age with another 7% beginning at 12 years.
X2 (1, N = 201) Fisher’s Exact Test, p< .05 shows that a significantly higher percentage of boys (56%)
in contrast to 40% girls report having a drink of alcohol. A significantly higher percentage of SMART
boys (14%) in contrast to 3% of the girls admitted sniffing glue other substances. Similarly a
significantly higher percentage of boys (8%) than girls (2%) reported using other drugs.
X2 (1, N = 202), Fisher’s Exact Test, p< .05 suggests that a significantly higher percentage of boys
(20%) in contrast to 12% girls admitted having sex within the past 30 days.
Results of Parent/Guardian Surveys
A parent survey was sent to each parent of SMART participants. Only 29 parents completed and
returned the survey. Characteristics of the parent respondents showed 76% female and 17% male.
Sixty-two percent were African American and 24% were Hispanic. Forty-eight percent indicated free
or reduced lunch eligibility and 24% indicated eligibility for Medicaid. About 41% of the parent
respondents attained high school equivalency. About 14% attended high school and about 10%
attained a two-year college degree. Three percent attained a bachelor’s degree and 3% had vocational
training. Sixty-two percent reported being the child’s mother and 10% reported being the father.
About 7% of the respondents stated they were the child’s stepfather.
In general, 60% of the parent respondents agreed that project SMART had been an improvement for
their child. About 28% felt that their child’s home behavior had remained the same. About 35% felt
there was no impact on the completion of homework. About 80% of the parent respondents agreed
that their child was better able to make good decisions about alcohol and drug use because of
participation in project SMART.
– 314 –
Conclusion
In conclusion, preliminary results of the evaluation of the SMART program are positive. The impact
of teaching the FACTS abstinence curriculum suggests that participants are aware of the need for
abstinence concerning the use of drugs, alcohol, and sexual behavior. However, the majority of the
sample were females between 12 and 13 years of age. As participants become older, peer pressure and
opportunity for socialization at teen parties and activities where abstinence-only approaches are not
valued becomes greater. Follow-up studies of project SMART through 10th grade will provide
valuable information concerning the impact of the project over time. Each campus will need to
encourage more parent participation as only a few parents responded to the parent survey and some
campuses did not provide parent training. The parents who responded were positive about their
child’s awareness of drugs, alcohol, and cigarette use. Sexual behavior of their child was not
addressed. The parents stated that it was easier to discuss abstinence issues with their child and they
felt their child’s self-concept had improved since participating in project SMART.
References
Abstinence education awards project summaries. (1999, January). Retrieved October 20, 2001 from the Texas Department of Health
website: http://www.tdh.state.tx.us/abstain/summ99.htm.
Abstinence education in the States. (2001, November 1). Association of maternal and child health programs. Retrieved November 1,
2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.amchnl.org/news/abstin-edu.htm.
Bailey, C. E., & Piercy, F. P. (1997). Enhancing ethical decision making in sexuality and AIDS education. Adolescence, 3(128),
989-999.
Blinn-Pike, L., Berger, T., & Rea-Holloway, M. (2000). Conducting adolescent sexuality research in schools: Lessons learned. Family
Planning Perspectives, 32(5), 246-253.
Brown, S. (1997). Sex education and abstinence program: Why don’t we know more? Children and Youth Services Review, 19(5/6),
455-463.
Christopher, F. S., & Roosa, M. W. (1990). An evaluation of an adolescent pregnancy prevention program: Is “Just Say No” enough?
Family Relations, 39, 68-72.
Coles, A. D. (1999a). Report on abstinence funds raises question. Education Week, 18(31), 61.
Coles, A. D. (1999b). Surveys examining sex education programs. Education Week, 19(16), 13.
Gough, R. (1997, October 5). Critics aside, abstinence programs make sense. Ventura County Star. Retrieved July 14, 2001 from the
World Wide Web: http://www.geocities.com/_professorgough/colarc/10-01-97.htm.
Kato, D. (1998, March 30). Newest programs for teens switch the pitch from “safe-sex” to “no-sex.” The Seattle Times. Retrieved
June 7, 2001 from the World Wide Web.
Rabasca, L. (1999, December). Not enough evidence to support “abstinence-only.” APA Monitor Online. Retrieved May 15, 2000 from
the World Wide Web: http://apa.org/monitor/dec99/pil.html.
Teaching fear: The Religious Right’s campaign against sexuality education. (1996). People for the American Way. Retrieved
June 5, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://pfaw.org/issues/right/teachingfear96.shtml.
– 315 –
NAÎTRE ÉGAUX ET GRANDIR EN SANTÉ
P A R : M ANON G ASSE , B . S C .
I N F I R M I È R E EN P E T I T E E N F A N C E
J EAN -P IERRE H ÉTU , M . P S .
ORGANISATEUR COMMUNAUTAIRE
CLSC L E PARTAGE DES EAUX
R O U Y N -N O R A N D A , Q U É B E C , C A N A D A
Préambule
Ce qui a motivé notre présence à ce colloque intitulé « Les enfants et la pauvreté » est que nous
n’intervenons pas, à prime abord, directement auprès des enfants mais auprès des familles dans son
ensemble. Cependant, nous savons très bien que si un enfant vit dans la pauvreté, c’est que ses
parents, frères, sœurs sont également victimes de cette pauvreté. Nous avons choisi le programme
Naître égaux – Grandir en santé car il nous donnait l’opportunité de rejoindre les familles dans leur
milieu de vie. Avant l’avènement du programme, on ne voyait ces familles qu’en situation de crise car
elles n’utilisaient pas les services mis en place pour la population en général (ex. : les rencontres
prénatales, les visites médicales, etc.). Nous croyons que plus nous sommes présents tôt auprès des
familles, c’est-à-dire dès l’attente d’un enfant (début de l’intervention entre 18 et 20 semaines de
grossesse), plus nous avons l’opportunité d’établir avec la famille un lien de confiance envers
l’intervenante, mais également envers le réseau et assurer ainsi une utilisation des services avant que
la situation de crise se produise et ainsi avoir un impact sur la qualité de vie des familles, donc des
enfants.
Naître Égaux – Grandir en Santé ou comment utiliser
l’empowerment dans une perspective d’approche écologique
NÉGS est un programme de promotion de la santé et de prévention de problèmes de santé auprès
des femmes enceintes et de familles avec de jeunes enfants vivant en contexte de pauvreté. Il vise par
une stratégie d’empowerment à redonner aux familles le pouvoir d’agir, c’est-à-dire de faire reprendre
le goût à l’action de ces personnes et les encourager dans leur capacité à exercer un plus grand
contrôle sur ce qui est important pour elles, leurs proches et leur communauté.
Les objectifs du programme sont formulés en terme d’empowerment et se définissent ainsi :
◆
reconnaître, soutenir et renforcer la capacité des femmes, des hommes, des enfants et de leurs
réseaux immédiats d’accéder à des conditions favorables à la santé et au bien-être de leur famille
(renforcement du potentiel individuel);
◆
reconnaître, soutenir, renforcer la capacité des différents milieux de répondre efficacement aux
besoins des enfants et de leur famille sur le plan de la santé et sur le plan social et économique
(renforcement du milieu);
– 316 –
◆
amener les décideurs à élaborer des politiques visant l’équité dans l’accès à des conditions de
santé adéquates pour les personnes, les familles et les communautés en situation d’extrême
pauvreté (stratégie d’influence).
Cependant, l’empowerment des familles et des communautés en situation d’extrême pauvreté va de
pair avec l’expérience d’un processus d’empowerment par l’intervenante elle-même, ce qui implique :
une grande capacité à remettre en question son bagage de valeurs sociales et d’attitudes, tant
personnelles que professionnelles, beaucoup de créativité et d’engagement dans l’action afin de
surmonter son sentiment d’impuissance face à la lourdeur de la misère que l’on côtoie, l’acquisition
de nouveaux modes d’organisation du travail et de nouvelles responsabilités, ce qui entraîne le
dépassement des frontières professionnelles habituelles et l’intégration systématique de
l’interdisciplinarité dans le travail d’équipe (même implication au niveau de l’intersectoriel).
Pour atteindre les objectifs du programme, on doit entrer en contact avec les familles visées.
L’intervention individuelle est le premier pas vers le changement; cependant cette intervention, pour
être significative, doit être intense et prolongée donc nécessite un lien privilégié = intervenante
privilégiée. Cette dernière est soutenue par une équipe interdisciplinaire qui a le souci d’aider
l’intervenante privilégiée à aider sa cliente/famille. L’accompagnement communautaire vient
appuyer cette intervenante et permet d’assurer le renforcement du milieu par une action collective et
finalement l’intersectorielle permet de tenir compte de toutes les conditions environnantes et
politiques qui ont une influence sur la pauvreté et ses impacts et peut par la force du nombre et
l’expertise de tous ses acteurs faire valoir la stratégie d’influence. Il s’agit ici de l’approche écologique
qui vise plusieurs cibles, déterminants et stratégies. Elle tient compte de l’environnement comme
déterminant majeur de la santé et du bien-être des personnes et des familles en situation d’extrême
pauvreté, comme cible de plusieurs activités (réseau, milieu de vie, environnement politique, etc.) et
comme points d’ancrage de plusieurs stratégies (renforcement du milieu, influence).
Parce que :
« Les problèmes individuels et collectifs sont influencés par la façon dont la société est organisée. »
« La pauvreté a un impact sur les problèmes sociaux. Il faut considérer les causes structurelles des
problèmes sociaux (pauvreté systémique, accès inégal aux ressources collectives, etc.). »
Et que :
« Pour faire changer les choses, l’énergie se justifie par des actions collectives. »
« L’approche centrée sur le développement du pouvoir d’agir force la prise en compte simultanée des
conditions structurelles et individuelles du changement. »
Pour redonner le pouvoir d’agir comme intervenant, il faut d’abord être convaincu :
◆
que nos familles veulent comme tout le monde accéder au bonheur;
◆
que la situation où ils se trouvent présentement fait partie d’un non-choix. Ils n’ont pas choisi
volontairement la pauvreté et ses impacts, ils la vivent et y survivent. On fait nos choix en
fonction du sens qu’ils ont pour nous.
– 317 –
Les prémices qui nous ont guidé dans le choix de ce programme sont les suivantes :
◆
la pauvreté qui est bien souvent associée à d’autres problématiques a des conséquences directes
sur la nutrition des femmes et des bébés, sur l’état de santé à la naissance, sur l’environnement
psychologique et la relation parents-enfants;
◆
un enfant né dans une famille vivant en situation importante de pauvreté a un risque plus élevé
de prématurité ou de poids insuffisant et une probabilité accrue d’avoir un retard de croissance
intra-utérine (ce qui a un impact important sur le potentiel de l’enfant);
◆
les enfants qui présentent une santé précaire risquent d’être soumis à une relation
parents-enfants difficile (lien d’attachement compromis) ainsi que de vivre des problèmes de
développement psychomoteur, d’apprentissage et d’adaptation scolaire et sociale (décrochage,
Bien-être social ou emploi précaire) et ainsi devenir de futurs suivis NÉGS si rien n’est fait pour
arrêter la roue.
Comment aider les bébés (à venir) à naître égaux et nos familles à grandir en santé (eux qui n’ont pas
eu la chance de naître égaux)? Et bien, grâce aux principes d’intervention qui suivent.
Avant d’intervenir, il faut :
1.
Connaître les spécificités du contexte de pauvreté en particulier (basé sur les propos de Monique
Tremblay, psychologue au secteur familial du Centre St-Pierre, Montréal).
Vivre dans la pauvreté, c’est perdre sa sécurité de base, la perspective de s’en sortir et de ne pas
perdre ce qu’on a déjà. C’est être confronté, chaque jour, à choisir quel besoin essentiel ne sera
pas comblé. À cela s’ajoute souvent la précarité du cadre affectif (rupture de couple, violence).
Tout ceci génère de l’angoisse, de l’anxiété qui oblige la famille à se couper de ses émotions, de ce
qui fait mal pour survivre, avec tous les impacts que cela peut avoir sur leur capacité à être à
l’écoute de ce qui est bon pour eux, pour la famille, les bonnes et les moins bonnes émotions.
2.
Apprendre à cerner la capacité de débrouillardise des personnes qui vivent en situation de survie
« système D ».
Reconnaître que s’ils sont toujours en vie et pas complètement fous, c’est qu’ils ont une capacité
extraordinaire de se débrouiller dans un contexte aussi difficile. Nous n’avons qu’à nous référer
à notre sentiment d’impuissance lorsque nous sommes confrontés à leurs difficultés.
Dans l’intervention, il faut :
1.
Faire confiance.
Confiance dans leur capacité de changer des choses. Être à l’écoute, les valider. Reconnaître que
leurs choix, leurs décisions ont du sens dans leur contexte, ceci libère de l’énergie pour
apprendre, créer des liens, faire des choix.
2.
Se faire confiance.
Dans ma capacité à aider l’autre, en étant moi. Accepter de ne pas tout savoir, de demander de
l’aide à mon équipe interdisciplinaire ou intersectorielle. Accepter de donner.
3.
Partir des forces, du potentiel de la cliente/famille. Miser sur ce qu’elle fait de bien.
– 318 –
4.
Travailler avec la cliente/famille, non pour elle (support, accompagnement).
5.
Approche bio-psychosociale et familiale (approche globale).
6.
Partir du « ici et maintenant », ce qui préoccupe aujourd’hui, de façon à répondre avec elle à son
besoin immédiat pour en arriver à aller plus loin avec elle et pouvoir agir de façon efficace sur les
facteurs de risque.
7.
Respecter le rythme de la cliente/famille. Théorie des petits pas. Se réjouir des petites victoires.
8.
Implique un travail important sur nos valeurs. Se référer à nous, nos expériences, à nos valeurs de
société.
– 319 –
LES COLLABORATIONS ENTRE UN CENTRE JEUNESSE
ET LES ORGANISATIONS DU MILIEU :
VERS UNE VALEUR AJOUTÉE À L’INTERVENTION1
P A R : M ARTIN G OYETTE , M . S C .
COORDONNATEUR , R ECHERCHE SUR LES PRATIQUES PARENTALES
D A N S L E S C E N T R E S J E U N E S S E DE M O N T R É A L
I N S T I T U T DE R E C H E R C H E P O U R LE D É V E L O P P E M E N T S O C I A L D E S J E U N E S ( I R D S )
N ICOLE D ALL AIRE , P H . D .
P R O F E S S E U R E , D É P A R T E M E N T DE S E R V I C E S O C I A L
U N I V E R S I T É DE S H E R B R O O K E
J EAN PANET-R AYMOND , M . S C .
P R O F E S S E U R , É C O L E DE T R A V A I L S O C I A L
U N I V E R S I T É DE M O N T R É A L
R O U Y N -N O R A N D A , Q U É B E C , C A N A D A
Introduction
À partir du constat que la diversification des problèmes sociaux et l’avènement de nouvelles formes
de pauvreté et d’exclusion sociale ne peuvent être contrés que par une action ancrée dans une analyse
globale des facteurs individuels, organisationnels et sociétaux, plusieurs interventions en
collaborations sont apparues au cœur des politiques de certaines institutions. Ainsi, aujourd’hui,
aucune organisation ne peut prétendre à elle seule avoir les ressources et les compétences pour se
mesurer aux problèmes sociaux complexes de la jeunesse.
Dans cette perspective, plusieurs recherches se sont intéressées à comprendre la construction des
interventions en collaboration. La recherche, dont nous présentons ici quelques résultats, émane des
réflexions d’intervenants, de gestionnaires en centres jeunesse et de chercheurs universitaires
s’intéressant aux collaborations développées dans le cadre du virage milieu. Notre recherche a pour
objectif principal de comprendre le processus de structuration de six projets d’intervention
développés en collaboration par un centre jeunesse et une diversité de partenaires. L’analyse que
nous présentons dans ce texte aborde simultanément deux dimensions. En plus de reconstituer la
structuration des projets, nous analysons les interactions entre les intervenants partenaires qui
construisent l’intervention auprès des jeunes et des familles. C’est cette dernière dimension qui
témoigne de l’originalité de cette étude. Après avoir situé le contexte du partenariat, nous rendons
compte du cadre d’analyse développé et des considérations méthodologiques inhérentes à notre
démarche de recherche. Ensuite, l’analyse transversale des projets étudiés permettra de dégager d’une
part, les étapes auxquelles se rattachent des enjeux importants pour l’évolution des projets à l’étude,
et d’autre part, les collaborations dans le cadre des interventions auprès des jeunes en difficulté.
1
Ce texte est une version remaniée et augmentée d’une communication présentée le 24 mai 2002 au Congrès international Les enfants et la pauvreté :
l’impact des choix économiques, sociaux et politiques organisé par l’Organisation pour la Sauvegarde des Droits des Enfants (O.S.D.E.). Il présente
certains résultats d’une recherche financée par le Conseil québécois de recherche sociale (RS-3365).
– 320 –
1. Le partenariat : effet de mode ou stratégie durable d’intervention
Au Québec, depuis 20 ans, l’appel au partenariat se traduit pour le réseau de la santé et des services
sociaux par des réductions de services qui entraînent la désinstitutionnalisation et la privatisation,
ainsi que par la sous-traitance à des entreprises privées ou communautaires (Mayer et Goyette, 2000;
Vaillancourt, 1997). Outre cette perspective néolibérale de décroissance de l’État, le partenariat et les
collaborations s’inscrivent également dans une démarche progressiste de décloisonnement des
interventions et de modes de gestion plus démocratiques. Dans ce contexte, le développement des
partenariats s’inscrit de fait dans une forme de paradoxe. En reconnaissant les multiples
déterminants sociaux de la santé (White et al., 2002), le partenariat appelle donc à une lecture de la
complexité comme constituante d’une approche globale, ce qui n’est pas sans difficulté. En effet, lors
de restructurations des institutions, il semble difficile de « choisir un modèle d’action complexe
lorsqu’on est dans l’incertitude et que les fondements (identitaires, technologiques, etc.) (…) des
structures d’action sont ainsi ébranlés. » (Dhume, 2001 : 149).
Cette stratégie partenariale a été particulièrement utilisée dans la santé (surtout la santé publique) et
les services sociaux, s’inscrivant dans la continuité des Rapports Harnois (Québec, 1987) et Rochon
(Québec, 1988) qui en faisaient l’apologie. Dans le domaine de l’intervention jeunesse, divers
documents d’orientation ministériels viennent baliser les transformations vers de plus grandes
collaborations (Québec 1991 a et b; Québec, 1992 a et b, Québec, 1994). Les constats majeurs de ces
documents « ont trait à la nécessité de renforcer le maintien du jeune dans son milieu, d’agir de façon
plus préventive, de miser sur les forces et les capacités des personnes et des communautés, d’agir en
complémentarité et en concertation avec les partenaires dans le réseau de services et avec les
institutions et les organismes présents dans la communauté » (Larivière et al., 2000 : 6).
Les centres jeunesse ont été influencés par ces orientations. Les changements entrepris dans les
centres jeunesse répondent à la fois à des impératifs budgétaires et à une nécessité de revoir les
pratiques de gestion et d’intervention. Pour ce faire, des intervenants provenant de cultures et de
professions différentes ont été regroupés tant dans la mission de protection que dans la mission de
réadaptation de l’organisation afin de concrétiser ce qui a été nommé le virage milieu (Goyette et al.,
2000b).
Pour autant, si les acteurs publics et communautaires font souvent la promotion du « travail
ensemble », en collaboration, en partenariat ou en intersectorialité, les termes donnent lieu à
plusieurs interprétations et définitions selon la position sociale de l’acteur (Dhume, 2001; White et
al, 2002). Dans ce texte, le terme collaboration est utilisé de manière générique pour définir toute
forme d’échange entre acteurs individuels ou institutionnels, échange pouvant être plus ou moins
structuré ou formalisé et d’une durée plus ou moins déterminée (Goyette et al., 2000; PanetRaymond, 1994b). La notion de partenariat constitue une forme particulière d’échange parmi bien
d’autres pratiques de collaboration dans le monde des organisations et de l’intervention (maillage,
arrimage, concertation, gestion de cas). Le partenariat désigne à la fois un processus et un résultat (le
produit de la collaboration, l’intervention auprès du jeune par exemple). Le partenariat se distingue
des autres modes de collaboration parce qu’il est plus exigeant que la concertation, plus formalisé,
plus circonscrit. Il engage habituellement moins d’acteurs (partenaires) et ceux-ci sont indépendants
(Bilodeau, 2000; Goyette, 1999; Lamoureux, 1994; Lebeau et al., 1997; Panet-Raymond et Bourque
– 321 –
1991). Ces derniers visent des objectifs concrets et pratiques qui sont au cœur de leur mission et
mandats. Ils mettent en commun des valeurs, des visions, des intérêts, mise en commun que
Bilodeau (2000) nomme la convergence. En bref, le partenariat comporte des rapports de pouvoir,
une reconnaissance et un respect de la contribution de chacun, des accords basés sur des concessions
ainsi qu’un apport mutuel de services (Billette et al., 1995; Bilodeau, 2000).
Le partenariat représente une opportunité de confrontation d’idées pour parvenir à une nouvelle
vision commune axée sur le changement : changement de paradigmes d’intervention « fondé à la fois
sur une critique de l’approche sectorielle et sur un processus de mutation sociale » (Dhume, 2001 :
66). Le partenariat dans ce contexte représente donc une opportunité de réintroduire la complexité
dans nos structures sectorisées et cloisonnées, ou plus justement de créer de nouvelles interventions
(White et al., 2002). Deux précisions s’imposent donc d’emblée.
D’abord, pour réintroduire la complexité, il faut qu’il y ait différence au départ entre des acteurs
indépendants favorisant la prise en compte de cette complexité (Bilodeau, 2000; Dhume, 2001).
Ainsi, de façon stricte, une ressource intermédiaire ne peut être un « partenaire » puisqu’elle émane
ou est subordonnée à une institution (Dhume, 2001; Goyette, 1999; Panet-Raymond, 1994). De la
même façon, deux services d’une même institution ne peuvent « partenarier ». « La notion de
partenariat “institutionnel” n’a donc pas de sens entre services de l’État » (Dhume, 2001 : 133), pas
plus que celle de partenariat interne puisque la différence est essentielle pour reconstituer la
complexité et vaincre la sectorisation. Ces collaborations ont une pleine légitimité mais ne forment
pas de partenariat. Dans ces cas, Dhume observe que « (…) les acteurs ont finalement privilégié le
travail en réseau (qui organise ce qui existe déjà) à un travail de partenariat (qui conduit à changer
l’organisation et les pratiques) » (Dhume, 2001 : 148). Le partenariat est plus qu’une simple stratégie
de coordination administrative et organisationnelle.
Ensuite, on ne peut réduire le partenariat à un « cofinancement, à une codécision initiale
ou à la seule mise en œuvre partagée » (Dhume, 2001 : 128) et ceci afin de maintenir une
coresponsabilisation. Dans cet esprit, l’association d’un organisme avec un bailleur de fonds qui
limite son action au financement, ne peut être considérée comme un partenariat. « Il s’agit d’agir
ensemble, quasiment “de A à Z”, sans pour autant que chacun fasse la même chose » (Dhume, 2001 :
110).
Enfin, et c’est un élément essentiel, le partenariat doit donner lieu à une nouvelle intervention et ne
pas simplement s’ancrer dans une réflexion sur la sectorisation ou la production d’un guide
(Dhume, 2001; Goyette, 1999; White et al., 2002).
La définition d’un partenariat idéal de Panet-Raymond et Bourque (1991) donne l’esprit du défi de
la contribution, certes inégale, mais perçue comme également importante par chaque partenaire.
Ceci dit, cette relation implique des tensions voire même des conflits, habituellement préalables à la
formalisation de l’entente, formalisation sans laquelle la relation partenariale devient impossible. Il
faut donc que les acteurs acceptent que l’engagement dans un processus partenarial exige une
ouverture à la transformation de soi, une cocontamination étant préalable à la coconstruction. « On
attend du partenariat qu’il change la relation sans qu’il nous change? On attend donc surtout un
changement de l’autre plus qu’une construction d’un travail ensemble » (Dhume 2001 : 148). Ainsi,
« s’il est une constante, au travers des multiples théorisations et analyses des processus de
– 322 –
changement, c’est bien que celui-ci trouve son ressort dans le conflit » (Dhume, 2001 : 158). Le
partenariat constitue donc un processus exigeant et « celui qui ne se trouve pas confronté aux affres
du doute construit tout sauf du changement… et ce qu’il construit n’est sans doute pas du
partenariat. » (Dhume, 2001 : 158).
Mais, au-delà de ces définitions, la compréhension des différentes collaborations exige de s’inscrire
dans un cadre d’analyse de l’action.
2. Le cadre d’analyse
2.1. Entre acteur et structure
Retenant d’abord la théorie de l’acteur et du système de Crozier et Friedberg (1993) et l’apport
ultérieur de Friedberg (1993), les différentes formes de collaborations sont envisagées de manière
dynamique à partir de concepts élaborés par ces auteurs et repris dans les analyses sur le partenariat
(Billette et al., 1995; Dhume, 2001; Panet-Raymond et Bourque, 1991). Dans cette perspective,
l’individu a une capacité d’agir, de réfléchir et de contrôler une partie de ses interactions, même dans
un contexte institutionnel restreignant (Dhume, 2001; Friedberg, 1993). Il a une participation
critique à l’organisation (Friedberg, 1993) et profite de l’instabilité organisationnelle pour initier de
nouvelles pratiques de collaborations silencieuses voire délinquantes, mais qui pourraient être
éventuellement reconnues par son institution d’appartenance (Goyette et al., 2000b).
La question de la marge de manœuvre des individus au sein de leur organisation et dans l’espace de
collaboration nous apparaît ici essentielle (Friedberg, 1993). Elle peut être variable et limiter ses
initiatives ou le forcer à développer une pratique partenariale pour rendre sa pratique plus efficace.
Par ailleurs, au sein même du système de collaboration, l’asymétrie des ressources dont disposent au
départ les partenaires pressentis risque déjà de créer des tensions à plusieurs niveaux. Les différences
personnelles, professionnelles et institutionnelles créent de véritables « chocs de culture » (Guay,
1991 dans Panet-Raymond et Bourque, 1991). Des espaces de négociation sont donc essentiels,
espaces dans lesquels tensions, conflits, stratégies et compromis construisent la relation de pouvoir.
Ainsi, la « coopération conflictuelle » (Dommergues, 1988) ou la « participation contradictoire »
(Maclouf, 1985) deviennent des choix stratégiques pour qui veut demeurer dans le processus
partenarial axé sur le changement. Or, là encore dans cette nécessaire rencontre avec les autres, les
acteurs doivent négocier une marge de manœuvre (Friedberg, 1993) qui dépend à la fois de leur
mission et mandat légal, de leurs ressources, des alliances externes et du contexte (socio-économicopolitico-administratif) de l’intervention et du partenariat.
De ce point de vue, il est évident que la construction d’un acteur collectif (et
pas seulement d’un collectif d’acteurs) conduit à dépasser ses bornes
habituelles, à transgresser des règles de l’habitude (et parfois de l’institution),
pour produire du sens ailleurs, autrement. L’équilibre à trouver entre le
fonctionnement des institutions et du cadre construit pour le partenariat
génère des tensions qui reposent en grande partie sur les acteurs (Dhume,
2001 : 144-145).
– 323 –
Finalement, les concepts de double allégeance (Lavoie et Panet-Raymond, 2002) et de médiateur
(Bilodeau, 2000) nous semblent ici essentiels, puisqu’ils rappellent la double position sociale des
acteurs. L’individu qui s’inscrit dans une relation partenariale doit allégeance à son organisation
d’origine mais aussi à ce nouveau système qu’est le projet de collaboration, ce qui exige qu’il précise
sa « posture ».
Chaque acteur devra, dans le cadre du partenariat, être à la fois représentant
de son institution et des enjeux de celle-ci, être professionnel en apportant sa
compétence et en défendant une déontologie, et trouver sa place en tant que
personne porteuse de valeurs et d’éthique (Dhume, 2001 : 155).
L’exemple des organisateurs communautaires en CLSC illustre cette double allégeance, ceux-ci
devenant médiateur et facilitant la communication et la négociation entre le CLSC et les
organisations communautaires qui incarnent souvent les demandes du milieu.
2.2. Le produit du partenariat et la collaboration dans l’intervention
La mise en commun des visions et des ressources que représente le processus de partenariat se
traduit le plus souvent dans les projets à l’étude par la production d’une nouvelle intervention. Deux
concepts sont retenus pour envisager globalement ce nouveau produit : la pratique en réseau
(Dhume, 2001, Goyette, 1999) et le travail en transinstitutionnalité (en partenariat).
La pratique en réseau équivaut à une pratique multidisciplinaire réalisée à l’image d’une course à
relais où chacun se transmet des informations ou un dossier afin de mieux servir les clients dans une
perspective de continuum ou de réseaux intégrés de services, tout en se cantonnant aux pratiques
traditionnelles institutionnelles qui ciblent l’individu et son réseau. On travaille parallèlement
(OPTSQ, 1996). Le case management et le plan de services individualisés constituent des dimensions
fréquentes de la mise en place d’un réseau de services intégrés. Si ces pratiques contribuent à assurer
une continuité des soins et leur complémentarité pour répondre aux besoins des personnes, elles ne
permettent pas toujours de sortir de « la logique fragmentée de la sectorisation » (White et al, 2002 :
26) même si elles font appel à des organismes communautaires. On parlera de coordination
administrative et de rapprochement intrasectoriel.
La pratique de transinstitutionnalité s’apparente à la fois au partenariat tel que défini plus haut et
à l’interdisciplinarité. À la différence de la multidisciplinarité, l’interdisciplinarité exige que les
intervenants d’une même équipe travaillent tous « vers » un même objectif. « Sans perdre l’identité
qui lui est propre, chaque discipline s’influence mutuellement et se transforme réciproquement »
(OPTSQ, 1996 : 3). Dans cette perspective « transinstitutionnelle », les partenaires ont des
interactions les uns avec les autres de même que des interactions bilatérales/interactives avec
les sujets vus dans leur globalité, leur environnement et leur communauté. Cette conception
des pratiques partenariales implique donc qu’il y ait, au sein d’un projet d’intervention, des
collaborateurs en mesure d’intervenir sur plusieurs sous-systèmes de l’environnement. (Goyette,
1999). Elle implique également que soit prise en compte la complexité (Dhume, 2001; White et al.,
2002). Les interventions dans ce contexte laisseront plus de place au travail ensemble auprès du
client mais aussi auprès des autres composantes de ses problèmes.
– 324 –
3. Les aspects méthodologiques
La complexité de notre objet d’étude oriente notre stratégie méthodologique vers l’étude de cas
multiple (Yin, 1994). L’étude de cas est privilégiée lorsque les relations ou les processus à l’étude sont
trop complexes pour des stratégies usuelles (entrevues individuelles, questionnaire). De plus, l’étude
de cas permet d’étudier un objet qu’il est difficile de distinguer de son contexte. Ainsi, l’étude de cas
vise à rendre compte du caractère évolutif et complexe d’un phénomène social pris dans son
contexte.
Six projets ont été identifiés comme porteurs de pratiques exemplaires de collaboration par les
membres du centre jeunesse. Chacun des projets à l’étude représente tantôt un segment ou une étape
du processus vers le partenariat, tantôt une illustration complète de la démarche. Voici une
description très sommaire des projets.
1.
Le projet « Groupe support aux parents », une initiative dans le domaine des gangs qui veut
sensibiliser les parents face au phénomène des gangs auquel leur jeune est confronté. Cette
intervention veut associer le service de police de la communauté urbaine de Montréal (SPCUM)
et les CJM.
2.
Le projet « Atelier du Sud-Ouest » entre le Service de Développement de l’Employabilité et de
l’Animation de Milieu (SDEAM) des CJM, la Corporation des Ateliers des CJM, le Programme
d’Initiation au Travail de la Région Est de Montréal (PITREM) et Opération Placement Jeunesse
(OPJ), qui vise à offrir aux adolescents de l’institution un parcours d’insertion à l’emploi
cohérent (préemployabilité, employabilité, intégration en emploi), à partir d’une seule demande
d’inscription faite auprès des conseillers en employabilité du SDEAM
3.
« RAPVIH » est un projet fondé sur la philosophie des pairs aidant impliquant des jeunes de
Montréal-Nord dans la prévention des MTS/VIH et de la violence dans les relations amoureuses.
RAPVIH est également un projet d’insertion puisqu’il contribue au développement de
l’employabilité des jeunes pairs aidant issus de la communauté. Au cœur de ce projet, se
trouvent le Centre des jeunes L’Escale 13/17 de Montréal Nord, les CJM ainsi que des
organismes locaux de Montréal-Nord.
4.
Le projet « Guide d’accompagnement et d’intervention sur l’usage et l’abus de drogues » a pour
premier objectif de sensibiliser et soutenir l’ensemble des intervenants des CJM en matière
d’intervention en toxicomanie. En plus de la DRD des CJM, le Centre Dollard-Cormier, ASPA
(Approche sécurisante des polytoxicomanes anonymes) et le Foyer de groupe contractuel Gilles
Lalande ont participé à ce projet.
5.
Le projet « Répit transit » vise à maintenir des élèves ayant des difficultés de comportement dans
la classe régulière de leur école de quartier. Il s’appuie notamment sur des liens de collaboration
entre le regroupement cinq de la CSDM, plusieurs CLSC (Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Rosemont,
Villeray et Petite Patrie), des intervenants de plusieurs territoires (T2, T3, T4) de la Direction des
services à la jeunesse des CJM et enfin des intervenants de la Direction de la protection de la
jeunesse et de l’Accès.
– 325 –
6.
Le projet « Comment éduquer nos enfants sans utiliser la correction physique? » a été initié
devant le nombre élevé de signalements pour abus physiques chez les familles d’origine
haïtienne par la Direction de la protection de la jeunesse (DPJ) des CJM et la Maison d’Haïti
« … afin d’offrir aux parents, qui sont volontaires et qui ont reconnu la gravité de leurs gestes,
l’opportunité de trouver d’autres moyens pour exercer leur autorité parentale qui correspondent
aux normes de la société québécoise » (Maison d’Haïti, 1998 : 4).
Un choix important en termes méthodologiques a été de dépasser le point de vue des concepteurs
des projets et de ceux qui les ont mis en place, car il peut en ressortir une lecture un peu idéalisée de
la collaboration, comme de ses résultats. Ainsi, dans le choix des interviewés, nous avons ainsi
accordé une place importante aux intervenants partenaires qui construisent l’intervention auprès
des jeunes et des familles.
Ces études de cas ont été complétées à partir de plusieurs sources de données (analyse documentaire,
entrevues semi-dirigées, entrevues informelles). La collecte de données a eu lieu entre septembre
1999 et septembre 2000.
Pour chacun des six projets, les documents fournissant des informations sur les organisations
partenaires ont été colligés et dépouillés afin de comprendre les objectifs, la mission, le
fonctionnement, les valeurs, les liens avec la communauté, etc., de chacune des organisations
partenaires. Ces portraits constitués de données plus « statiques » sur le fonctionnement interne des
organisations et leurs ressources ont été une étape préliminaire essentielle à la compréhension des
différentes dynamiques de collaboration et aux relations des acteurs. Ensuite, les documents (des
projets d’implantation, des rapports d’évaluation ou d’activités, procès-verbaux de réunions,
ententes administratives, documents marketing, etc.) ont été analysés en tentant de retracer la
genèse, la structuration, le fonctionnement et les différentes relations entre les intervenants dans
l’intervention. À partir de l’analyse de ces données, un portrait préliminaire de la collaboration a été
soumis à un informateur-clé, concepteur ou idéateur afin de corroborer ou corriger les informations
et de bonifier ce portrait.
À partir de ce portrait préliminaire, de trois à six entrevues (entre 1 h 30 et 3 h) enregistrées et
retranscrites intégralement auprès d’informateurs-clés ont été réalisées. Ces informateurs-clés
étaient sélectionnés avec le souci de recueillir une diversité de points de vue sur les relations, tout en
privilégiant des intervenants jouant un rôle dans l’action auprès du jeune et provenant
d’organisations différentes (lorsque cela était possible). Ces entrevues ont permis d’explorer les
dynamiques (tensions, conflits, compromis dans l’action, etc.) au cœur de la structuration de la
collaboration et de l’action en partenariat auprès du jeune. Chacune des entrevues a fait l’objet d’une
analyse thématique verticale afin de comprendre comment les différents projets se font et se défont.
Afin de procéder à la construction de l’étude de cas, une triangulation des données a été réalisée.
Pour compléter certaines informations nécessaires, des entrevues téléphoniques informelles ont été
réalisées avec divers informateurs-clés. Enfin, un long processus de bonification/validation auprès de
plusieurs informateurs-clés a permis de corriger les biais et d’enrichir les aspects négligés dans les
monographies des projets (Huberman et Miles, 1991).
– 326 –
Les étapes de développement des projets
Plusieurs catégorisations des étapes de structuration des projets ont été développées ces dernières
années. Lors de la rédaction des monographies des six projets, la typologie de Lebeau et al. (1987) a
été utilisée : 1) la conception et l’émergence d’une idée pour rallier des collaborateurs (idéation);
2) l’élaboration et la construction du projet avec les acteurs collaborateurs; 3) l’implantation et 4) le
maintien et le suivi de l’intervention.
La présente analyse a d’abord voulu s’ancrer dans une lecture transversale inductive de la
structuration des projets. Ce travail nous a amené à peaufiner la catégorisation précédente mais en
ne faisant ressortir que les étapes-clés. Ainsi l’idéation, la mobilisation et la convergence,
terminologie empruntée à Bilodeau (2000), sont des sous-étapes de la conception et de l’émergence
du partenariat qui ont contribuées au raffinement de notre analyse. L’idéation correspond à
l’identification initiale du besoin/problème à l’origine du processus de collaboration.
La mobilisation est l’étape de l’intéressement des acteurs au projet qui suit généralement l’idéation.
La mobilisation est souvent réalisée par un porteur de dossier/chargé de projet qui peut parfois être
l’idéateur. Quant à la convergence, elle transcende les étapes mentionnées et désigne le processus par
lequel les acteurs parviennent à un accord.
L’étape du suivi correspond au moment où le dispositif partenarial a élaboré et implanté
l’intervention. Le suivi d’un projet et son adaptation continuelle sont souvent assurés par une
structure de suivi ou une table de concertation locale. Ces espaces de dialogue permettent une
rétroaction interactive des différents partenaires autant en ce qui concerne le fonctionnement de
l’instance de suivi que l’intervention développée, son fonctionnement, son bien-fondé, sa pertinence.
Une telle structure peut ainsi contribuer à une évaluation participative du processus et du résultat de
la collaboration
4. Les résultats
À partir d’une lecture transversale des projets à l’étude, les résultats sont organisés autour des deux
grandes dimensions d’analyse soit la structuration des projets à l’étude et le partenariat dans
l’intervention et sa valeur ajoutée. L’analyse des résultats permet de mettre en lumière la façon dont
des processus de développement d’un projet en collaboration peuvent favoriser l’émergence de
pratiques favorisant un décloisonnement et une prise en compte de la complexité.
4.1 La structuration des projets à l’étude
L’analyse transversale des projets à l’étude a révélé que certaines étapes de leur processus de
développement étaient centrales dans certains cas pour la survie du projet et dans d’autres pour
favoriser une intervention (en collaboration ou non) qui comporte une valeur ajoutée. Nous
présentons ici seulement les étapes-clés2.
2
Les études de cas complètes ont été publiées dans le rapport final de la recherche (Dallaire et al., 2003).
– 327 –
4.1.1
L’idéation, étape centrale de la définition du problème
Dans la plupart des projets à l’étude, l’étape de l’idéation a été réalisée essentiellement par des
individus rattachés administrativement au centre jeunesse (sauf un, développé au sein du milieu
scolaire). Il s’avère que le projet d’une intervention en collaboration est d’abord et avant tout une
histoire d’individus. Il s’agit le plus souvent d’individus convaincus, persévérants et fonceurs qui se
trouvent des alliés pour combler des besoins leur apparaissant criants ou pour développer des
modalités d’intervention nouvelles. Les projets s’inscrivent directement ou en continuité avec le
mandat de protection ou de réadaptation du centre jeunesse3. Ces idéateurs/porteurs de dossiers
négocient sans cesse avec des environnements changeants et parviennent à saisir des opportunités et
ce, même dans un contexte organisationnel difficile (climat de travail, tension syndicale, charge de
travail importante, etc.4).
Dans le contexte de l’actualisation de collaborations dans le cadre d’une approche-milieu, on aurait
pu s’attendre à retrouver des projets dont l’idée initiale émane de la communauté et des milieux de
vie des jeunes, le centre jeunesse étant mobilisé par la suite et jouant alors plutôt un rôle de soutien
dans l’atteinte du bien-être des enfants en général et non pas seulement en vue de leur protection ou
de leur réhabilitation. À ce titre, le projet « Comment éduquer nos enfants sans utiliser la correction
physique? » se distingue des autres à l’étude puisque l’idéation a été coconstruite par un organisme
communautaire et par le centre jeunesse, la diminution du nombre élevé de signalements pour abus
physiques chez les familles d’origine haïtienne et de façon ultime, la création d’une alternative au
placement pour les jeunes de ces familles étant au cœur des préoccupations des deux partenaires
initiaux.
Si l’idéation est le plus souvent le fait d’un individu appartenant au centre jeunesse, cela ne signifie
pas pour autant que les projets qui verront le jour ne constituent pas des démarches partenariales.
Pour cela, il s’agit de constater comment ces idéateurs/porteurs de dossiers sont parvenus à
mobiliser différents partenaires autour de leurs préoccupations institutionnelles.
4.1.2
La mobilisation, étape-clé de la recombinaison des paradigmes
Les porteurs de dossiers assument le rôle important de mobilisation des nouveaux collaborateurs.
Dans les projets à l’étude, l’idéateur/concepteur est souvent la cheville ouvrière de la mobilisation
des partenaires, il est le porteur de dossier5, l’idéateur-porteur. Selon sa conception initiale du
problème, sa formation et ses expériences professionnelles, il instaurera une dynamique de
participation qui varie « quant à son étendue (représentativité des acteurs intéressés ou concernés,
mobilisation large ou auprès d’acteurs prédéterminés) [et] quant à son niveau (mobilisation pour
l’élaboration de l’action ou pour la mise en œuvre) » (Bilodeau, 2000 : 312).
3
Ce constat doit être mis en perspective, dans la mesure où désignés par les membres du centre jeunesse, les projets retenus pour l’étude
regroupent davantage des collaborateurs institutionnels qui complètent directement la mission du centre jeunesse.
4
Si la littérature récente identifie clairement le rôle de névralgique de ces porteurs de dossier pour l’émergence de partenariat (Bilodeau, 2000;
Goyette et al., 2000b), la particularité des résultats de notre recherche est d’avoir analysé le travail de différents porteurs de dossiers placés dans
le même contexte organisationnel d’appartenance. Or, nous verrons ultérieurement qu’ils n’ont pas tous connu le même succès.
5
Dans le cadre de l’étude d’autres projets, il arrive souvent que l’idéateur ne soit pas nécessairement le porteur de dossier au sens où nous
l’entendons.
– 328 –
Dans le cadre des projets à l’étude, la mobilisation initiale par l’idéateur/porteur est restreinte aux
organisations déjà en lien avec lui ou ayant des relations directes avec le centre jeunesse. Le
démarchage est limité à certains acteurs prédéterminés. Il n’y a que dans le projet « RAPVIH » et dans
une moindre mesure dans le projet « Guide toxicomanie » où la mobilisation est plus large et dépasse
une certaine sectorisation que le partenariat voulait enrayer. Le cas du projet « Groupe support aux
parents » est exemplaire. Ce projet, qui concerne la prévention de l’embrigadement de jeunes dans les
gangs, n’a associé que le centre jeunesse et le service de police. Problématique sociale complexe s’il en
est une, sa résolution paraît exiger la participation de l’ensemble des acteurs sociaux favorisant le
bien-être et l’intégration des jeunes dans leur milieu.
Si l’étendue de la mobilisation est restreinte, quatre des six projets ont été élaborés conjointement
par les différents collaborateurs. Pour les acteurs des projets, c’est d’ailleurs cette deuxième étape de
travail en commun qui témoigne de la réalité du partenariat, alors que les autres étapes du projet
sont surtout réalisées en silo, de façon unilatérale, et que le leadership du projet demeure entre les
mains de l’institution (centre jeunesse ou milieu scolaire).
Étant donné que l’étendue de la mobilisation est restreinte dans les projets à l’étude, les différences
idéologiques sont assez ténues puisque les partenaires proviennent pour la plupart de cultures
professionnelles et organisationnelles semblables. Considérant cette forme de filiation observée
entre les collaborateurs, entre institutions appartenant à un même secteur ou entre institutions
ayant un lien organique ou de subordination, la coopération conflictuelle caractéristique du
processus partenarial est quasi inexistante. Si cette filiation facilite, dans certains cas, un bon
fonctionnement organisationnel, il a été constaté par exemple pour « l’Atelier du Sud-Ouest », elle ne
favorise pas une recombinaison des logiques d’action, ni une reproblématisation, mais le maintien
d’une vision sectorisée des problèmes.
Quoi qu’il en soit de la qualité de la mobilisation, plusieurs des projets à l’étude ont donné lieu à
l’implantation d’une intervention et certains projets se sont maintenus en place. Or cette dernière
étape du suivi comporte des enjeux importants.
4.1.3
Le suivi des projets, étape-clé pour la survie
La moitié des projets à l’étude ont développé une structure de suivi, la plupart ayant un regard
autant gestionnaire et administratif que clinique et d’intervention. Dans tous les cas, un sous-comité
de cette structure forme en quelque sorte un exécutif. Pour les projets, ces instances de suivi ont
contribué à consolider les alliances politiques nécessaires à la négociation de ressources pour le
maintien et la poursuite du projet et permis une certaine adaptation de l’intervention. Plusieurs
participants de ces structures considèrent que celles-ci constituent un chien de garde essentiel contre
la dérive du projet vers des intérêts corporatistes. Pour d’autres, le comité de suivi constitue l’âme du
projet, cristallisant ainsi les expériences et la mémoire institutionnelle. Or, la conservation de la
mémoire institutionnelle est un enjeu de taille quand, comme nous l’avons observé à maintes
reprises, les intervenants des organisations publiques autant que communautaires sont contraints à
s’adapter à un fort roulement de personnel.
Des trois projets sans structure de suivi, deux d’entre eux sont morts, l’un en cours d’implantation
de l’intervention et l’autre au terme de sa période pilote. Pourtant dans les deux cas, les institutions
– 329 –
qui y collaboraient ont mis de l’avant la réalisation de ces projets sur la place publique, dans des
conférences de presse par exemple. Le dernier projet sans structure de suivi fonctionne bien et depuis
quelques années déjà. Ainsi pour l’Atelier du Sud-Ouest, le suivi du projet et son adaptation sont
réalisés, de façon directe et personnalisée, par les deux idéateurs du projet qui ont réussi à inscrire
l’insertion socioprofessionnelle dans les priorités organisationnelles du centre jeunesse, donnant
ainsi accès à des ressources humaines et matérielles de l’institution. Cette formalisation dans les
priorités de l’institution et l’omniprésence des idéateurs/concepteurs compensent jusqu’à un certain
point pour l’absence de structure de suivi et favorise un fonctionnement organisationnel adéquat
pour la survie de l’intervention.
L’analyse de la structuration des projets permet de constater que la création d’une structure de suivi
est primordiale pour un projet de collaboration qui veut poursuivre son développement dans une
perspective partenariale. Ces structures sont une condition nécessaire, mais non suffisante d’un
fonctionnement organisationnel adéquat, d’une consolidation des alliances entre les acteurs, de la
nécessaire coopération conflictuelle et de la prise en compte de la complexité. En l’absence de cette
structure qui le formalise, le projet est menacé et repose uniquement sur les épaules d’individus.
L’analyse transversale de la structuration des projets a également permis de constater que les projets
qui ne parvenaient pas à s’inscrire dans les priorités organisationnelles d’une grande institution
étaient soit menacés, soit morts. Dans cette recherche, la survie du projet dépend en majeure partie
d’une institution, le centre jeunesse. Encore une fois, ce constat démontre la place centrale que
l’institution occupe dans le développement des collaborations. Si le projet développé est soutenu
organisationnellement, ses idéateurs/porteurs auront une reconnaissance symbolique et matérielle
qui permettra d’assurer sa survie pour un temps. Dans le cas contraire, le projet repose sur les épaules
d’individus et est à la merci du déficit de la mémoire institutionnelle lorsqu’un porteur du dossier
quitte son poste.
Par ailleurs, bien que cette formalisation soit essentielle, elle doit être réalisée avec discernement dans
la mesure où si elle limite la marge de manœuvre des intervenants du terrain, elle risque de réduire
d’autant le potentiel d’innovation de l’intervention et la motivation de ces idéateurs ou porteurs.
C’est le paradoxe de la formalisation dégagée par l’analyse de nos résultats. Dans cette perspective,
une entente écrite claire permet de favoriser l’inscription du projet dans les priorités
organisationnelles de chacun des partenaires. Cependant, le regard processuel sur les pratiques
permet également de constater que cette formalisation n’est primordiale qu’à partir de l’étape du
suivi, plusieurs projets n’ayant pas bénéficié de formalisation ont pu poursuivre leur développement
sans trop de reconnaissance officielle jusqu’à cette étape. Dans ces cas, les individus ont construit la
collaboration en plus de leur charge de travail habituelle de manière quasi délinquante, en utilisant
leur marge de manœuvre dans l’organisation. C’est donc dès après l’implantation que la
reconnaissance organisationnelle est primordiale à la survie des projets et des pratiques.
La prééminence (inattendue) du thème de la survie lors de la reconstitution des processus de
collaboration nous montre l’importance de la consolidation des collaborations notamment avec des
partenaires de soutien et de relève (CPLT, 2001). L’absence de ces partenaires de soutien peut
expliquer en partie la disparition d’un projet comme RAPVIH. Ce projet a fait l’objet de campagnes
médiatiques, il a suscité l’intérêt des chercheurs et pourtant sa disparition n’a pas été décriée
– 330 –
publiquement, faute d’appui de la part de décideurs ou d’acteurs détenant un pouvoir d’influence.
Cette connaissance de l’environnement externe et de ses dynamiques est d’autant plus indispensable
lorsqu’un projet de partenariat s’inscrit dans une perspective de changement tel que nous l’avons
défini.
4.2 Le produit des projets : l’intervention
Bien que situés localement et d’envergure modeste en termes de défis, les projets à l’étude
témoignent d’une bonification de l’action grâce aux collaborations inter-organisationnelles. Les
retombées positives sont variées : instauration d’un dialogue interculturel (« Comment éduquer nos
enfants sans utiliser la correction physique »), meilleur soutien des enfants présentant des problèmes
de comportement et leur famille (« Répit Transit »), meilleur suivi des jeunes en difficultés face à la
consommation de substances (« Guide toxicomanie »), élargissement de la capacité d’action des CJM
dans la préparation et l’insertion des jeunes au marché du travail (« Ateliers du Sud-Ouest ») et enfin,
apport collectif à l’insertion socioprofessionnelle des jeunes de Montréal-Nord et à la prévention des
MTS, du VIH et de la violence dans les relations amoureuses (« RAPVIH »). Toutes ces réponses sont
des inventions nées de la conscience de besoins et de la présence d’organisations et d’acteurs
construisant collectivement, avec les connaissances, les idéologies, les ressources et la marge de
manœuvre dont ils disposent, des réponses variées, fruits de trajectoires uniques.
Cette section examine le produit des partenariats, soit l’intervention. La cible de l’intervention, la
collaboration dans l’intervention et le niveau de la valeur ajoutée sont abordés successivement. Nous
pourrons ensuite tenter d’identifier si les pratiques correspondent à des pratiques de réseau, à
l’image du case management et de la multidisciplinarité, ou à des pratiques de partenariat qui fondent
leur action sur l’interdisciplinarité en agissant sur la complexité des facteurs contribuant aux
problèmes sociaux.
4.2.1
Les cibles de l’action
Dans le cadre des projets à l’étude, la plupart du temps l’objectif principal est tributaire de la mission
du centre jeunesse, ciblant d’abord le jeune et dans une moindre mesure les parents. On veut
soutenir l’individu ou le système familial en favorisant l’acquisition de compétences qui favoriseront
leur développement. Par exemple, l’Atelier du Sud-Ouest vise le développement de l’employabilité, le
Groupe support aux parents, un meilleur encadrement du jeune, et le projet Guide toxicomanie, une
consommation éclairée. Enfin, le projet Repit transit, par plusieurs interventions simultanées,
s’efforce d’améliorer le comportement en classe du jeune et intervient sur la famille afin que le jeune
soit mieux encadré.
Encore une fois, le projet RAPVIH se distingue puisqu’il intervient simultanément sur les individus
dans une perspective décloisonnée et sur le contexte local. Ainsi les pairs aidants, une fois formés, ont
été actifs dans la communauté de Montréal-Nord à plusieurs niveaux. Ils ont travaillé de façon non
sectorisée, en gardant en tête des préoccupations concernant plusieurs problématiques
(toxicomanie, violence dans les relations amoureuses, prévention du VIH). Ils favorisaient ainsi un
décloisonnement de l’action auprès des jeunes, objectif important pour bien des protagonistes d’une
approche-milieu. L’action des pairs aidants peut aussi être analysée sous l’angle de la contribution
effective et potentielle de RAPVIH à l’amélioration du milieu de vie des jeunes, autre aspect essentiel
– 331 –
d’une approche-milieu. À cet effet, il faut d’abord préciser en quoi consiste un milieu de vie de
qualité. La présence, la visibilité et la disponibilité des ressources pour les jeunes, la qualité des
rapports intergénérationnels, l’image que les institutions du milieu reflètent aux jeunes, les
opportunités de développer des compétences et des habiletés et les possibilités de participation
sociale sont tous des aspects pouvant traduire cette qualité d’un milieu de vie (Dallaire et al., 2003).
Or il s’avère qu’un projet comme RAPVIH peut renforcer la présence de telles caractéristiques de
plusieurs façons. Par ailleurs, RAPVIH et le Guide toxico s’inscrivent dans une réflexion et des
actions régionales pour contrer la transmission du VIH/Sida et des MTS contribuant ainsi à
l’inscription de ces actions locales à des politiques plus larges au plan régional et national.
Nous avons déjà souligné que la mobilisation des partenaires a été plutôt restreinte dans le cadre des
projets étudiés, limitant de ce fait l’ampleur de la reproblématisation. Nous pouvons supposer que la
présence accrue de partenaires provenant entre autres du secteur communautaire ou de
l’employabilité aurait favorisé l’élargissement des cibles de l’intervention. On aurait pu s’attendre en
effet à rencontrer davantage des pratiques reconnaissant l’importance accordée au territoire, aux
rapports du jeune avec les institutions, à la construction sociale des problèmes (ex. violence), aux
relations véritables qui s’inscrivent dans la reconnaissance du Sujet en visant d’une part, à changer
les modes d’interaction du jeune avec l’environnement social – dimension individualisée de la
médiation et d’autre part, à agir sur l’environnement social du jeune en contribuant à la
mobilisation des ressources locales (Bondu, 1998: 150).
4.2.2
La collaboration dans l’intervention
L’analyse des interactions entre les acteurs impliqués directement dans les interventions montre que
peu d’interventions sont réalisées en collaboration. Les acteurs travaillent très peu ou pas ensemble,
en même temps avec les personnes concernées. Dans la majorité des cas, l’intervention est réalisée par
un seul partenaire, les autres ayant soit un rôle de référence (Répit transit, Comment éduquer nos
enfants sans utiliser la correction physique, l’Atelier du Sud-Ouest) soit un rôle statique de soutien
(Groupe support aux parents). Par contre, l’intervention des projets à l’étude correspond davantage
(pour trois projets) à une pratique d’intervention multidisciplinaire où chacun des partenaires
travaille parallèlement, en silo, avec des objectifs qui tiennent au mandat, dans une perspective de
complémentarité et de continuité. Si les espaces de dialogues que sont les comités de suivi
permettent d’échanger les informations dans une optique de coordination des services et dans une
perspective de case management, les intervenants ne travaillent pas ensemble auprès des jeunes et
des familles. Par exemple, dans le cadre du projet Comment éduquer nos enfants sans utiliser la
correction physique, le partenaire communautaire a développé l’intervention de groupe pour les
parents, celle-ci étant animée essentiellement par son personnel. L’institution réfère certains « cas »
à l’organisme et une rétroaction intervient au terme de l’activité de groupe à laquelle le parent
a participé.
En somme, si plusieurs projets ont été conçus ou élaborés en collaboration dans le cadre d’une
mobilisation limitée, l’intervention, pour sa part, se réalise au mieux dans une perspective
multidisciplinaire où le case management occupe une place importante.
– 332 –
4.2.3
La valeur ajoutée de l’intervention
À partir des constats présentés concernant la cible des projets à l’étude, l’inscription des projets dans
une dynamique plus globale et le travail en collaboration, il est possible de situer les pratiques à
travers trois niveaux de valeur ajoutée de l’intervention (atteinte d’objectifs organisationnels
(administratifs), rapprochement intra-sectoriel (continuité, accès), décloisonnement des
interventions (recombinaison des logiques d’action).
La plupart des projets ont été développés afin d’atteindre d’abord des objectifs organisationnels
devenus impérieux en raison du contexte organisationnel du centre jeunesse (la réduction du
personnel, l’augmentation de la tâche des intervenants, l’augmentation de la clientèle et
l’agravation de leurs problèmes étant au cœur de la justification de la construction de l’action).
L’un de ces projets avait pour objectif de favoriser le passage à la vie adulte des adolescents placés en
centre jeunesse, élargissant quelque peu le mandat de protection. Ces projets contribuent à leur
façon à gérer les restructurations constantes des organisations. Quelques projets contribuent à un
rapprochement sectoriel. Dans une perspective de continuum de services issue de la culture
planificatrice en santé publique, ces projets facilitent l’accès et la continuité des services, mais
demeurent sectorisés. Cette valeur ajoutée est importante dans la perspective institutionnelle et
s’inscrit dans la continuité des pratiques en réseau. Enfin, un seul projet est parvenu à développer des
actions concrètes au niveau local qui soient réellement décloisonnées. Ce projet a misé sur une
mobilisation large; celle-ci a donné lieu à une reproblématisation et à une recombinaison des
logiques d’action.
Conclusion
L’analyse globale des données, fondée à la fois sur les constats de la structuration des projets et de la
construction des interventions, nous porte à croire que le développement d’un partenariat qui
parvient à un décloisonnement des interventions et à une désectorisation des actions se réalise que
lorsqu’il y a une mobilisation large des partenaires qui donne lieu à une recombinaison des logiques
d’action. Ces résultats confirment ceux d’une étude portant sur le partenariat dans le secteur de la
santé publique (Bilodeau, 2000). Ainsi, si l’idéateur/concepteur ne parvient pas à formuler la
problématique de départ de manière suffisamment large et à interpeller des acteurs d’horizons
divers, les actions qui en découleront s’inscriront au mieux dans une perspective multidisciplinaire
de case management. Les pratiques étudiées correspondent davantage à des rapprochements des
secteurs publics du domaine de la santé et des services sociaux, avec quelques ouvertures sur
l’éducation, l’emploi et la police; mais très peu d’ouverture sur l’action communautaire autonome.
Au-delà de la mobilisation, plusieurs insistent sur la nécessité d’une renégociation des statuts des
partenaires afin de parvenir à une égalité à l’intérieur de ce cadre spécifique qu’est le projet (Bilodeau,
2000; Dhume, 2001).
Nous voulons simplement souligner ici l’importance, dans un processus de collaboration, de la
période de définition du problème qui doit se poursuivre au-delà de l’idéation. Ainsi, pour Bilodeau
(2000) le choix de la problématique est une étape cruciale du processus de partenariat, exigeant
l’implication de partenaires différents, la reconstruction des rapports sociaux inégalitaires entre les
partenaires et une contribution de tous les partenaires à l’identification de la problématique et de ses
– 333 –
solutions. Or, pour qu’il y ait confrontation de plusieurs paradigmes et la possibilité de
recombinaison, il faut déjà au départ que la mobilisation des partenaires ait été large et soit parvenue
à intéresser plusieurs partenaires différents. Un tel processus de structuration de la collaboration
peut donner naissance à des pratiques complémentaires autour d’une problématique identifiée par
une organisation. En outre, dès les premières phases du processus de collaboration, le fait de
s’associer à des organisations « représentant la diversité des interventions réalisées au sein d’une
localité, contribue à ce que les actions futures d’un partenariat soient ancrées dans le milieu, à
l’écoute du besoin exprimé ou perçu de la communauté » (Goyette et al., 2000 : 31). La manière dont
la problématique est posée oriente toutes les autres étapes du processus de partenariat, notamment
la détermination de la solution à ce problème.
L’analyse transversale des pratiques à l’étude confirme la pertinence de l’approche partenariale pour
actualiser les approches-milieu. Or, devant les discours politiques et gestionnaires faisant largement
appel au partenariat, le risque d’une dilution conceptuelle manifestant une dérive est certain. Ainsi,
l’appel au partenariat peut contribuer à justifier de façon subtile certaines compressions budgétaires
donnant lieu à une réduction de la taille des institutions tout en participant à la reproduction
d’interventions sectorisées (Dhume, 2001). L’utilisation du concept de partenariat peut aussi
permettre de justifier une grande responsabilisation des individus, des familles et des communautés,
au détriment d’une responsabilité partagée où l’État, de concert avec les acteurs locaux, participent
à la revalorisation des communautés (René et al., 2001). Or, pour parvenir au développement du
partenariat, il est primordial que les promoteurs s’inscrivent en médiateurs. Pour jouer ce rôle, il est
nécessaire que les acteurs ne s’inscrivent pas seulement dans les objectifs organisationnels, mais
également dans ceux des nouvelles entités de concertation et de partenariat auxquels ils participent.
Pour ce faire, il est incontournable que ces acteurs bénéficient d’une autonomie et d’une marge de
manœuvre suffisante pour pouvoir par exemple contribuer à rétroagir sur l’institution avec une
perspective critique de l’intervention. Il y a donc une question de volonté et de compétences
individuelles de ces médiateurs, mais également une question d’organisation du travail et
d’ouverture de l’institution au regard des partenaires. Considérant que l’organisation du travail dans
les centres jeunesse est centrée sur les stricts objectifs organisationnels où les énergies sont orientées
vers la réduction des listes d’attente, réduction rendue plus urgente par les évaluations externes
(Bartkowiak, 2000), l’autonomie et la marge de manœuvre nécessaire à ces porteurs de dossier pour
jouer leur rôle de médiateur sont ténues, voire absentes (Goyette et al, 2000b). Ceci a pour
conséquence d’abord de restreindre le soutien organisationnel du centre jeunesse aux collaborations
qui s’inscrivent directement dans le mandat de protection ou de réhabilitation et ensuite de favoriser
un très haut roulement des porteurs de dossiers de collaboration ayant des mandats d’intervention,
ceux-ci se voyant, au gré des urgences, retirer les dossiers de collaboration au profit d’une
augmentation de la charge de cas. Or, ce roulement de personnel est accentué par les très
nombreuses réorganisations de la structure de services du centre jeunesse ces dernières années
(Lapierre, 2000). Dans ce contexte, les intervenants mentionnent un déficit de cette permanence qui
est nécessaire au développement de liens de confiance desquels émergent les collaborations
fructueuses.
Par ailleurs, l’allégeance envers la structure de collaboration, l’acteur collectif, pouvant être en péril,
certaines tensions issues de l’éthique individuelle, professionnelle et organisationnelle (ou
– 334 –
institutionnelle) confrontent les médiateurs. Les enjeux de la définition des rôles de ces médiateurs
s’inscrivent dans la continuité de la notion de double allégeance et de conflits éthiques. « Suis-je le
miroir, le porte-parole de l’organisation ou un agent de changement » : les valeurs et les balises
éthiques viennent toujours aider à définir la marge de manœuvre et les frontières de la participation
critique, au travers desquelles le médiateur devra naviguer pour arriver à son objectif, sachant que les
balises éthiques, la marge de manœuvre et les objectifs sont mouvants, en constante progression.
C’est dans ce contexte que les acteurs considèrent acceptables « des conditions de coopération et les
termes de l’échange » (Friedberg, 1993 : 133) qu’ils n’accepteraient pas autrement. Ces compromis
interviennent puisque l’atteinte de l’objectif supra-organisationnel associé au partenariat dépend de
la « survie collective » du partenariat lui-même et des organisations partenaires. Or, les tactiques
utilisées pour assurer cette survie ou attendre le mandat d’une organisation peuvent parfois
s’éloigner trop des balises éthiques (professionnelles et organisationnelles ici) d’un acteur collectif et
être considérées comme une forme de compromission incompatible et inacceptable. Ainsi, un centre
jeunesse ou une école ne pourront risquer de compromettre leur existence en débordant de leur
mandat légal, même si l’intérêt ultime de l’enfant pourrait en profiter. Un intervenant ne voudra
pas plus risquer son renvoi par son employeur en allant bien au-delà de son mandat et de celui de
son organisation, malgré des collaborations négociées patiemment avec des représentants
d’autres organisations, malgré la valeur ajoutée importante dans l’intervention auprès des enfants et
de leur famille.
Le développement de pratiques partenariales est donc confronté aux enjeux de la double allégeance.
Or, mettre de l’avant la double allégeance constitue un changement de paradigme d’intervention
majeur. Ainsi, comme le soulignent Larivière et al. (2000), le poids des contraintes juridiques et
sécuritaires limite l’élasticité des pratiques (du centre jeunesse notamment), une évolution des
mentalités s’opère graduellement, celle-ci appuyée par des changements structurels. Dans cette
perspective, chacun des projets à l’étude a permis d’éclairer une étape du processus partenarial.
L’enjeu réside dans le passage d’une vision organisationnelle et sectorisée du partenariat à une
modification des paradigmes d’intervention que constitue leur recombinaison dans une
reconnaissance de l’importance des actions sur les réalités complexes.
Dans le cadre de cette recherche, nous avons voulu porter un double regard sur les projets de
partenariats qui étaient soumis à l’analyse : d’abord un regard sur le processus de structuration des
projets en collaboration ainsi que sur la coconstruction des interventions développées par l’instance
partenariale; ensuite nous avons analysé les liens entre ces deux dimensions d’analyse. Cette manière
novatrice d’envisager les collaborations permet d’abord de dépasser les lectures idéalistes des
concepteurs; elle contribue de plus à une lecture plus dynamique, au-delà des conditions de réussite
et elle facilite un regard plus rigoureux sur comment ces projets ajoutent à l’intervention auprès des
jeunes et de leur famille.
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INVESTIGATING AND INTERVENING IN FAMILIES:
A BRAZILIAN PROJECT WITH A LOW INCOME COMMUNITY
B Y : C RISTIANA M ERCADANTE E SPER B ERTHOUD , P H . D .
PROFESSOR
M ARIA DE FATIMA C AMARGO D. F ERREIRA , M . A .
PROFESSOR
E LEONORA S ILVA
P R O F E S S O R , P S Y C H O L O G I S T —F A M I L Y T H E R A P Y
A DRIANA D IAS
P R O F E S S O R , P S Y C H O L O G I S T —A N A L Y T I C P S Y C H O L O G Y
A DRIANA L EONIDAS DE O LIVEIRA , M . A .
PROFESSOR
NUCLEUS FOR FAMILY RESEARCH
U N I V E R S I T Y OF T A U B A T É
S ÃO P A U L O , B R A Z I L
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to present an ongoing pilot project of research and preventive
intervention, known as INFAC (a Portuguese abbreviate for “Investigating and Intervening with
Families in the Community”). The project is targeted at a low-income community and was designed
to be developed in two phases. The first phase is constituted of a research survey applied to eight
hundred families living in a chosen neighbourhood in the city of Taubaté, São Paulo, Brazil. The
objectives of the investigation were to draw a profile of the characteristics of the families and to
determine the demands for further intervention. The families were recruited through a public
school, and the instrument, a questionnaire, was created to gather data about the characteristics of
the families in regards to: (1) quality of life, (2) life style, (3) social and economic conditions and
(4) access to community resources. The analysis showed that the community suffers from lack of
support on many levels; that the patterns of family communication regarding the relationship
between family members should be improved, and that the families could benefit from educational
and preventive interventions. Based on the results, the second phase was initiated, and it consisted
in designing educational and preventive programs to be implemented and tested within the target
community. Some of the programs were, or are currently being conducted, and others will be
implemented during the second semester of this year. Considering the lack of preventive programs
specifically designed for our social reality, a continuous evaluation of the strategies adopted, as well
as of the results obtained, are being performed during the process in order to allow, in the future, the
design of a Model of Community-based Family Intervention Program aiming for the empowerment of the
Brazilian families.
Keywords: family intervention, prevention, family education, families at-risk
– 338 –
Introduction
As mental health professionals, one of the greatest challenges we face in Brazil today is how to
efficiently intervene with low-income families, in both educational and preventive levels, considering
the lack of research and the lack of instruments and programs designed to fulfill the specific needs
of those populations. Therefore, the NPF (Nucleus for Family Research) designed a research-based
program called INFAC (Investigating and Intervening with Families in the Community) that is being
developed in the University of Taubaté.
The NPF is part of the Research Laboratory of the Bachelor Course of the Psychology Department.
It was created in 1995, with the objective of assisting students and professors in the elaboration of
academic scientific projects and researches. Throughout the years, the NPF has been amplifying its
activities and, nowadays, it develops and technically supports projects within teaching, research, and
extension areas. The most recent teaching programs are being conducted in the School Clinic of the
University, which attends to low-income families from different surrounding cities. Regarding the
research and extension areas, the most recent project is the INFAC, which was born with the
objective of amplifying the attendance of our work to families from low-income communities. The
overall goal is to elaborate a future Model of Community-based Family Intervention Program that could be
used in similar communities to improve the quality of life of the families.
The theoretical basis of the project relies on a systemic-constructionist approach for the
understanding of the family system. The concepts of social network (Sluzki, 1997) and The Human
Ecological System Theory developed by Bronfenbrenner (1979) have been used as a theoretical
framework for the project design and implementation. The Human Ecological perspective explains
the possible levels of relationship between the family and the broader cultural context, and how each
system influences the other, interfering in the well-being of individuals and families. To better
understand, and to effectively improve the quality of life of the families, we have to be able to
understand the micro, the mesa and the macro systems within which people are constantly
navigating through, and the relations between them. Under this perspective, any intervention
program should focus on different levels within the different systems, in order to promote a
healthier network for the families. The concept of social network has been adapted by many scholars
that work in the Family Field (see, for example: Elkain, 1998; McCarthy, 1995; Waldegrave, 1994;
Korin, 1997 and Minuchin, 1999), and many recent researches have proven that, especially in the
work with low-income populations, it is important to take into consideration all available sources of
support and to mobilize the network surrounding the family system. Finally, the LFI (Levels of
Family Involvement) training theoretical model, developed by Doherty (1995), was used to guide the
supervising program conducted with the undergraduate students that were assigned to facilitate the
different models of intervention.
The Project
The project was designed to be developed in two phases, during the years 2001 and 2002.
– 339 –
◆
First Phase: Research Survey
Participants
The sample was composed of 800 families from a low-income community in the city of Taubaté,
São Paulo, Brazil. The participants were recruited through a public school attended by their
children and, considering that the school adopts social standards to accept the enrolment of
only low-income families, no further criteria were adopted to constitute the sample. An
invitation letter was sent to all of the 950 families served by the school, and those willing to
participate were included in the project.
Instrument
The instrument used was an innovative questionnaire, the Life Conditions and Family Necessities
Investigation Questionnaire, specially designed for this project, which investigated the following
areas:
1. Social-economic Conditions;
2. Life Quality in regards to: (1) health; (2) education; (3) leisure and (4) social network;
3. Community resources available to the families;
4. Family Structure and Dynamics: (1) ways of organization and functioning; (2) conflict
resolution resources; (3) self-evaluation performed by the family; and (4) expectations about
the improvement of the family functioning.
Data Analysis
Quantitative and qualitative analysis were applied, and the software SPHINX was used as a tool
for the analysis processes.
◆
Second Phase: Intervention Programs
Objective: to develop educational and preventive interventions capable of improving the quality
of life of the individual, by empowering the families of a target low-income community.
Participants: individuals and families that accept the invitation to participate in the programs
offered either at the School Clinic of the University or at a community facility.
Strategies: the interventions are conducted by a professor and/or by trained undergraduate and
graduate students, under the supervision of the professors responsible for the Project
– 340 –
Results and Discussion
A. Presenting the Results of the Survey
In relation to “health”:
◆
There is a significant complaint referring to the few community resources available and the
regular quality of the service offered.
◆
The population indicates a wish to attend lectures and orientation programs, however the
emphasis still remains on the necessity of taking remedial measures rather than preventive ones.
In relation to education:
◆
The population is conscious about the importance of talking to children about different
subjects, with drugs and cigarettes being the subjects that cause the most preoccupation.
◆
They consider “family” the most important forming and socializing agent of the individual and
attribute to “school” a complementary role in the development, with the emphasis being given
on the informative role.
In relation to leisure:
◆
Leisure is very restricted due to the financial condition of the population.
– 341 –
◆
Although the community shows conformism in relation to the few leisure options offered, they
suffer from the lack of cultural programs (theatre, movies, dancing, etc), which could provide
them with global development.
In relation to family dynamics:
◆
Although the most important problem identified by the families has to do with the children’s
behaviour, adopting a systemic perspective within a clinical approach with low-income families,
we can identify that the complaint verbalized by the parents makes evident other problems that
are present in the family dynamics in general.
B. Designing and Conducting the Intervention Programs
Considering the purpose of the Project, which is to develop a model of family intervention within
communities, the design of the pilot programs obeyed the following criteria:
1.
The most relevant demands revealed by the research
2.
Human resources available
3.
Material resources available
4.
Possibilities for testing and evaluating the intervention, while being conducted
Intervention Conducted in 2001:
1.
Parents’ Support Group (six groups conducted at the School Clinic)
2.
Parent’s Educational Group (six groups conducted at the School Clinic and four groups
conducted at the Community)
3.
“The importance of body language”—helping mothers and children to improve their
relationships through corporal activities (eight groups conducted at the School Clinic)
4.
Support Group for Families with Alzheimer patients
5.
Discussion group with community members (with teachers and staff from the public school)
Ongoing Intervention:
1.
Parents’ Support Group
2.
Parent’s Educational Group
3.
“The importance of the body language”—helping mothers and children to improve their
relationships through corporal activities
4.
Training facilitators—workshops and supervised activities with undergraduate and graduate
students
Intervention to be Conducted Next Semester:
1.
Parents’ Support Group
2.
Parent’s Educational Group
– 342 –
3.
“Building a better community”—discussion groups target to adults and adolescents, aiming to
plan how to optimize the resources offered in the community
Conclusion
The INFAC Project is an ongoing research and intervention program that was created with the
overall objective to develop a Model of Community-based Family Intervention Program adapted to the
characteristics of a Brazilian community. The most important contribution of the project is to be an
initiative rarely found in our country, due to lack of resources for research and preventive programs.
Although Clinical Psychology, in general, is very well developed in Brazil, as well as the field of
Family Therapy, mental health prevention is poorly developed and conducted. Therefore, most of all,
the INFAC Project aims to be the first of many other initiatives to develop a better understanding of
the needs of low-income families of our community that can lead to an efficient planning of
preventive intervention. To empower the families, by giving parents and children cognitive and
emotional tools to build better relationships within the micro, mesa and macro systems they live in,
is a great way of improve the quality of life of the people, and that is our desire.
References
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Les enfants et la pauvreté

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