In its report on “the children of the recession”, Unicef analyzes the impact of the 2008 economic crisis on the well-being of children in 41 industrialized countries, including France.
They live in rich countries. But far from being spoiled rotten, they are bearing the brunt of the fallout from the economic crisis. Children from the “recession generation” are the first victims of these evils which plague industrialized societies: loss of purchasing power, insecurity, rise in unemployment, reduction in aid… Unicef has decided to survey their well-being. , in a report on the 41 richest countries.
440,000. This is the number of children who joined the category of poor between 2008 and 2012 in France – an increase of 3 points. Admittedly, France is doing better than Greece (+ 17.5%), or than Iceland (+ 20.4%). But it is far from looking good. Of the 41 countries studied by Unicef for their management of child poverty, it is only 30e position…
In these countries, 2.6 million children fell below the poverty line between 2008 and 2012. And while, quite dramatically, 18 states have succeeded in reducing child poverty, among the rest, it is is another matter …
Evolution of child poverty (0-17 years) compared to 2008 – Eurostat / Unicef
A destitute and stressed childhood
Like their families, these children have reduced resources. Thus, in two thirds of European countries, the authors note an increase in material deprivation. In these homes, everyday objects are scarce: heating, washing machine, car … Three countries are particularly concerned, where half of the most disadvantaged children live: in Italy (16%), in Romania (14% ) and the United Kingdom (14%).
Access to food and housing is increasingly difficult. Médecins du Monde bears witness to this reality. “Children flock to our centers. While most of them are foreign minors in an irregular situation, there are more and more precarious young French people. Often, their families suffer from the threshold effect: they earn too much to receive aid, but not enough not to miss. We are starting to document this new phenomenon ”.
These living conditions directly impact children’s morale, as the authors of the report explain. “They can rarely escape the stress and suffering of their parents when they are faced with unemployment or a significant drop in their income,” they write. Consciously or not, they suffer the consequences of changing their diet, giving up sports, music or other activities, or not having the money to buy school supplies. “
The effects of the crisis in Greece, according to the children – HSBC survey 2014 / Unicef
Generation “No future”
While their parents lived the recklessness of the post-war boom, the children of these rich countries have very different prospects for the future. The percentage of young people aged 15 to 24 who are not in education, training or work has increased in most rich countries since 2008.
The NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) rate has thus exploded in Europe, in countries such as Croatia, Cyprus and Italy. France limits the breakage on this criterion. It is located in 12e position, with 11.2% of 15-24 year olds in this situation, an increase of 1 point between 2008 and 2013. But its unemployment rate among young people remains dramatically high: 23.9% (+5 points since 2008) .
For these children of the crisis, the future does not sing. They know they are a burden on their own family. The authors note that since the recession, having children increases the risk of becoming a working poor by 7 to 11%. “The children are not at the end of their sentence, predict the authors. It will undoubtedly take years for many of them to regain their pre-crisis level of well-being ”. They call on states to take action. Otherwise, “an entire generation could be sacrificed”.
How did the financial crisis turn into a crisis for children? Natali et al., Trends in Child Well-being in EU Countries during the Great Recession / Unicef
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