CWP 4 - WOMEN, POVERTY AND HOMELESSNESS
Discussion leaders Dr Sadiq Syed (left), and Ms Patricia Ferguson, MSP, (right).
it comes to women. There are more women living in relative poverty than men, with the poverty level for single women with children at 23 per cent, a significantly higher amount than the Scottish average. In addition 16 per cent of Scottish children were living in absolute poverty in 2011/2012. Ms Ferguson related the problem to the recession and the introduction of austerity measures that have disproportionately affected women and children – the people least responsible for the problem. On the subject of homelessness, the statistics she delivered demonstrate the scale and seriousness of the problem faced in Scotland. In Scotland the number of people either homeless or threatened with homelessness fell by 3,747 in 2012-2013 (or 10 per cent). This still represents a total of 31,964 citizens. In the early years of devolution Scotland adopted a radical piece of legislation, introduced by a female Minister, which was designed to make
sure that no one was unintentionally homeless by 2012. She recognized that despite still being off target, the numbers are decreasing. Consequently, the pressure on women and children is highlighted by the following statistics:
• Over the last year the number of households in temporary accommo- dation increased in 12 out of 32 local authorities; and • There were still 2,936 households with children in temporary accommo- dation. These households contained a total of 4,847 children.
She concluded by saying that while the picture painted represents Scotland, the issues surrounding poverty and homelessness remains a priority for women Parliamentarians across the globe.
Women’s rights to equality economy
There is an urgency to ensure that
the post-2015 global development agenda addresses women’s access to resources and opportunities, including land, decent work and equal pay to enable women to become economic citizens. Dr Sadiq Syed, UN Women-South Africa, attested that most women and children suffer from chronic hunger or malnutrition particularly in developing countries. Such situations deprive women of the right to proper education, employment and good healthcare. As a result such women find themselves facing small scale trade, small farming and micro- level activities of a social welfare nature.
However, Dr Syed highlighted the MDG report that draws attention to the fact that woman continue to be denied equal opportunity (with men) to participate in decisions that affect their daily lives. The further completion of the MDG goals should remain a global priority, creating a stable foundation for future development action. He informed that the UN
Women group had proposed a stand-alone goal in the Post-2015 Development Agenda towards achieving gender equality, women’s rights and empowerment that is grounded in human rights and tackles unequal power relations.
The three main areas that require urgent attention are: ending violence against women and girls; equal opportunities for men and women; and appropriate resources and responsibilities to achieve equality. This means providing women equal opportunity to participate in decision-making in the households, private sectors and in institutions of governance.
It was further proposed that any new development agenda should be grounded in human rights agreements already signed by governments. These included the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action, and UN
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