Ana Rodrigo |
Madrid (EFE).- Marcela is the mother of a 14-year-old boy, who raises alone with an income of about 600 euros a month; she covers the essentials, but she cannot afford expenses such as the dentist or leisure activities for her son.
In Spain, there are 557,442 households with minors headed by a woman; almost half are in a situation of poverty, according to the latest data from the latest Living Conditions Survey (ECV) of the National Statistics Institute (INE).
On Mother’s Day, which is celebrated this Sunday, Save the Children recalls that single-parent families are the ones that face the most difficulties when it comes to raising their children and urges the approval of the future Family Law to equalize households with permits of care that takes into account the circumstances of each one.
“The rent is 425 euros. The most serious problem I have now is the electricity bill, which has increased a lot.
I currently owe three bills. Mateo would like to play the drums, but I can’t afford to give him music lessons. My son can’t go out with his friends to eat at a fast food place, I can’t afford it. At most I can give you a euro for sweets. The clothes I buy from her are second-hand”, explains Marcella.
The entity for the defense of children estimates that the cost of raising a child is 672 euros per month, “something unaffordable for many single-parent families who must juggle to be able to raise their children.”
The INE data show that the photograph of a household in a situation of poverty in Spain is carried out by a woman with children. In those households most exposed to poverty and social exclusion, minors face a rate of severe material deprivation of 15.9%, above the general rate of 10%.
“That is, they lack the basic goods and services to maintain decent living conditions,” says the NGO, which recalls that the poverty rate in families with children stands at 24.7%, while in single-parent homes it reaches 46%; Of these, more than half (24.1%) are in a situation of severe poverty.
Having a single source of income increases the cost of raising children in proportion to household income: the loss of purchasing power caused by inflation especially affects these families and access to basic services, such as food or energy supplies.
Also to the payment of rent, according to Save the Children alert in the report “There is no one living here”, an expense to which more than 30% of the income is dedicated by the 158,000 single-parent households that live on a rental basis: 8 out of 10 heads by women.
“Unlike households made up only of adults, families with dependent children face more debt situations since they prioritize their well-being”, but energy expenditure is disproportionate in single-parent households.
In addition, since it is not a group that is automatically granted the social bonus, as is the case with large families, many of them cannot access this help, denounces the entity.
30,000 households of a parent with two children will be “large families”
The family law that this legislature wants to approve assimilates single parents with two children to numerous ones, with respect to aid and rights.
In this way, it is estimated that some 300,000 single-parent households with at least two children will be integrated under the heading of “Families with the greatest need for parenting support”, which also includes the hitherto “Large families”. , more than 750,000 in Spain with that title.
Those with two children where an ascendant or descendant has a disability, those headed by a victim of gender-based violence or by a spouse who has obtained exclusive guardianship and custody without the right to alimony and in which a parent is undergoing hospital treatment for one year or has entered prison.
The norm includes three new permits: five days a year to care for a relative up to the second degree or a cohabitant, the right to be absent for urgent family reasons -illness or accident- up to four days and eight weeks for fathers and mothers of children under the age of 8 years, which may be enjoyed continuously or discontinuously, full or part time.