More than half of single-parent households with children are at risk of poverty

There are nearly 1.8 million households composed of one adult and at least one dependent child. Accounting for 9.6% of households in Spain. "When we talk about single parents should keep in mind that this is an increasing and with woman's face reality," says Save the Children.

More than half of single-parent households with at least one dependent child are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, a "growing" reality and that Spain has a female face, as has denounced Save the Children in its report "More alone than ever. " 

Of the nearly 1.8 million households composed of one adult and one child in charge, which account for 9.6% of households in Spain, 53.3% are at risk of poverty-related situations and exclusion percentage in two-parent households stood at 30.5%. The CEO of Save the Children, Andrés Conde, explained during the presentation of the report that the situation of children at risk of exclusion has worsened in the last year and a half and stressed that 1 in 3 children are at risk of poverty, a figure that is increasing since 2007. "When we talk about single parents should keep in mind that this is an increasing and with woman's face reality , "says Save the Children, which claims that 82% of these households are headed by a mother. The report contains testimonies like Manoli, who with two children survive on 300 euros a month The NGO argues that the fundamental problems that such families face have to do with economic insecurity and lack of support to assist and care for their children. It is difficulty to deal with "vital and essential" expenses such as buying food, medicine, rent or mortgage payments, school supplies or clothes and affecting the quality of life of children.

The report notes that 52% of single mothers are excluded from the labor market or work in precarious conditions and instability, as the care of children and lack of reconciliation measures prevents them eligible for jobs with longer hours and income. It underlines that four out of ten single-parent households do not have enough money for household expenses and one in three lives exclusion situations related to the field of health, and stop buying medicines or abandon treatment due to financial problems. It also indicates that single mothers with children come forward with real obstacles, especially if you have a network of family and social support and 36% of them says it can not count on anyone when a problem arises, compared to 29, 6% of the total households.

For Manoli

The report contains testimonies like Manoli, who with two children survive on 300 euros a month with having to deal with the costs of housing, school, food, etc. For Save the Children, the main conclusion of the report is that children living in these homes are among the most vulnerable to poverty and social exclusion in Spain collective and therefore calls for urgent measures, including legal recognition as that They have large families, providing for their special vulnerability to poverty. It proposes the creation of a single parent status , with a specific system of certification which will ensure a minimum of protection from all administrations. Calls on the political forces committed to reach at least 2 percent of GDP in protecting the family with special attention to children, increasing the economic benefit for dependent children or create a non-contributory maternity provision for mothers without resources who are demanding jobs. As for tax measures deemed necessary to expand the deduction for maternity parent families at risk of social exclusion with children under three years, without requiring that the mother is working, and establish a new deduction for those with children between 3 and 18 years. Save the Children wants to protect children against evictions and displacement, single parents groups that aid recipients are considered to rental and members priority access to public housing and access to rental facilitate, within the Social Fund for Housing, single mothers are socially vulnerable. "It is a matter of social emergency for the scale and urgency of the problem and because, if we do nothing, these children have needs that will mark them for life," warned Conde.