Poverty, social security and stigma

a feature article by Kate Bell in Poverty Issue 144(Spring 2013)

‘Proud to be poor’ is not a banner under which many want to march.

Writing recently about the lack of respect accorded to those living on a low income, Ruth Lister identified the strong and historic link between poverty and stigma. Social security can be seen as a way of helping to reduce the stigma of poverty, providing enough for people to participate in society, without being reduced to charity. But in recent years, there has been a perception of an increasing sense of stigma attached simply to the receipt of benefits. Kate Bell asks whether social security itself has become a source of shame.

Full text (PDF 4pp)

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