“A country in decline, unable to cope with the economic crisis and to look to the future”. This is how Italy is described in the 2010 Social Watch report, the network of civil society organizations that every year carries out a monitoring of the commitments undertaken at international level to fight against poverty and to promote gender equality, presenting a picture of the social development in the 60 countries involved. In the latest report, Italy emerges as a country “going into free fall”, with an increasing poverty level, a high youth and female unemployment rate, an out-of-control public debt and further cuts to essential services.
According to the Social Watch, in 2009 absolute poverty increased to 4.7% of families (over 3 million people), with a high incidence in the South where it grew to 7.7%. The purchasing power of Italians decreased by 2.5% due to the economic crisis that reduced the disposable income. Immigrants are victims of the crisis as well, but their condition is compounded by the fact that the government mainly invested in curbing illegal immigration rather than foster a greater integration of foreigners.
The youth experienced a reduction in jobs of around 300 thousand, that is 79% of the overall drop in employment. In particular, the increase of the so-called NEET (Not in education, employment or training) was registered: these youngsters do not have a job or attend a training course. In Italy, 21.2% of the youth between 15 and 29 years old are NEETs. And it is the highest percentage in Europe.
Data regarding women condition, which is one of the most significant indicators in the evaluation of the state of health of a society, are as frightening. In 2009, the female employment rate suffered a drop for the first time since 1996, falling to 46.4%.
But future can always change. As reported by the Social Watch, to come away from the crisis it is necessary to increase revenues into the state coffers playing on a greater fairness in the application of tax, to extend social shock absorbers to temporary workers, to adopt a migration policy based on rights and citizenship, to guarantee greater gender equality through the so-called gender budgeting, to invest on green economy and on local supply chains. Only in this way it is possible to boost the growth not only of the GDP but also of social rights and well-being.
(Translation: Francesca Cannino)
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