New campaign to stop single parent stigma
February 23rd, 2010 by Kate Bell Posted in Attitudes, Child poverty, Equality, Gender, Livelihoods
Kate Bell is Director of Policy, Advice and Communications at the single parent charity Gingerbread.
Gingerbread is the national organisation supporting single parents in England and Wales. It is 92 years this month since we were formed as the National Council for the Unmarried Mother and her Child – but some of the problems we’re facing today would have looked pretty familiar to our founders.
In 1918 we were campaigning against the Bastardy acts which stigmatised the children of unmarried parents. Today, we’re launching our ‘lose the labels’ campaign, as single parents have told us they’re still being stereotyped and stigmatised.
Single parents head one in four families today, and bring up over three million children. Their average age is thirty six, most work, and most were in a stable relationship when they had their child. But our members tell us they’re still portrayed as scroungers and bad parents – 83 per cent said that the media portrays them in a negative light.
Gingerbread’s campaign aims to tackle the stereotypes. We’ve got Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg to sign up to a pledge to tackle prejudice against single parents; you can ask your MP to sign up too here. We’ve also produced a film to try and challenge the stigma.
We hope that we’re starting a debate about how single parents are portrayed, and we hope its one that will lead to fairer treatment. We want single parents to be seen as individuals, not as a short-hand for social problems. Ninety two years on, its time to lose the labels.
5 Responses to “New campaign to stop single parent stigma”
By genny on Feb 23, 2010
I became a single parent 6 years ago and at the same time I became redundant, my house was going to be reposed, I had a lot of debts and my self esteem was at an all time low.
I thank God that a friend of mine introduced me to Gingerbread. The help and support I received was fantastic. . Six years on, I managed to sort out my debts, I still have the house, and my self esteem is at an all time high.
I work full time as an online tutor which means I can do the school run and still take my children to their various activities.
I run part time business, and I set up a support group to help other parents with the help of Gingerbread. I also set up a project called confident children, where we run half term and holiday activities for children. Parents make a donation and we get some funding to do this.
So once again thanks Gingerbread
By cna training on Feb 28, 2010
Keep posting stuff like this i really like it
By Karlie on Aug 23, 2010
Websites like this one are a great help to single parents, especially those who those who unexpectantly found themselves raising children alone on a single income. It helps to find online moral support from others in a similar situation who understand the problems of being a single parent and the added burden of how the public sees them.
By Angry Parent on Jan 17, 2011
I’m surprised that Cameron et all are signing this campaign given the recent proposals they have announced to remove up to 12% of a child’s maintenance entitlement in order to fund the CSA. This is a cynical attempt by the government to penalise and behave in a prejudicial way against single parents. We have established a Facebook ‘campaign against Tory child maintenance proposals’ and I hope that the readers of this blog will join us in making our voices heard.