Sweden must take action against the increasing child poverty in our country.
That’s the opinion of Save the Children, which states in a new report that many children are forced to forego both school trips and leisure activities because they cannot afford it.
– Sweden can do much more, says Samira Abutaleb Rosenlundh, adviser on child poverty at the organization.
In the report “Missing out”, 77 children and young people were interviewed in depth about the economic reality in their residential areas. All of them live in so-called socio-economically vulnerable areas, where at least half of the children are considered to live in poverty, relative or absolute, which are the terms that are usually used.
According to the testimonies, many are forced to give up, for example, leisure centers and club sports because the family cannot pay the fees – something Save the Children sees as a violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and thus Swedish law.
– All children have the right to meaningful free time. Too many children end up outside important social communities, says Samira Abutaleb Rosenlundh.
The taekwondo group was cut in half
Among the voices in the report is the girl whose taekwondo group was cut in half when the fee was due. And the boy who called in sick when the school trip would cost. Now Save the Children wants to see several measures at municipal, regional and national level to counteract exclusion.
– The school must be free and completely free of charge. The holiday homes must be open to everyone and completely free of charge. And we need to invest much more in leisure activities for children in various forms, says Samira Abutaleb Rosenlundh.
– Sweden can do much more. We are a country with good financial resources and we know that good financial conditions have a very great importance for children’s mental and physical health.