The number of single-parent households living below the poverty line has been rising in the Czech Republic, as a consequence of the COVID crisis and subsequent high inflation, according to research published today by Radka Dudova from the SYRI National Institute and the Institute of Sociology at the Czech Academy of Science.
While in 2021, 32.4% of single-parent households were below the income poverty line, last year the proportion had risen to 36.3%.
Single mothers and their children make up about a quarter of all households in the Czech Republic.
The SYRI researcher followed a sample of 32 single mothers with young children during the COVID-19 pandemic and conducted repeated thorough interviews with them.
One of the recurring themes in the interviews was a shortage of food.
“The cause was usually the mothers’ poor economic situation,” Dudova said. “Many did not have a stable income because they could not find work after parental leave, others lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic. Their jobs were eliminated or they had to stay at home to care for their children. Besides, school canteens, which at other times provide children with at least one relatively cheap and high-quality meal a day, were closed.”
Women were ashamed to talk publicly about the lack of food for themselves and their children, so as not to be considered bad mothers, the authors of the survey noted.
Single mothers primarily economised at the expense of their own food, even though they were aware that it could have negative effects on their health. They also tried to solve the situation by selling clothes and household equipment and looking for part-time jobs, the research found.
According to Dudova, the way out of the vicious circle was when women found the courage to ask for help from non-profit and charity organisations that provide financial assistance or food.
The experience of the women interviewed showed that support from these organisations was crucial to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent period of inflation. “NGOs thus substituted for the role of the welfare state, which was failing in relation to the single mothers’ families during the pandemic,” Dudova added.
