ATD Fourth World-OECD Conference on Addressing the hidden dimensions of poverty, 10 May 2019, Paris, France, More information at: https://www.oecd.org/statistics/addressing-the-hidden-dimensions-of-poverty.htm

1. Presentation by the
Combat Poverty, Insecurity and Social Exclusion Service
(Belgium)
Addressing the Hidden Dimensions of Poverty
Paris, 10 May 2019
OECD Conference Center
Henk Van Hootegem,
0032 (0)2 212 31 71
henk.vanhootegem@cntr.be

2. Combat Poverty, Insecurity and Social
Exclusion Service
• initiated by a Cooperation Agreement between the
federal State, the Regions and the Communities,
approved by the Parliaments (1999), implementing the
Combat Poverty Service
• as an answer to the demand of the General Report on
Poverty for a structural place for dialogue between
people living in poverty and their organizations and
other stakeholders
• the Service is a public institution but acts in
independence
2
Combat Poverty, Insecurity and Social Exclusion Service
www.combatpoverty.be - www.luttepauvrete.be – www.armoedebestrijding.be – http://www.armutsbekaempfung.be

3. Combat Poverty, Insecurity and Social
Exclusion Service
• poverty as a violation of human rights
• mission of the Combat Poverty Service: to evaluate the
effectiveness of fundamental rights in situations of
poverty and to formulate recommendations to the
governments and parliaments of Belgium, and their
advisory structures
3
Combat Poverty, Insecurity and Social Exclusion Service
www.combatpoverty.be - www.luttepauvrete.be – www.armoedebestrijding.be – http://www.armutsbekaempfung.be

4. Dialogue process
• every two years, dialogue process based on
participation of different stakeholders, with a special
attention to people living in poverty and their
organizations (collective approach)
(merging knowledge)
• the results of these thematic exchanges/dialogues
(analysis and recommendations) are published in the
biennial reports of the Service, adressed to the different
governments, parliaments and their advisory structures.
Are also used in memoranda (elections), notes, …
4
Combat Poverty, Insecurity and Social Exclusion Service
www.combatpoverty.be - www.luttepauvrete.be – www.armoedebestrijding.be – http://www.armutsbekaempfung.be

5. Dialogue process
• subjects:
• Social protection and poverty (for unemployed
people, for sick or disabled people, for the elderly,
for children and their family)
(insufficient & insecure income)
• Public services and poverty (justice, culture, child
care, health, employment, energy and water)
(material & social deprivation)
• Citizenship and poverty (non-take-up, right to
privacy, free to chose with who one lives, right to
housing, participation, right to family life,…)
(struggle and resistance)
5
Combat Poverty, Insecurity and Social Exclusion Service
www.combatpoverty.be - www.luttepauvrete.be – www.armoedebestrijding.be – http://www.armutsbekaempfung.be

6. Dialogue process 2018-2019 about
sustainability and poverty
• people in poverty want to participate in the debate about
the future (environment and environmental policy)
• in dialogue with environmental organizations, social
organizations, administrations, academics, …
• SDG’s (Sustainable Development Goals) as a
framework, ‘leaving no one behind’ as a guideline
• ‘good health and well-being’ for human beings and for
the planet (suffering in body, mind & heart)
• inequalities (location)
6
Combat Poverty, Insecurity and Social Exclusion Service
www.combatpoverty.be - www.luttepauvrete.be – www.armoedebestrijding.be – http://www.armutsbekaempfung.be

7. Source: Samarcande association, Inter-Environnement Bruxelles, SOS Jeunes-Quartier libre asbl (2008) Jeunes en ville,
Bruxelles à dos ? L’appropriation de l’espace urbain bruxellois par des jeunes de différents quartiers, Inter-Environnement
Bruxelles, Bruxelles, p.54
7
Combat Poverty, Insecurity and Social Exclusion Service
www.combatpoverty.be - www.luttepauvrete.be – www.armoedebestrijding.be – http://www.armutsbekaempfung.be

8. Source: Samarcande association, Inter-Environnement Bruxelles, SOS Jeunes-Quartier libre asbl (2008) Jeunes en ville,
Bruxelles à dos ? L’appropriation de l’espace urbain bruxellois par des jeunes de différents quartiers, Inter-Environnement
Bruxelles, Bruxelles, p.54
8
Combat Poverty, Insecurity and Social Exclusion Service
www.combatpoverty.be - www.luttepauvrete.be – www.armoedebestrijding.be – http://www.armutsbekaempfung.be

9. Dialogue process 2018-2019 about
sustainability and poverty
• impact of environmental evolutions and policies on
people in poverty
« The experience of poverty is also influenced by the nature
and degree of environmental degradation and various forms
of pollution. Examples include extreme weather events such
as floods and droughts, deforestation, air and water pollution,
increased use of pesticides and plastics, reduced habitat for
biodiversity, and exhaustion of land. People in poverty are
more exposed to the negative consequences of these
phenomena and have no means to protect their families,
livestock and other assets or to move out of harm’s way.
Climate and environmental policies are often shaped without
reference to their impact on people in poverty. » (ATD Fourth
World – University of Oxford)
9
Combat Poverty, Insecurity and Social Exclusion Service
www.combatpoverty.be - www.luttepauvrete.be – www.armoedebestrijding.be – http://www.armutsbekaempfung.be

10. Dialogue process ‘Another approach to
poverty indicators in Belgium’ (2004)
• ‘merging knowledge’ method, process with 23
participants: 12 people living in poverty, 9
representatives of the various government bodies and
institutions, and two academics
• results:
• importance of debt difficulties, often in relation with
basic rights (school expenses, energy bills, rental
costs, …) (insufficient & insecure income)
• level of stable employment (lack of decent work)
• ‘ongoing struggle’ in the obtaining of one’s rights
• importance of human emotions
• importance of trajectories (timing and duration)
• poverty and (lack of) freedom of choice
(disempowerment)
10
Combat Poverty, Insecurity and Social Exclusion Service
www.combatpoverty.be - www.luttepauvrete.be – www.armoedebestrijding.be – http://www.armutsbekaempfung.be

11. Research ‘SILC-CUT’: complements
and corrections to EU-SILC for hidden
groups of poor people
• research project of HIVA, at the request of the Combat
Poverty Service
summary : http://www.combatpoverty.be/research.htm
project leader: prof. Ides Nicaise,
ides.nicaise@kuleuven.be
• issue: some groups are under-represented in surveys
and databases, and are invisible in the poverty
indicators (undocumented immigrants, homeless
people, …) (institutional maltreatment)
Combat Poverty, Insecurity and Social Exclusion Service
www.combatpoverty.be - www.luttepauvrete.be – www.armoedebestrijding.be – http://www.armutsbekaempfung.be

12. Research ‘SILC-CUT’: complements
and corrections to EU-SILC for hidden
groups of poor people
• adaptation of the EU-SILC survey:
• a statistical analysis of the selective non-response
from groups that are included in the EU-SILC
• an identification of groups that for various reasons
were not included in the EU-SILC
• design of a questionnaire and survey procedure for
these groups
• a complementary survey on the living conditions: 277
interviews of homeless people ; 170 interviews of
undocumented immigrants
Combat Poverty, Insecurity and Social Exclusion Service
www.combatpoverty.be - www.luttepauvrete.be – www.armoedebestrijding.be – http://www.armutsbekaempfung.be

13. Main features of existing policies and
programmes that end up discouraging
use by poor people
• stigma / prejudices, which can lead to exclusion and
discrimination (identity) (social maltreatment)
• conditionality of rights (cultural beliefs)
• not listening to people living in poverty
(unrecognised contributions)
• confirmation or even reinforcement of inequalities
Combat Poverty, Insecurity and Social Exclusion Service
www.combatpoverty.be - www.luttepauvrete.be – www.armoedebestrijding.be – http://www.armutsbekaempfung.be

14. Lessons from the ATD/Oxford
University project on how to make
public institutions more responsive to
the needs of people living in poverty
• the value of participation of people living in poverty
(unrecognised contributions)
• in dialogue with other stakeholders
(merging knowledge)
• the need of evaluation:
• ex ante evaluation of the impact of policies on
poverty (see experiences in ‘poverty impact
analysis’ about new water tarification (water bills),
child benefits, smart meters energy, …)
• ex post evaluation of the policies (see biennial
reports)
Combat Poverty, Insecurity and Social Exclusion Service
www.combatpoverty.be - www.luttepauvrete.be – www.armoedebestrijding.be – http://www.armutsbekaempfung.be

15. What could be done to improve poor
people’s access to, and use of, public
policies and programmes
• non-take-up of rights:
• extent of this phenomenon is greater than that of
social fraud
• different causes of non-take-up of rights: lack of
information, unawareness of being a subject of
rights, stigma, unexpected consequences of the
demand, the professional thinks the requester is not
entitled, difficult access to justice …
• demands different solutions
• Combat Poverty Service: seminar in the Belgian
Senate, video, book
(material and social deprivation)
(institutional maltreatment)
Combat Poverty, Insecurity and Social Exclusion Service
www.combatpoverty.be - www.luttepauvrete.be – www.armoedebestrijding.be – http://www.armutsbekaempfung.be

16. What could be done to improve poor
people’s access to, and use of, public
policies and programmes
• recognition as a right-holder
• good and clear information, at the moments people
need them
• a proactive approach
• administrative simplification
• automatic allocation of rights
• a good access to justice
Combat Poverty, Insecurity and Social Exclusion Service
www.combatpoverty.be - www.luttepauvrete.be – www.armoedebestrijding.be – http://www.armutsbekaempfung.be

17. What could be done to improve poor
people’s access to, and use of, public
policies and programmes
• registration of trajectories
• evaluation of public policies and programmes, with
implication of people living in poverty and other
stakeholders
Combat Poverty, Insecurity and Social Exclusion Service
www.combatpoverty.be - www.luttepauvrete.be – www.armoedebestrijding.be – http://www.armutsbekaempfung.be

18. Thank you
18
Combat Poverty, Insecurity and Social Exclusion Service
www.combatpoverty.be - www.luttepauvrete.be – www.armoedebestrijding.be – http://www.armutsbekaempfung.be
Henk Van Hootegem,
0032 (0)2 212 31 71
henk.vanhootegem@cntr.be