The recent tragic case of the baby who drowned when she was left unattended in her bath has drawn dramatic attention to some of the social issues that often lie below the surface in many deprived parts of Malta. From the increasing prevalence of teenage pregnancies to battered women, drugs and poverty, these are often the surprising and mostly hidden aspects of life in modern Malta.
Last year, 32 babies were born to girls who were 16 or even younger. According to the Children 2010 report, the number of births outside marriage increased almost threefold in the decade between 1998 and 2008. As a priest from Vittoriosa, who has set up a support group to teach parenting skills to single mothers, pointed out, more needs to be invested in educating these young women about the responsibilities, realities and consequences of being an unmarried mother.
Education lies at the heart of many of this country’s social problems as, indeed, is the case elsewhere. The young girl who stops her studies to become a mother is likely to find employment more difficult and the children are often brought up in a household that struggles to survive financially.
There is almost invariably a correlation between lack of educational skills, unemployment and poverty. As the unmarried mother looks to the payment of social security benefit for support, the burden on the State not only becomes heavier as time goes on but her dependence on government handouts becomes almost unbreakable.
As a report by the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice in 2010 highlighted, poverty in Malta affects a number of vulnerable groups, including single parents, those over the age of 65 and people with drug, alcohol and gambling problems.
Single mothers find it hard to access childcare facilities and many rely on grandparents or the extended family for support. About half of all single parents – the group most at risk of poverty – live below the poverty line and about a quarter of those over 65 comprise the next most vulnerable group.
According to the National Statistics Office, in 2010, about a fifth of the Maltese population was at risk of poverty or social exclusion.
A Caritas researcher earlier this year pinpointed areas with highest concentrations of deprivation with some unexpected results showing Qawra, Buġibba, Valletta, Marsascala and Xgħajra and parts of Ħamrun and even Pembroke as exhibiting pockets at high risk of poverty.
Poverty in Malta has lain hidden for several years. But recent reports indicate that as the gap between rich and poor has widened so has the number living in deprived conditions below the poverty line. Increases in food prices – another spike in global prices is expected next year – and in the cost of utilities only serve to exacerbate the position.
Approaches to reductions in poverty and social deprivation tend to focus, rightly, on economic and social policies. But a key element is the need for better education. This is the prime means of achieving sustainable economic growth as well as personal human development. Despite commendably high government investment, the educational system has failed too many students.
Research demonstrates that the higher the educational attainment level, the lower the risk of poverty. Too many of our students are leaving school without achieving at least a basic standard of literacy, meaning they are unable to develop skills fit for productive employment or, indeed, life.