Women’s emotional and physical health in Northern Ireland is being significantly impacted by the cost-of-living problem, according to recent research from the Women’s Regional Consortium and Ulster University.
According to the report, which polled 250 women, homes are under pressure due to increased food and energy costs, with 73% of households having trouble paying their electricity bill and 75% having trouble paying for food.
Living Expenses
Women are referred to as the “shock absorbers” of poverty because they sacrifice their families’ safety by forgoing food and heat. To protect their children and families, women are referred to in the report as “shock absorbers” of poverty, going without food and heat.
Around 96,300 children who have lost £27 per two weeks are experiencing increased hardship and food insecurity as a result of cross-cutting issues in the education and community sectors.
- Cost-of-living impacts women’s health in Northern Ireland.
- Women are “shock absorbers” of poverty, sacrificing safety for families.
- Women face unpaid employment due to public service cuts and rising costs.
To ensure that women and children do not go hungry throughout the summer, the Women’s Support Network demands that the Holiday Hunger Scheme be immediately reintroduced and the Healthy Start Scheme be publicly publicized.
Women frequently take on unpaid employment and caring responsibilities as a result of cuts to public services like health, social care, childcare, and education. Some women are no longer able to work due to rising daycare costs.
Around 96,300 children in Northern Ireland will no longer receive critical support with the end of the Holiday Hunger Scheme, and the possibility of a Department for Communities cut to the discretionary support fund will raise the likelihood that many families, who are already unfairly bearing the brunt of high inflation, will become destitute.
