The first major survey into the scale of poverty stigma in Wales has found that 25% of the Welsh population have experienced poverty stigma ‘always’, ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’ in the last year.
The Wales Centre for Public Policy commissioned the Bevan Foundation to carry out the survey as part of WCPP’s work to support the public sector in Wales to better understand and tackle the issue – to ‘reduce, rather than produce poverty stigma’ in the creation and delivery of policies and services.
The survey, conducted by YouGov and supported by WCPP’s partner, the International Public Policy Observatory (IPPO), reveals the extent to which this hidden, but damaging dimension of poverty impacts large groups of the Welsh population, with young people much more likely to be affected than older generations.
WCPP’s previous report, a Review of Poverty and Social Exclusion in Wales, showed that poverty stigma is a form of suffering which can affect people’s ability or willingness to seek support or participate fully in their communities. In effect, it is a barrier to escaping poverty.
The survey looks at the levels of received* and perceived structural poverty stigma in Wales, and which groups of Welsh society are most likely to experience them.
Key findings:
- 1 in 4 adults in Wales have experienced received poverty stigma ‘sometimes’, ‘often’ or ‘always’ in the past 12 months – 1 in 3 where annual household income is less than £20k.
- Younger people experience higher levels of both received and perceived structural poverty stigma than older people (people aged 16-24 reported 3 x more received stigma than people aged 65+).
- People experiencing food insecurity experience 3 x as much received stigma as those who aren’t
- The most common form of received poverty stigma is in the form of ‘people make negative assumptions about me because I don’t have much money’
- Perceived structural stigma did not vary by household income – 9 out of 10 adults perceive that decision-makers, public services and the media contribute to poverty stigma.
- People with disabilities, those who live in rented properties and benefit recipients are also groups more vulnerable to experiencing poverty-related stigma and more likely to perceive structural stigma.
The survey has been analysed by Dr Greig Inglis of the University of the West of Scotland and WCPP’s Amanda Hill-Dixon and Josh Coles-Riley. In an accompanying blog, Dr Steffan Evans, Head of Policy (Poverty) at the Bevan Foundation, has praised the Centre for raising the profile of poverty stigma and highlighted policies that can help to reduce it – while emphasising that poverty itself is the biggest driver of the problem.
WCPP Senior Research Fellow, Amanda Hill-Dixon said: “As well as struggling with insufficient income and high costs, too many people are also having to deal with the additional barrier in the form of the stigma of poverty and the mental health and social exclusion burden that this can pose.
“Strikingly, almost everyone in Wales perceives structural poverty stigma, strongly suggesting that poverty stigma is a systemic issue requiring our attention. And while many of the key drivers of poverty are outside of the control of Welsh local and national government, by tackling the stigma of poverty, the designers and providers of public and charitable services can limit the impacts of poverty.
“We are heartened that there is so much enthusiasm among public services to work with us and others to address this issue to improve the lives of those experiencing material hardship.”
Bevan Foundation Head of Policy (Poverty) Steffan Evans added: “WCPP’s report lifts the lid on this, an often underdiscussed aspect of poverty and helps us to understand what actions should be prioritised to address it.
“The root cause of poverty stigma is poverty itself, but stigma can exacerbate the impact of poverty. For example, if the deterioration in a person’s mental health leads to them reducing their work hours, their risk of living in deeper poverty increases. If someone chooses to not claim all the support they are entitled to will face even greater financial hardship. Children who are absent from school due to stigma around uniform, food or resources, will find it more difficult to get the best grades, increasing their risk of living in poverty in adulthood.
“The actions taken to address stigma should focus on areas such as these, which, alongside other interventions such as investing in a new generation of social housing and improving access to childcare, can help to shift the dial on poverty and to reduce its stigma.”
The survey is part of a wider programme of work the Wales Centre for Public Policy is undertaking, to help public services in Wales to better understand and tackle poverty stigma – to reduce, rather than produce stigma in the creation of policies and services. This includes a partnership with Swansea Council and members of the Swansea Poverty Truth Commission to identify what works to tackle poverty stigma on a local level and ensure that lived experience is a key part of its learning. WCPP has also established a Poverty Stigma Insight Network which includes a broad range of participants including policy makers, practitioners, experts by experience and academics, and is set to commission a Rapid Evidence Review of the issue.
Swansea Poverty Truth Commissioner, Karen Berrell said, “Poverty stigma has a negative effect on the potential available across our communities. As someone coming from a place of lived experience, I believe it’s incredibly important for our policy makers and public bodies to understand the impact of poverty stigma so that they can address it.
“We need to change the harmful attitudes that leave people feeling like they are failing. Poverty and poverty stigma are not the outcome of poor life choices, but choices made at the highest levels of our political systems resulting in people not having enough money to live on and being socially excluded.”
Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Wellbeing Alyson Anthony said: “We are keen to better understand the role of stigma as a barrier to our residents accessing services and benefits and community involvement and our partnership with WCPP and Swansea Poverty Truth Commissioners will help inform Swansea Council’s Tackling Poverty Strategy.”
*Received stigma refers to individuals’ personal experiences of being negatively judged, excluded, or treated unfairly because they live on a low income
Perceived structural stigma refers to individuals’ beliefs that people living on low incomes are treated unfairly by public services, decision makers and institutions such as the media.
Read the FULL REPORT
Read the POLICY BRIEFING
Read the Bevan Foundation blog
Read our other work so far on poverty stigma