A necessary change of course

The Family Policy Institute (IPF), a non-profit independent civil organization, created in Spain in 2001, engaged at international level for the promotion and the defense of the family, is due to present at the European Parliament the “2014 Report on the evolution of the Family in Europe”. The picture that emerges, disclosed to Gigliola Alfaro for SIR Europe by IPF President Eduardo Hertfelder de Aldecoa is not reassuring. Europe is invested by a demographic winter, by a serious marriage crisis and by a want of family policies.

President, what picture of the family in Europe emerges in the Report?

“Contemporary Europe is an ageing society, without children, owing to a drop in births and to an increase in abortions, with empty homes, increasingly less marriages and ever more divorces, with families often unsatisfied owing to a lack of reconciliation between domestic and professional life. Europe is developing into a society of individuals without interrelations”.

What are the most worrying aspects?

“On the one side there are low birth-rates deficit and an existing number of abortions. On the other side, the number of marriages has dropped while and non-stable couples have increased, coupled by mounting family break-ups and births out of wedlock. In addition, there are cultural, juridical and social reflections that are creating the conditions to oppose marriage, family and life”.

In which Countries are families experiencing the greatest difficulties?

“Policymakers and local administrations don’t take the issue of the family into serious consideration. They consider it a minor issue. That’s why the family institution, its social function and the problems it is forced to address aren’t the object of a major effort. As a result, there are great differences at economic level in the treatment of the family among the various Countries. In fact, while some Countries focus on the family, such as Denmark and Luxembourg, other nations like Latvia and the Czech Republic devote scarce resources to the family. There are Countries that not only have failed to develop family policies, but have also promoted laws and measures against life and the family. It is the case of Spain”.

You said that divorces and separations are increasing…

“Yes. There are almost one million divorces each year. This means there is a divorce every thirty seconds, over 2.650 divorces per day. But the most worrying aspect is that the number of divorces has increased by 24% over the past twenty years. In addition, the number of marriages is decreasing, with the loss of a million marriages since 1980”. Are also abortions increasing? “There have been 1.083.306 abortions in 2012: every day 2.968 children remain unborn in Europe owing to abortions, which is equal to 124 pregnancy interruptions every hour. Not only: every four minutes an adolescent undergoes an abortion. There have been over 28 million abortions since 1992. On the other hand, there is also a decrease in the number of births, 40% of which occur out of wedlock”.

What is the situation of old people?

“There are ever more elderly people of advanced age. Increasing aging population is producing, from an economic standpoint, an increase in public spending. On a social level, however, the elderly are carrying out new social care and family functions”.

To what extent does the economic crisis affect family difficulties?

“The dreary landscape described so far has been exacerbated by the economic crisis that has direly affected families. Although the economic crisis has led to the rediscovery of the family as a very valuable potential for the prevention and cushioning of the dramatic effects of problems such as unemployment, illness or housing, the lack of government interventions has led families to endure the most serious consequences”.

Which measures are needed to provide support to families, maternity, conciliation of work-family balance?

“The family should be considered a political priority. It is necessary to favour and to recognize the rights of the family. Finally, there is the need for measures that will solve major necessities and obstacles faced by families today. There are problems of housing, not being able to decide freely and responsibility the number of children, childcare, education expenditure, the reconciliation of family and professional life, and marriage stability”.