Social Inclusion (ISSN: 2183–2803) 2022, Volume 10, Issue 4, Pages 16–28 https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v10i4.5758 Article Exploring Children’s Views and Experiences in the Frontline of Poverty in Catalonia: A Qualitative and Participatory Approach Laia Narciso *, Silvia Carrasco, and Gabriela Poblet EMIGRA‐CER Migracions, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain * Corresponding author (laia.narciso@uab.cat) Submitted: 3 May 2022 | Accepted: 18 July 2022 | Published: 20 October 2022 Abstract One in three children and adolescents is currently living in poverty in Catalonia. Most specialised research has been con‐ cerned with assessing and questioning current legal frameworks and policies to combat child poverty mainly through quantitative approaches. However, these approaches neglect the specific experiences, perspectives, and visions of chil‐ dren and their potential to provide important clues for the design and evaluation of policies to eradicate poverty. It is also uncommon to include the experiences and views of social intervention staff who often work in situations of extreme budgetary reductions with remedial—not transformative—models. The article presents some findings from a qualitative study commissioned by UNICEF to explore this double experience from the point of view of its protagonists on the front line, drawing on fieldwork carried out before the Covid‐19 pandemic that aggravated the living conditions of the most vulnerable sectors of society. The results show a shared perception of the impact of material deprivation in all spheres of life, but also diversity in coping perspectives and understanding of the structural factors that cause inequality and poverty, as well as the possible responses to overcome them. They also reveal the need to further explore child poverty as a gen‐ dered experience. Keywords child poverty; participatory methods; qualitative methods; Spain; UNICEF Issue This article is part of the issue “New Approaches to the Study of Social Inclusion of Poor Children and Youth” edited by Anita Borch (OsloMet) and Kirsi Laitala (OsloMet). © 2022 by the author(s); licensee Cogitatio (Lisbon, Portugal). This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribu‐ tion 4.0 International License (CC BY). 1. Introduction The transformations inherent to the post‐industrial eco‐ nomic model, with the polarization and deregulation of According to the Statistical Institute of Catalonia the labour market (see, among others, Flaquer et al., (IDESCAT), one in three children and adolescents under 2006; Marí‐Klose & Marí‐Klose, 2012), have led to the the age of 18 (31%) was already at risk of poverty in loss of weight of wages in the face of the capital, to Catalonia before the Covid pandemic in 2019 (Figure 1). the detriment of families with dependent children who Moreover, households with average available income obtain their income from work (Flaquer & Villà, 2008). below the poverty line were 60% in Catalonia, three‐ The crisis of the welfare state has further aggravated fold as much as the 2017 EU average of 22.4% (Eurostat, this in Spain due to the lack of policies to support fam‐ 2019) in the year regarded as the beginning of the eco‐ ilies in comparison to other European countries (León nomic recovery after de 2008 crisis in Europe. & Pavolini, 2014; Mendoza & Vernis, 2008; Moreno & The development model and the unequal power Acebes, 2008; Rodriguez Cabrero, 2014) and the auster‐ structures of late‐modern society (see, among others, ity policies applied during the recession (León & Pavolini, Castel, 2002; Young, 2007) are at the root of poverty. 2015) and their impact on child well‐being also in rich Social Inclusion, 2022, Volume 10, Issue 4, Pages 16–28 16 65 and above 18-64 Less than 18 8 Men 17.5 30.1 15.5 Women 19.2 31.9 12.2 Total 18.3 31 Figure 1. Risk of poverty rate (%) by age and sex (Catalonia 2019). Source: Own elaboration with data from IDESCAT (2019). countries (UNICEF, 2014). Finally, changes in the social subjective one (perceptions, evaluations, expectations, structure, especially in family models and their functions and meanings). Since 2013, the reports of the UNICEF (Carrasco et al., 2005; Gómez‐Granell, 2004) are under‐ Innocenti Study Centre have applied a rights‐based per‐ mining the pillar of a family‐centred welfare state (Ayllón, spective and a methodology based on calculating the sat‐ 2017; Cantó, 2014). isfaction of children’s basic needs (multidimensional and The perspective used in the definition of poverty has relative poverty), including subjective measures of chil‐ a direct impact on the methods used to measure it as dren’s well‐being and gender analysis. This also requires well as on the production and analysis of data that sup‐ a complex approach that includes qualitative and partic‐ port interpretations. This is crucial because some data ipatory methods. are treated as evidence while other data are ignored, hin‐ The importance of qualitative approaches to child dering a better understanding of poverty (Jones, 2012). poverty has been highlighted (Jones, 2012) to account Beyond a static conception that describes the situation for relational and subjective dimensions of children’s of low income at a given moment, poverty and exclu‐ well‐being related to material dimensions of poverty sion must be understood as a process of accumulated dis‐ (Andresen & Meiland, 2019; Quint et al., 2018), and to advantage. The concept of “space of exclusion” reflects capture children’s views on what should be done about the degree of alienation of the individual in multiple it (Monks et al., 2022). However, qualitative research con‐ dimensions in a continuum of social inclusion/exclusion tinues to be scarce, usually aiming to complement quan‐ (Subirats, 2004, 2006). However, focusing on the individ‐ titative data and often limiting the repertoire of methods ual and the recovery of “normalised” social positions, to interviews, despite efforts made to counterbalance without questioning the factors that cause the expulsion the top‐down production of evidence. In their thorough itself is highly problematic (Laparra et al., 2007). Being literature review, Barbosa et al. (2020) concluded that poor is not an individual condition, but rather an out‐ qualitative research often has not used exact definitions come of multiple dimensions (structural, institutional, of poverty and that children’s perceptions that could pro‐ and of individual and collective response) that have an vide clues to improve policies and their practical appli‐ impact on the living conditions experienced (Subirats cations have received almost no attention. This largely et al., 2005) and simultaneously produce the accumula‐ describes the case of research on child poverty in Spain. tion of barriers or risks in different areas (labour market, UNICEF has been promoting the Child‐Friendly City education, social relations, health, housing, etc.), and seal among municipalities since 2001. To obtain it, it is limit the opportunities to access protection mechanisms. necessary to demonstrate networking between admin‐ In general, but even more in the case of children, istrations and social organisations, the participation of poverty and well‐being are multidimensional phenom‐ children and adolescents in local politics to find solu‐ ena that must be approached from the perspective tions to the problems that affect them, as well as plans of rights, which considers, following the definition of to increase equity and attention to the most vulnera‐ Lamela de Castro (2017), that resources not only have ble groups. This is part of the 2030 agenda and the a material dimension but also a relational one (avail‐ SDGs (UNICEF, 2017). The UNICEF Child‐Friendly City seal able resources, but also access or discrimination to them, allows, among other advantages, the possibility of offer‐ participation or exclusion, and having or not decision‐ ing a diagnosis of the local reality with a participatory making power over the issues that affect them) and a approach. The authors carried out a study commissioned Social Inclusion, 2022, Volume 10, Issue 4, Pages 16–28 17 by UNICEF to explore, from a qualitative approach, the grammes; group 1) and the other one was selected from local conditions to combat child poverty including a focus after‐school leisure time activities (e.g., sports clubs or on the experiences and visions of poverty among chil‐ cultural associations; group 2). In the case of practition‐ dren themselves. In this article, we will describe the ers, we identified and contacted key agents in the local methods applied and present some of the findings from areas, mainly technical staff from the council services the study with children, complemented with data from of childhood, education, and social services, creating ad intervention staff on the frontline of child poverty. hoc groups in each city. Data collection included projective and elicitation 2. Methods and Context group techniques. Six playful‐participative sessions were carried out with 32 participant children and adolescents The target population were children and youth aged to capture their specific perspectives within their daily 0–18 from three Catalan cities with different risk pro‐ experiences and the way they talk about them. This par‐ files identified by research literature and also in pre‐ ticipatory approach is based on the idea that an essen‐ vious phases of the study and the primary care local tial right of children is to be heard and to actively partic‐ staff. The purposive sample (see Table 1) included chil‐ ipate in the issues that affect them (Castro et al., 2016). dren and adolescents that belonged to households with The so‐called child‐friendly or participatory techniques unemployed adults and diverse family compositions are connected to children’s daily lives, which are pre‐ (single‐parent households, two‐parent households, large sented in an attractive and simple way, have a play‐ families, etc.), both nationals and with migrant and ful ingredient, and are applied to avoid situations that minority status backgrounds. Municipalities were cho‐ make children uncomfortable or singled out (Ames et al., sen to include diverse population sizes, levels of residen‐ 2010; Clark et al., 2003). To collect multiple forms of chil‐ tial segregation, main economic sectors, education offer dren’s expression, it is recommended that data‐gathering available, and different capacity to design interventions techniques are diverse, which some authors have called and budgeting. Finally, we selected one of the five large the mosaic approach (Clark & Moss, 2001). The applica‐ cities in Catalonia (medium‐sized cities) devoted to the tion has been adapted to the context by following collo‐ service sector (local area B), one city in the north, with quial forms of communication that avoid the feeling of a higher percentage of migrant population (local area C), being evaluated and promote a climate of respect and and one city in the province of Barcelona, far from the non‐judgement. In line with this, a guide for the group ses‐ dynamics and resources of the metropolitan area (local sions with the children was designed and implemented area A). in three phases and modalities, from more projective to Fieldwork with children and intervention staff was more reflective, after having explained the objectives of carried out in the winter of 2019. Participants were the project and the session in a colloquial way: selected by purposive sampling. With the help of techni‐ cal staff from the local councils, prospective groups were 1. Game of cards created ad hoc, with images that identified and the first contacts were made. In the case the participants had to comment on and sort first of children and adolescents, we organised two groups in according to their wishes and then according to each town. We worked with already‐established groups their needs. of between six to twenty participants in familiar settings. 2. Role‐play imagining a situation and a scene, after Participant boys and girls were all around 11–12. In each having listened to a vignette provided by the per‐ city, one group was at risk of poverty and/or social exclu‐ son who conducted the activity explaining one sion (e.g., from council open centres or after‐school pro‐ actual measure applied to reduce child poverty Table 1. Key characteristics of the local areas~. Local area A Local area B Local area C Inhabitants 35.000 hab. 200.000 hab. 50.000 hab. Population under 18 8.000–10.000 35.000–45.000 8.000–10.000 % migrant population ≈11% ≈11% ≈25% Unemployment (2019) 10–12% 10–12% 12–14% One‐parent households (2011) 1.500–2.000 7.000–9.000 1.500–2.000 Children at risk of poverty 20–30 20–30 40–50 Poverty rate 15–20 15–20 25–30 Source: Own elaboration with data from IDESCAT (2018), Observatori del treball i model productiu (2019), and Alto Comisionado para la lucha contra la pobreza infantil (2019). Social Inclusion, 2022, Volume 10, Issue 4, Pages 16–28 18 that could be uncomfortable or inadequate from and photographs taken and the rest of the material is their perception. restricted to the research team in which the participants 3. Proposals to reduce poverty in Catalonia with post‐ placed their trust. The information collected during the it sheets that could be attached to cards indicating focus group with professionals and the play‐participatory different areas of social life. groups with children will be stored for a limited period and subsequently destroyed. In the case of intervention staff, three in‐depth inter‐ views were carried out with six local technical staff 3. Results responsible for coordinating the basic areas of social ser‐ vices in child care (interviews A, B, C); four focus group Mapping the comparative impact of poverty by age practitioners of social intervention staff with a total num‐ group and sex is essential. We did so by drawing on sec‐ ber of 26 participants (focus group practitioners A, B, C). ondary data available at IDESCAT. As can be observed, Data analysis was carried out using Nvivo11 apply‐ children live in more impoverished households than the ing an inductive and deductive iterative scheme. All the rest of the age groups; or, from another perspective, one material was transcribed and organised selectively, infer‐ could say that the number of dependent children in the ring the main ideas from the content and discourse ana‐ household has an impact on the unit of consumption. lysis and the emotional tone of research situations, fol‐ In this section, we present some results related to lowing an analysis strategy based on grounded theory the experiences and impacts of poverty from the point starting only from the broad dimensions indicated by of view of the participants. Secondly, we move to their the state of the art previously elaborated (see Figure 2). imaginaries and visions of poverty and how to deal with Similarities and differences were searched according to it. Results will be presented in reference to all groups as children’s diverse levels of poverty risk and by resources one, except when there are distinct views or experiences devoted to coping with it at a local level. connected to one specific group according to the risk of This way of interpreting data is especially relevant poverty rate or other characteristics, or to one specific in research with children and young people as a strat‐ local area (see Table 1). egy to avoid the bias of the adult perspective. Finally, the recommendations for responsible research and inno‐ 3.1. Experiences and Impacts of Poverty vation were followed, specifically the principles of free‐ dom, honesty, and responsibility in social and child Although none of the children participating in the research, adapting informed consent to the research con‐ research personally identified as “poor” or in a situation text (UAB, 2020). The instruments were administered in of poverty, their discourse and reflections revealed their a familiar and trusting setting in all groups. We avoided clear experiences in some of the areas that define what talking directly about personal experiences with chil‐ is meant by poverty. They display a multidimensional dren. Finally, special attention was paid to keeping the perspective, and many prove to be aware of poverty as anonymity of participants and local areas to avoid nega‐ an actual experience undergone by some of their peers tive impacts of the research. Access to the information at school or in their immediate circle. From the data Household income • Labour inclusion • Work-family conciliaon • Fiscal policy • Family minimum income guarantee (benefits) Children access Social to quality par cipa on services • Social and cultural • ECEC and equal acvies educaon • Sports • Health • Leisure • Housing • Social services Figure 2. Model of analysis: Main dimensions. Source: Own elaboration based on TÁRKI (2010), the European Commission (2013), and Ikuspegiak—Observatorio Infancia País Vasco (2013). Social Inclusion, 2022, Volume 10, Issue 4, Pages 16–28 19 collected in the three local areas, it can be concluded the limitation in social participation in the educational that being a child or adolescent affected by poverty in sphere, both in the schools’ academic projects and in Catalonia today means living in poor housing conditions out‐of‐school activities. Children in all groups mentioned or even that the family does not have access to housing that the lack of participation of some children in school at all. outings is not uncommon, due exclusively to their cost, This reality emerges from the stories of children especially in secondary school. Again, the social interven‐ and adolescents in the three areas and is evident to tion staff has confirmed this: the extent that squatting is part of their imaginaries. Although it may not be a personal experience, partici‐ Sometimes, a whole school project is only actually pants are aware of this phenomenon close to them. They enjoyed by 53 children out of 200. We usually try refer to it by talking about the “flats with a kicker” or that the ones who stay here do the same activities as “flats in shacks,” meaning you just get in by kicking the the ones who go to the camps, even special games. door open (Group C2) or showing concern about evic‐ We try to make them feel the same experiences, but tions. In various groups, they provide hints of their fam‐ here. (Focus group practitioners C) ily’s moral economy and believe “that no one can be evicted from their homes” (Group B1), “that there should Some municipalities have provisions that ensure free or be houses for everyone” (Group B2), or that “everyone reduced payment, but families who cannot afford the has to have a good place to live” (Group A2). They are cost involved opt for their children to stay at school and perfectly aware of the housing contradiction: take part in alternative activities. This fact may imply feel‐ ings of stigma, especially in primary school when the What happens is the other way around. There are shared perception is that attendance is more generalised. many uninhabited houses and then homeless peo‐ A dialogue from Group A1 illustrates this: ple. Why can’t these people occupy the houses? Why are they building a supermarket in one place? There Child 1: I never go on outings and stay overnight. are already supermarkets in this city, they could build apartments, you do not have to have the newest one, Researcher: What does the school offer? but a flat in good condition so that people without a livelihood or people who come from other places at Child 1: Well, they do in [at the end of] ESO, it’s [part war can go and stay. (Group C2) of] the end of term project, it’s not so important… In primary school almost everyone goes and if you do Along the same lines, in their conversations, they have not go, it’s… naturalised, to a certain extent, the precariousness and poor housing conditions, indirectly explaining energy Child 2: I’m in primary school and I don’t go, but poverty. Some children at risk of poverty argued that I don’t care, I prefer to stay with my family. “going to the bottom floor” (Group B1) could be a strat‐ egy in the face of the lack of basic resources at home According to the staff views, this is a narrative of conceal‐ while suggesting that it should not be possible to “cut ment: They say “they ‘do not want to go on outings’ or off neither light nor water” in anyone’s house. Other ‘I do not like it! But the truth is they cannot” (focus group living arrangements are also part of their lived experi‐ practitioners A). ences, such as sharing rooms, emerging as a sponta‐ Along these lines, some children responded: neous remark in the stories of some boys and girls: “Well, “We should all have scholarships so that we always go to the fridge….If there is a tenant living in the house, it is school” (Group B1). Other children also expressed this usually fuller” (Group C1). limit of the provision systems regarding food security and Similarly, other children and adolescents, although demanded “that they leave the grant free” (Group B1), not affected by energy poverty, reported having repeat‐ referring to the partial coverage of the school meal edly seen people drinking water on their way home allowance, which keeps the cost of this service and is from school because the water had been cut off at the reason why some families do not even apply. home (Group A2). Intervention staff confirms these expe‐ Lack of access and participation in extracurricular riences as seen by children. activities is also a reality. Some participants demanded “that everyone should be able to have some extracur‐ 3.1.1. Material Deprivation Affects the Social Life of ricular activities so that they can do something after Children and Adolescents Daily school” (Group A2), although this was not a demand that emerged from the stories of the children most affected Low family income and economic insecurity penetrate by poverty. It should be borne in mind, however, that the daily lives of children and adolescents in the form out‐of‐school activities are complementary education of material deprivation, which limits their access to and activities that provide access to forms of cultural capital participation in social life, one of the main areas of beyond the formal curriculum. At the same time, they are social inclusion, in at least four ways. The first one is spaces for socialising, both for children and their families. Social Inclusion, 2022, Volume 10, Issue 4, Pages 16–28 20 Intervention and technical staff have highlighted this as a mobile phone or brand‐new clothes….When you a main area of inequality for children. enter adolescence, you have to join your peer group Moreover, children have unequal access to qual‐ and, therefore, if you cannot afford everything they ity playtime and positive experiences of family leisure need….[The issue is that] they need it! It is not a pri‐ time—some of them, for example, do not go away on ority [but] among them… holidays (as is included in the At Risk of Poverty or Social Exclusion Indicator), don’t go out to the cinema, or visit Yes, because it is [a priority] to be part of the group. amusement parks (Group A2). They also don’t often par‐ (Focus group practitioners C) ticipate in summer camp activities and other ordinary services aimed at children and adolescents during school Children appear to be aware of their image, especially holidays, in cultural or sporting camps, which can be clothes and shoes, which are markers of class, and they highly beneficial in terms of academic capital, promoting have certain prejudices associated with them. From the aptitude to learning new languages, new technologies, point of view of children affected by poverty, material or highly specialised sports. The reasons why some chil‐ deprivation in families can mean not having access to cer‐ dren have limited access to them vary, from the lack of tain popular items and, in some cases, being exposed to services (for example, in August, when not all municipal‐ ridicule and even insults. This can exacerbate their actual ities offer them) to various barriers including the cost of risk of exclusion in relations among peers: enrolment, the necessary material or equipment, trans‐ port and, again, the lack of financial aid to enjoy them, Having new clothes (Group B1) among other factors. Moreover, the services specifically organised to com‐ You are judged by the clothes you wear. (Group A1) pensate for these barriers do not always meet the same quality standards as the general offer. Fieldwork has Money is what gives you everything, without money shown that sometimes children enjoy enriching activities people call you poor! People insult you. (Group C1) of socio‐educational value in supportive settings with positive social relations and staff with specific training Access to a mobile phone or having internet available to work with children in situations of high vulnerability. at home are ways that make relations with family and However, there are also segregated services that work peers easier and are not always regarded by young peo‐ from a deficit view and tend to reproduce a large part ple at risk of poverty as luxury items in a general way. of school tasks and rhythms, with demotivating effects: The schools’ lockdowns during Covid‐19 have proved The children themselves do not associate them with cul‐ that to a greater extent. tural practices that resemble those of schools. At the same time, this prevents them from developing other Having internet. (Group B1) skills and relationships. In this second type of setting, “for the disadvantaged,” the staff often has low specialised There are poor people who have a mobile phone, a training or qualifications to work with vulnerable chil‐ Nokia…most people…it doesn’t cost a lot of money. dren from diverse social and cultural backgrounds. Many (Group A1) of these services and activities are carried out in poorly maintained and unsuitable settings, only used for the I have a mobile phone because both my father and my season, and poorly equipped, which makes it difficult mother work….I am on my own, well, with my bother. to organise attractive activities of high socio‐educational (Group C2) value and, thus, enhancing inequalities among children. The children talked about the difficult access or lack Having these goods and services means negotiations of it when it comes to certain goods and services pop‐ with the family, which can be part of the education ularised among peers and same age groups. Branded process but can also increase tensions in the house‐ clothes and shoes, beyond their value, are symbolic hold, as these quotes from children affected by poverty markers of social inclusion in peer groups. Their pur‐ (groups A1, B1, C1) show: pose, therefore, goes beyond the consumerist logic that is sometimes attributed to children of poor families by “If you work, you get good marks….I’ll buy them for some technical staff and politicians. The opposite is true you,” they say. and these markers can also promote feelings of belong‐ ing and foster bonding: She tells me to wait until they pay her and that she’ll buy it for me then. You go to school and your friend has something very fashionable and you say, “I want that too!” (Group A1) “I’m going to buy it for you, tomorrow, tomorrow…” Then…when a month goes by and it goes out of fash‐ Well, and the issue of whether they spend more ion, he buys it from me! or less money on food, but then the child carries Social Inclusion, 2022, Volume 10, Issue 4, Pages 16–28 21 Some children and adolescents from the groups affected I’m already saving to be able to study. by poverty proposed that some free public services they already go to should include these goods and facilities for Studying is the least important thing, studying is those deprived of them: important, but what matters…is being good, knowing people… There should be PlayStations in the public libraries. (Group B1) At the same time, some were aware that education is a way to the labour market and social inclusion, especially A recurrent reflection made by staff directly working with to overcome disadvantages: children shows concern about the time they spend on their own. Working hours and difficulties in reconciling I do not like homework, but it is important to study work and family life are the main factors causing this, for poor people. (Group A1) together with the children’s lack of or lesser participation in extracurricular activities. The fact that classes are con‐ The children in the groups with the lowest risk of being centrated in the mornings in compulsory secondary edu‐ affected by poverty, on the other hand, perceive educa‐ cation has been highlighted by some technical staff as a tion from a global perspective as an end in itself: risk factor, not only because it does not include lunch in school and poses a risk to food safety, but also because it It is important for your future to know things. means that many adolescents finish the school day much (Group C2) earlier than their parents or guardians finish their work‐ ing day: The council can help them to buy books or help them make a career for their lives. (Group A2) Every day it’s the same, arriving home, they play Fortnite for hours and hours…and of course, you get Some staff have highlighted the cost of post‐compulsory warm, and toxins come out, all sorts of things come education, both vocational education and training (VET) out, friends and companions who may not be the courses and university, as a factor that leads to educa‐ most suitable. And one thing leads to another, but tional exclusion already limiting the options available to the basis is that they are alone, and no one accompa‐ young people and adolescents. Grants that pay only for nies them in anything, neither in their studies nor in the tuition fees are not enough. anything else. (Focus group practitioners C) 3.1.3. Family Poverty Has an Impact on Children in the Apart from the non‐negligible fact that the examples Form of Discomfort, Stress, and Shame refer to male adolescents by default, this risk pattern seems to be aggravated if the family home is far from Being affected by poverty in the family during childhood services and spaces in which children and young people over time implies an accumulation of daily experiences can be taken care of outside school hours: that generate discomfort, accompanied by feelings of exclusion, difference and inferiority, which can end up We have three or four families with children in their having an impact on mental health: care for whom it takes almost an hour to get to the urban area, and other cases living in irregular situa‐ This is very important for them and therefore all this tions with irregular jobs that leave the children on poverty also implies that, as we are in a consumer their own; they go to work, the children have to society, in my opinion, this stress is associated with go to school through terrible roads and streets, and mental health problems. We have many adolescents then they come back, and their mother arrives in the who have lived their lives in poverty as children. And evening. (Focus group practitioners B) to have the books the day school starts or not to have them, you know….And all of this goes through 3.1.2. Poverty Influences Children’s and Adolescents’ and creates…because they feel bad. However much Aspirations and Expectations for the Future we try to do, this is the truth. I mean, how do you feel on the day of the anniversary if all the children Children’s accounts show that they are aware of the high are wearing, I don’t know, what and you never will cost of post‐compulsory education. While some have wear? All this is adding up, adding up. (Focus group already ruled out this possibility, others are concerned practitioners B) about it from the earliest stages. This perception is prob‐ ably a story heard from the adults in their circle and Sad, sad, sometimes they start telling you about their passed on to children, in a context of lack of institutional lives and burst into tears right there, in the office, protection (as expressed in these quotes from Group C1): and they are…nobody is with them, they are really helpless. It’s affecting them at all levels. (Focus group Studying costs a lot of money. practitioners B) Social Inclusion, 2022, Volume 10, Issue 4, Pages 16–28 22 According to the technical and intervention staff, emo‐ As can be seen in the previous excerpts, children tional impact is one of the most worrying impacts of produce paternalistic and abstract discourses and poverty, and one that can lead to situations of social risk, proposals, especially in the groups not affected by especially considering the context of limited resources poverty themselves: in this area. They are also concerned with the fact that poverty in the family can also lead to taking on adults’ [There should be] more food collection for the chil‐ roles, worries, and responsibilities, especially among dren who cannot buy any. (Group A2) adolescent girls, an added barrier during childhood: [People should] convince people to give what is still [There are] things they try to hide not to do more edible instead of throwing food away. (Group C2) harm, taking on situations that are not theirs to take on… The city council must help the poor. (Group B2) Not all the families show the vulnerability that they Other children, on the other hand, acknowledge the have at home, we have children who are acting as car‐ invisibility of poverty: riers to the services, don’t we? Of the situation that is lived at home with the fear that they do not know There are also children who you don’t see, but you because at home there is certain…shame. give them lunch and they are the first to tell you “I give you half my lunch,” and then they go to the 3.2. Imaginaries and Visions of Poverty neighbourhood soup kitchen because they have a grant, otherwise they cannot eat anything….I know To understand and explain the experience of poverty that we don’t find out, we don’t really know about it. among children and adolescents (directly or indirectly), it (Group A2) is relevant to know what they understand by poverty and to what social phenomena they relate it to. Evidencing 3.2.1. Multidimensional Definitions of Poverty: these ideas, their coherence and contradictions allow us Complexity, Risk of Perpetuation, and the Triggering to infer where they place themselves and analyse their Effect of Vulnerability in Other Social Dimensions own situation and the tools they have to face it and respond to it. “Poverty is like the food chain,” said one of the children Children simultaneously handle different definitions from Group A2. of poverty and exclusion, sometimes reproducing the Children tell stories that show their awareness of the narratives that commonly circulate among the adults impact and strategies of adults to cope with poverty. close by or in the media, sometimes reflecting their own Some of the children in the three municipalities imagined experience, but also elaborating on critical discourses stories in which mobility, eventually involving the sepa‐ that have emerged from the research process itself, as ration of children from their families, or other important a prompt to reflection. From their stories, stereotypi‐ relationships like those with peers or teachers, emerges cal definitions of poverty emerge, for example locating as a strategy for coping with poverty: poverty as an alien phenomenon taking place in other parts of the world: A family has lost their job, found a house in France. They are leaving the school. The teacher wants him At school or in other places, I haven’t, but on TV news to stay, but the parents take him to a cheaper school. I have [seen] people who do not have the same as us, (Group A1) who do not live in the same kind of houses we do. (Group A2) The causes they highlight allow us to identify two oppos‐ ing discursive models—on the one hand, a meritocratic Children in Africa should have more food so that they discourse that naturalises poverty and overestimates the don’t die. (Group B2) capacity of individual action, as underlined in the follow‐ ing quotes: They also produce traditional one‐dimensional defini‐ tions that associate poverty with lack of food, but reflect She’s not poor, she’s normal, it’s her mother’s fault the visibility of social exclusion in cities: that she doesn’t do well….She doesn’t want to work. (Group C2) But we have seen people who do not care and take things from the rubbish. They go with shopping trol‐ Work is the first thing of all, the most important, the leys and take food thrown away by other families who most! Or put up with it. (Group C1) have discarded it. They depend on the people who leave it out so that others can recover it. (Group A2) This discourse leads children’s reasoning to provide solu‐ tions that do little to transform social reality, largely Social Inclusion, 2022, Volume 10, Issue 4, Pages 16–28 23 ignoring citizenship rights. From this point of view, when Your family understands you more than anyone else. asked what to do to cope with situations of poverty, the answers (Group A1) are as follows: Family, family [all in a chorus]. Family is at the top of the list, otherwise…if they do not take care of you, That’s what poor people do: look for things in the you cannot do anything else. rubbish. The important thing is what is not physical, the family, Scrap metal. friends… Many people steal because [of poverty]. Sometimes you’d rather be with your family than hav‐ ing this or that item. Work. Water and food…it’s necessary to live, but if you don’t Ask for help from NGOs such as Caritas. have someone to help you, to stimulate you, you can’t do anything either. In one of the groups with children not at risk of poverty, a critical discourse emerged that acknowledges the exis‐ Family and friends. Then the material things. tence of social inequality and calls for citizens’ social rights from a children’s rights perspective. According to Being happy with your mother, family, and friends. their own account, having worked on the subject at school through the analysis of a novel that deals with Thus, they are aware of and value the relational and affec‐ the issue of poverty has helped them question other tive dimension of care work (Brullet & Gómez‐Granell, mainstream discourses and discuss it with their friends 2008) explicitly prioritising positive ties with peers and and families: family over material well‐being. This clear position con‐ tradicts assumptions about the implications of grow‐ The saying goes that if there are no poor people, ing up in a capitalist consumer culture. Taking this into there are no rich people! account, it follows that intervention measures in situa‐ tions of children and adolescents affected by poverty can‐ One of them goes to school with a three‐storey coat not be separated from the intervention and protection and the other with a raincoat and colours. of the whole family, especially of the person in charge of their care. The narrative of the intervention and techni‐ All children in Catalonia have the right to go to cal staff has been consistent with this logic: “Protecting school…it’s a state responsibility. The state should children is protecting their families, their natural haven” help them. (Group C2) (interview with local authority B). As argued in the previous section, this analysis con‐ 3.2.2. Promoting Social and Political Participation firms that the priority action should be to ensure the Among Children: Providing Them with the Means to well‐being of the family or the carers of minors: Respond to Vulnerability A family living in a room….These parents will have Children in the groups most at risk of being affected more stress factors, and when there are stress factors, by poverty have a stigmatising analysis framework that you do not look after the child that much because often holds their own families responsible for their fate. the level of stress that you may have as a parent, as This framework is less protective against feelings of a person, sometimes leads to risk situations. And it shame. In contrast, children from groups at lower risk of is here that the commitment to the more preventive being affected by poverty display more tools for a critical part makes sense. (Focus group practitioners B) analysis moving away from individual responsibility and enabling them to analyse situations of vulnerability from 4. Discussion and Conclusion a position related to social and political participation. This is clear when dealing with definitions of welfare Before starting this project, we knew that the group most and identifying needs and the priority areas of action. affected by poverty and social exclusion were the chil‐ The link with the family and, in general, with relational dren. We also knew that the local councils were the networks is the priority for the welfare of children accord‐ most appropriate administration to respond to children’s ing to their views. The most recurrent idea among all the poverty despite their limited capacity to combat it with participant children in the three municipalities and all remedial tools and unequal resources. the groups has been to place the care they receive from Our findings show that the most important factors their family as a priority and as a pillar that offers them that threaten the living conditions that should ensure security, well‐being, and support: children’s well‐being can be divided into two main areas. On the one hand, the effect of material deprivation on Social Inclusion, 2022, Volume 10, Issue 4, Pages 16–28 24 the social life and protection networks of children is To do so, a rigorous analysis from a gender perspec‐ often caused by adults’ difficulties in reconciling work tive needs to be undertaken to uncover experiences and and family life or other stressful factors, which generate views from girls, especially adolescent girls, that were experiences of loneliness and/or the assumption of adult identified by technical and intervention staff as impor‐ roles that increase their stress (in the family sphere). tant family members in charge of care. This would further This area also includes limits to participation in educa‐ contribute to knowledge‐based, better than top‐down tion and acquisition of cultural capital within and beyond evidence‐based, child poverty reduction policies. school, which may generate socio‐educational exclusion Despite the limitations of this exploratory study, in the educational sphere; lack of access to quality leisure we believe that the data gathered from children’s time, which causes experiences in segregated settings experiences and views have managed to provide valu‐ and enhances inequality (also in the field of education); able insights that cannot be offered by quantitative and access to goods and services that define mainstream approaches based, for the most part, on measuring practices of consumption among their age group and household income. Giving prominence to children’s have an impact on peer group belonging, which can gen‐ views reveals rich, multiple, even contradictory, concep‐ erate feelings of shame and stress. These findings con‐ tions of what it means to be affected by poverty during firm those of Quint et al. (2018): Children and adoles‐ childhood in Catalonia. At the same time, it provides a cents highlight material deprivation as a fundamental realistic account of the limited impact of interventions aspect of children’s experiences of poverty as well as concerning policies that should guarantee their welfare, the feeling of stigma and concerns about their parents’ that is, the effectiveness of social, civic, and political well‐being, placing emotional bonds and social support rights at this key stage of their life cycle. from the family at the core. Current methods for measuring child poverty that The second area is, to a large extent, the natu‐ ignore the lived experience and multiple dimensions ralisation of coping strategies in their daily lives, like of well‐being, including subjective well‐being, from chil‐ insecurity or bad housing conditions, evidenced by the dren’s own accounts are very limited not only for com‐ fact that the irregular occupation of housing or energy plex diagnoses but also for the design of interventions poverty have become part of some children’s sponta‐ with them. This is crucial when it comes to identi‐ neous accounts. Moreover, in the imaginaries and per‐ fying profiles and dimensions of greater vulnerability. spectives on poverty, both children themselves and It becomes clear that the unit of analysis must be some staff on the frontline of intervention combine and the child and not the family within which the child’s mix prejudices about the experience of poverty and crit‐ experience is subsumed to combat children’s poverty. ical approaches. It seems that stigmatising assumptions Measures need to incorporate multidimensionality from persist to show that traditional conceptions of poverty a rights perspective and place emphasis on equity in chil‐ have not been overcome, although the theoretical cor‐ dren’s terms, applying a gender perspective and an inter‐ pus and policy recommendations to combat poverty sectional analysis of subgroups affected by other factors have broadened and become more complex and critical. generating inequality. In this sense, it is very important to highlight that it is precisely the children and adolescents of the groups at Acknowledgments risk of poverty who show internalisation of these prej‐ udices that can contribute to worsening their discom‐ Acknowledgements are due to the children who partici‐ fort and stress and leave them without a framework pated as well as to the practitioners and the local author‐ to avoid blaming themselves or their families for the ities that made this research possible. This work, which actual condition they live in. On the other hand, chil‐ expresses only the opinions of its authors, is the result of dren and adolescents who had had the opportunity to a study carried out by Europa Sense Murs & EMIGRA UAB reflect on poverty at school and/or who had participated for UNICEF Comité Catalunya intending to advance local in measures applied in the municipality to promote full knowledge of child and adolescent poverty in Catalonia social and political citizenship for children elaborated and of municipal policies to tackle it. more complex discourses regarding the phenomenon and, therefore, had acquired protective tools. Conflict of Interests Social and political awareness of the structural condi‐ tions of poverty and the responses that can transform The authors declare no conflict of interest. them is, therefore, a highly valuable protective factor in children’s perspectives on poverty, whether they are References directly affected or not. 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Construir el futuro: Los niños y los ocupacio/atur_registrat_demandes_ocupacio/atur‐ Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible en los países ricos comarques‐i‐municipis [Building the future: Children and the sustainable Quint, J., Griffin, K. M., Kaufman, J., Landers, P., & development goals in rich countries] (Innocenti Utterback, A. (2018). Experiences of parents and chil‐ Report Card No. 14). https://www.unicef‐irc.org/ dren living in poverty: A review of the qualitative publications/892‐construir‐el‐futuro‐los‐ni%C3%B1 literature (OPRE Report 2018–30). US Department os‐y‐los‐objetivos‐de‐desarrollo‐sostenible‐en‐los‐ of Health and Human Services, Office of Planning, pa%C3%ADses.html Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Chil‐ Young, J. (2007). The vertigo of late modernity. SAGE. dren and Families. About the Authors Laia Narciso is an anthropologist and social educator. She holds a PhD in social anthropology and is a senior lecturer at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), in the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, and a researcher at the Centre for Migration Studies—EMIGRA (UAB). She has specialized in gender, migration, and educational in/equality from an intersectional and publica policy approach, especially focusing on children and young people, carrying out fieldwork in Europe and Western Africa and migration flows to Spain. Her current research focuses on conditions of inclusion in adulthood applying an intersectional approach. https://orcid.org/0000‐0001‐9582‐7294 Silvia Carrasco is a professor of social anthropology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). Founder of the Centre for Migration Studies—EMIGRA (UAB), her research focuses on experiences and trajectories of children and young people from a triple perspective of origin, gender, and class, and the related educational and social policies, with fieldwork mostly in Spain and the USA. She is currently working on ELET and social integration among working‐class and second‐generation students, and the penetration of neoliberal ideologies in education from a feminist approach. https://orcid.org/0000‐ 0003‐0474‐400X Social Inclusion, 2022, Volume 10, Issue 4, Pages 16–28 27 Gabriela Poblet is a social anthropologist. She holds a PhD in social anthropology and is a lecturer at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and at the Catalonia Open University (UOC) in anthropology and human evolution. She is the director of the ESM network (Europa Sense Murs, Europe Without Borders) and a researcher at the Centre for Migration Studies—EMIGRA (UAB). She is a specialist in international migrations and her current research focuses on Latino migrations to Spain, migrant domestic workers, family life rights, social reproduction, inequalities, and citizenship. https://orcid.org/0000‐0002‐8861‐9339 Social Inclusion, 2022, Volume 10, Issue 4, Pages 16–28 28