Globalisation is a force to be reckoned with. The Pandora box has been opened, its influence is rapidly spreading across the globe and there is no turning back. This paper will evaluate the inferred consequences of globalisation on children and families in the state of poverty and in affluence.
realisation of adaptations for the sake of survival, relevance and otherwise vested interests from external forces.
Economic globalisation actively pursued by national and international policy makers through the deregulation of the domestic economy and external transactions and on the rapid technological advances of the last two decades.
Includes Internationalisation of behaviours, entertainment, consumption patterns, migration, tourist flows.
other aspects are more complex to assess than the effects of economic-technological globalisation discussed in this paper
-Globalisation results in economic growth and helps reduce some kinds of poverty though evidence shows that globalisation does not necessary result in sustainable growth.
Outline/Methodology
Implications: Political, economic, social, emotional, cultural, children and family well-being in developing, transitional n developed countries
Discussion
Political – rapid changes brought about by globalisation, necessary adoption n adaptions to changes for survival, relevance, other vested interest by state or external influences
Economic
ref harnessing globalisation- negligence of poor and marginal populations:
– economic ills of capitalism n consumerism? Disparity in distribution of resources n gains
–
– reshuffling of economic structures n behaviours resulting in successes some n further challenges for others
Affects children’s well being in many various ways
– geographical mobility of workforce/ immigrants economic reasons such as pressure of labour supply, income disparities,
-distribution issue- inequality in wealth distribution…high inequality impedes growth in poor countries by lowering investment in human n physical capital n generating more crimes n social unrests (save the children)
– political asylum, refugees, displacement
Proponents to eradicate poverty n reduce injustice however ….
– social ills
– social injustice
Mass immigration and displacement
Globally, there is an increase in economic migration driven by income disparities e.g. exploitation, demand for labour supply and the advancement of information technologies.
The swell in migratory flows could be attributed, among others, to rising disparity in opportunities and income available to people in their home countries vis-a-vis countries they migrate to. In the 1970s, about 640,000 Mexicans migrated to the US legally. By 2000, 7.8 Mexicans are living in the US, legally or otherwise.
Mass migration leads to growing urbanisation. The percentage of the world’s population living in cities rose from 29% to 47% (to about 2.8billion) in the last 50 years. Most of the growth took place in the developing world – the number of urban residents jumped from 17% in 1950 to 40% or 1.9billion people in 2000. This is expected to double in the next 30 years.
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Increased Migration and Displacement – An estimated 50 to 200 million people in the world could be displaced by the next 40 to 50 years due to climate change (63). Both gradual and extreme weather conditions and rising sea levels are the main drivers of such increased migrations. While most will move within their own countries, many will also cross international borders (64).
A research by Save the Children exploring the movement of children within and between countries found that children tend to move with their parents (66). Nevertheless, many children do move independently due to various reasons. Some do so to find work to support their families. Others could be forcibly separated from their families due to uncontrollable circumstances eg. war and natural disasters. Yet many chose this path to escape from poverty, exploitation, abuse, calamities or even to pursue better educational opportunities.
Moving alone to a foreign or unfamiliar location can pose grave dangers for children. Those without relevant identification papers, for example, are often denied basic services such as healthcare, education and social welfare (67). Such children also face the risk of exploitation and abuse.
In 2008, armed conflicts and natural disasters accounted for the displacement of 63 million people. The biggest sufferers were usually children and women. Children displaced under such circumstances are housed in temporary shelters and resettlement camps. They are exposed to diseases associated with overcrowding, chief among them are pneumonia (biggest global killer for children under fire), measles, malaria and diarrhoea. These disease outbreaks result in dire consequences as children are most vulnerable due to lack of proper healthcare and sanitation. Malnutrition tend to be higher for children residing in such ‘refugee’ camps due to limited food supply (68).
Besides facing separation from their families, displaced children and their parents often lose access to essential health services. Climate-induced migration is likely to increase in future. Governments should come together and formulate national and international policies, legislation and services to protect migrant children and their families. Large scale humanitarian protection and help are needed to support them.
With the influx of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers to any given country threatens the local infrastructures on food, clean water and shelter. With the relentless appetite of capitalism and growing urbanisation in many countries, consumerism drives the market forces threatens the sustainable environment.
As the world becomes increasingly borderless, mass migration further extends the perimeters of diversity in multicultural societies and creates disequilibrium (positive or negative) to homogenous societies.
Impact of urbanisation
Urbanisation and Overcrowding – Over half of the world’s population now live in cities. It is estimated that some 900 million urban-dwellers in low and middle income countries are living in poverty; 800 million people lack access to decent sanitation, and about 650 million people do not have water access(70). Slums and overcrowding plague many cities today.
Poorly constructed homes and densely populated areas pose greater risks of fires, disease outbreaks and disasters. Many children from poor homes living in such cities are in danger due to poor sanitation, contaminated water and hazardous waste (71). In an era of global warming, a 1 degree rise in temperature could mean global children deaths of more than 20,000 a year due to air pollution. In developing and poor countries, about one-third of children are stunted and children under 5 have a mortality rate 5-20 times higher than rich countries with adequate access to healthcare and nutrition(73).
Today, about 3.3 billion people (50% of the world’s population compared to 15% in 1990) live in urban areas. This is expected to increase to 5.3 billion people come 2050(74). Migrants from the rural areas move to the cities in search of better lives, higher wages and economic stability. Urbanisation is perceived to offer more stability from climate change for people who come from agricultural and natural resource-based livelihoods.
Taxing on local infrastructures, for example water and food, to support the influx of
Social
– impact on family life
Social – “Globalisation marks the end of the family as we have known it until now,” but it “is not the disappearance of the family but its profound diversification” (Castells, 1997:139;222). The worldwide trend in increasing divorce rates, many involving couples with young children, is pushing the likelihood of single parenthood as an alternative viable lifestyle.
There is an upward trend of single-parent households with dependent children (usually headed by a woman) in developed and developing countries. In Brazil, the percentage of such households rose from 14% in 1980 to 20% in1989 and the trend is increasing. (Castells, 1997:147-52).
Such a trend suggests that as more women join the workforce, the traditional role of caring for the family diminishes. This affects the proper upbringing of children with the tendency to push such responsibility to the educational institutions, provided they are available and/or affordable.
Inequality and Social Injustice
Income Inequality – The richest 5% people in the world receive 114 times the income of the poorest 5% population. The top 25 richest Americans earn as much as 2 billion of the world’s poorest. The income gap between the rich and the middle-class/poor continues to widen in the developing and developed economies. This globalisation trend is altering the structures of families, economies and society – the constant struggle for the have-nots to aspire to be among the elite haves would prove costly for families and their children. ‘If sharp increases in inequality persist, they may have dire effects on human development, and social stability (including violence and crime (UNDP, 2003a:39).
The need for any protectionist policies in any given society speaks of social injustice. It is recommended that government under the UNCRC agreement uphold the rights of children regardless of their nationality status. Children should be rendered political immunity regardless of parents’ nationality status as asylum seekers, refugees, or stateless persons.
-social unrest,
An example is the area of global crime rates. Globalisation is creating a ballooning underclass that is struggling due to growing income gaps and lack of job opportunities. This creates the ideal environment for criminal syndicates who are spreading cancerous crimes that exploit and victimise women and children e.g. drug trafficking, human trafficking, illegal trade of diamonds from African countries. In the 1990s, trading of illegal drugs accounted for $400 billion – about 8% of world trade. Human trafficking (especially women and children) reached 4 million. More than half a million were for the sex industry in the western countries (George and Wilding, 2002:55).
Gender inequality is prevalent in most patriarchal societies. If one gender is considered more economically and socially viable then another,
Additional Burden on Women
Additional Burdens for Women -In developing countries, women bear the responsibilities of feeding and caring their children, in addition to assisting in food production (farming and/or household) or buying food from local markets. Domestic responsibilities also weigh in, such as collecting fuel and water, besides caring for the aged at home.
Education has been identified as vital for women. It empowers them with the essential knowledge for maternal, newborn and child survival, and in particular, teaching their children on how to adapt to climate change. It means life and death. Children of mothers with no education are more than twice as likely to die or be malnourished than children of mothers with at least secondary education (76). But in a scenario of natural disaster or armed conflict, girls are first to be pulled out of school to bring in more income or do housework.
Women must be consulted and involved in strategies to adapt to climate changes. They know best on how to make necessary communal changes and protect children from natural disasters. Unless women are given leadership roles, involved in decision-making and implementation, any effort in managing climate change would be futile.
roles of parents, women, family structure, child rearing practices
-changes in family structure, more demand for women in the workforce, demand for early childhood services, switching roles mothers as breadwinners and fathers becoming ‘homemakers’ or ‘househusbands’
Cultural – belief system,
Individualistic or collective societal perspective. Metropolitan /cosmopolitan countries outcomes of assimilation or adaptation of cross cultural interactions. Strive to achieve an equilibrium.
–culture is transient. Evolution of cultures or conversions of religion brought about by conquest, coercion,n adaptations or adoptions thought exchanges and interactions. Evolution in cultural beliefs and practices has direct impact on children n families, causes transitional disequilibrium from set beliefs to new influences.
— adjustments to new cultural framework creates perplexity that affects family structure n function thereby affecting children’s sense if identity n belonging.
While most parts of the world have been exposed to Western influences, the existence of indigenous cultures has not been threatened.
Global Warming – Greenhouse gasses, emitted by industrialised countries due to higher demand for goods and services emphatically point to the fact that “most of the global warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities” (UNEP, 2002:3). Massive use of fuel, coal, gas flaring, cement production, plastic, power etc lead to carbon dioxide emissions. The Greenhouse effects -floods, drought, typhoons, desertification, deforestation, rising water levels – are now experienced by countries throughout the world. Water supply, food crops, diseases are creating havoc costing lives, reducing food supply, migrations, – children and their families suffer.
Climate change has been identified as the biggest global health threat to children in the 21st century. The sum effects of climate change put children at greatest risk from malnutrition, disease, water scarcity and natural disasters resulting in the disintegration of healthcare services and infrastructure. Children under 5 years are most vulnerable to its consequences (1).
In poor and developing countries, diseases and conditions including diarrhoea, malaria, measles, pneumonia and malnutrition contribute to the high number of deaths of children. About one-third of the global childhood disease problems are linked to changeable factors in food, soil, water and air. With climate change, these problems will worsen eg. access to clean water becomes more difficult making children more susceptible to diarrhoea, a major killer for young children.
Natural disasters such as drought, floods and typhoons brought about from changes in the climate add to the woes of children. Besides diseases, children are denied proper healthcare services. Food shortages worsen the children’s plight, adding problems of under-nutrition and starvation.
The impact made by climate change on food security, healthcare, clean water supply and livelihoods has a profound influence on urbanisation, migration, poverty and armed conflict. These in turn affect the lives of children and their survival. Poor families, many whom are already struggling, could be pushed into the deeper end of their troubles bringing about long term consequences on their children’s survival. For example, children from the poorest 20% of households in many developing countries have up to 5 times the mortality rate of children from the richest 20% households (12).
Beyond these, there are other secondary and structural causes of child deaths. Examples include poor healthcare facilities, inadequate water supply and sanitation, poverty, maternal education and inequality. Climate change exacerbates these conditions by loading more burdens on fragile states who are already struggling with providing children with the most basic needs.
How well communities or states adapt and cope with climate change and its impact on existing vulnerabilities will determine a child’s survival chances.
Millions of children in these areas suffer from malnutrition and babies are born malnourished and/or with anomalies.
Childhood at Risk – AIDS today is a worldwide problem and globalisation has played no small part in the spread of this disease. UNAIDS estimates that 13.2 million of children in the world aged 15 and below have lost their parents and 90% of them live in the Sub-Saharan Africa. Numbers are growing in central Asia and Eastern Europe. “Young people are at the core of the AIDS epidemic, In many places this is actually an epidemic among teenagers” (UNAIDS Director Dr Peter Plot quoted in Irish Times, 24 Feb 2004).
AIDS through heterosexual transmission is prevalent in Africa. Young girls are seen as men as “clean: and they are most at risk. In many parts of the world ie Africa, Latin America, South-East Asia, Caribbean countries, 20-48% of girls between 10-15 years were forced to have their first sexual encounter.
Child Soldiers – According to the Human Rights Watch (HRW), an estimated 300,000 young children serve in paramilitary or armed groups in more than 30 conflict regions. Some of the countries with such child soldiers include Sudan, Congo, Somalia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Iran and Papua New Guinea. Abduction of children from their homes is a commonly used accompanied by death threats to enforce joining the military force. These children are forced to witness and participate in atrocities eg beheading, rape, amputations, burning people alive. Girls are raped and sexually abused, some given to commanders as “wives”.
Cultural Globalisation – Majority of women in developing countries perform housework, work in agriculture or work in the informal sector. The patriarchal society in these countries demand that household chores are the mainstay of females while work, whether formal or informal, is a mere extension of their duties.
Under such circumstances, women choose work in an informal sector to care for their children and earn additional income for basic necessities, usually because their husbands don’t bring home enough money. They cannot seek formal employment due to their family responsibilities.
Employment in the informal sector is still gender biased – men are still in supervisory or management positions with higher wages, while women are simply subcontract workers. Assembly work and production factories are filled with women since “unemployed…men refused to participate in their wives’ informal work because they felt they could be called away at any time for a waged job” (Ward 1990). Such a double standard, ironically, leads to survival for females in developing countries – they can maintain their domestic roles and yet not rely solely on their husbands.
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Another issue confronting women and their children in the developing countries is that “unpaid domestic tasks are private rather than social and because they are both unpaid and private, there is no social system of incentives, of rewards and penalties, to encourage change” (Elson 1992). Wives lack access to the public sector where job opportunities exist. Such a vulnerability render women helpless but to depend on their husbands for finances and even endure abuse.
Despite the discrimination, women have shown resilience in taking on the responsibilities of caring for their children when their husbands leave. They take on informal sector jobs and are still able to fulfil their domestic needs. Governments in developing countries are not doing enough or even denying their women opportunities to effectuate their strengths to the fullest potential. Globalisation today has not changed that. But continued globalisation may mean in time to come, governments in developing countries cannot ignore the potential to harness the talents and strengths of the female workforce.
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