What's Poverty?

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There is no universal definition of poverty; as deprivation and destitution are terms founded on varying individual or societal perceptions. Nevertheless, ‘Poverty’ in its most general sense is often categorised as a lack of the necessities which provide survival and allow the upholding of human dignity. This can involve a scarcity of basic food, shelter, health care, and safe living environment (Stevenson, 2014).
Poverty not only prevents people from buying the things they need, it is about stress, poor health, sub-standard housing, lack of facilities, inadequate infrastructure, fear of crime, and problems associated with the stigma of living in a deprived area (Tomlinson & Walker, 2009).
Whilst definitions of poverty can be subjective, poverty as a concept is measured by The Scottish Government (2013a) using the following indicators:

• Absolute Poverty can be defined as a shortage of sufficient income to provide basic needs such as food or shelter.
• Relative Poverty defines income or resources in relation to the average material needs to participate fully in accepted daily life. In modern Britain most official definitions of poverty still use this method. The UK government set the poverty threshold at 60% and below of median income - In Scotland this would be a household income of £7,000 or less (The Scottish Government, 2013b).
• Material Deprivation and Low Income Combined applies to households with incomes below 70% of median income. This indicator aims to provide a measure of children’s living standards which, unlike relative and absolute poverty, is not solely based on income.

The relationship between poverty and inequality

The Equality and Human Rights Commission in Scotland has identified th...

... middle of paper ...

...Browse/Social-Welfare/IncomePoverty/Methodology (para.3) [accessed 3rd February 2014]

• Tomlinson, M. & Walker, R. (2009). Coping with complexity: child and adult poverty; Recognising the reality of poverty [PDF] available at Child Poverty Action Group website; cpag.org.uk/sites/default/files/coping_with_complexity.pdf (p.9)

• Trades Union Congress (2013). Equality Issues › Gender Equality › Equal pay › Women still earn £5,000 a year less than men [website] available at Trades Union Congress website; tuc.org.uk/equality-issues/gender-equality/equal-pay/women-still-earn-%C2%A35000-year-less-men (para.2) [accessed 27th January 2014]

• World Health Organization (2013). Media centre: Disability and health; Fact sheet 352 [website] available at World Health Organization website; who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs352/en/index.html (para.2-3) [accessed 3rd February 2014]

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