Topic 3

We want to give you a small explanation of why we choose poverty as a subject. The 3 of us do not suffer from the effects of poverty, however, others do. And with the ongoing pandemic, people tend to forget other problems like Poverty. And that is why we wanted to talk about it, to make sure people understand that it is still an ongoing problem and that it has gotten worse the past year!

Poverty, what is poverty? How can we describe poverty from an economic perspective? Poverty in the eyes of economists is a state in which a person, a community or a neighbourhood lacks the financial resources to achieve a minimum standard of living. So, poverty means that the level of income of a person or a group of people is below a certain threshold. This threshold is so low that basic human needs can just be met. Receiving income that is below this threshold is considered living in poverty. The effects of living in poverty can be horrendous, people living without proper housing, clothing struggling to be able to eat healthy food or drink water every day. Although poverty seems to be a worldwide problem concerning millions of people around the world, poverty is also different in a lot of countries. because the threshold that determines whether someone is poor or not can differ per country. However, the IPL international poverty line has been set at $1.90 per day. Global estimates are that around 689 million people live in absolute poverty right now.

Let's start with a local view of Poverty.

In Maastricht, around 8.2% of the inhabitants live in poverty. We have a place in the top 10 municipalities with the highest number of habitants living in poverty. When compared with the averages of the Netherlands as a country we have a higher average of people living in poverty in Maastricht, which shocked me. I was under the impression that Maastricht would score 'better' on this list. And that is another problem with poverty.

You can not always tell when someone lives in this state of poverty. People tend to not talk about it and sink into an even deeper hole without trying to get help for the situation they are in. This can make the situation for people in poverty even worse. if you get to the point where you live in poverty the smart thing to do is get help for your financial situation. let people know what you are undergoing and get help. In the Netherlands, we have certain safeguards in place where you can explain your situation and get help from financial advisors. They will help you to limit your expenses and will try to help you pay off your debt if that is applicable.

Even with this available help people still live in poverty. In the Netherlands, about 6.2% of the population lives in poverty. With a poverty threshold of €1090 per month which almost a million people don't pass. This seems rather alarming, however, it is an improvement when compared with the numbers from several years ago. In 2013 7.4% of our population was living in poverty! So we are making small progress on the national level.

So there is a slight improvement, however, are we going to keep that up or even improve the situation faster? I think we can keep the progress up. On a global level, people have been hit hard financially by the lockdown. Businesses had to close down and people have been struggling financially. However, with the election in the Netherlands promises of improvement and support for those who need it have started to arise.

When we take a look at Maastricht once again, we can see that people are fighting for change. 6 of the political parties have agreed to a program in which they will get 50 households who live in poverty and have extensive debts, a financial plan and a guide to slowly get their lives back on track. Furthermore, before the year is out they want to make a plan to attack the poverty in and around Maastricht.

On a national level, things are starting to change as well. Food Banks are starting programs to support the people who need to get their food at the food banks. An example of this support is the 10 point plan created by a food bank in Groningen. This foodbank helps its 'customers' with a 10 point plan attack on poverty. Some examples are:

1. Only buy things you can afford!

2. Getting help when in a big debt has to become faster, right now it can take up to 4 months to get people to listen to your story.

3. Trying to remove the own risk of health care for people who live in poverty.

when looking at the biggest picture, international poverty, I am not sure if we are going the right way. at least we should be able to do better. because of the differences between countries on poverty we do not have a clear view of the real numbers. We do have estimates of absolute poverty, the $1.90 a day, and from those numbers we can conclude that we must do better.

There are some great ideas and initiatives out there to help reduce poverty around the world. For example: Improving the transition from school to work of the vulnerable work population. And implementing policy measures to reduce household debt and vulnerability to housing price changes.

Another great idea is to create a worldwide organisation that makes a centralised policy around poverty and the battle against poverty. Another thing that would help would be to make sure people are warned about the risks of borrowing money. There are some regulations around these risks already however we could improve them, make sure that vulnerable people can not miss the warnings, maybe even make it harder for them to borrow money because it will eventually put them in even more debt and make them even poorer. And lastly, we need to make sure everyone has the opportunity to get out of poverty, We need to give the poor the tools to become financially healthy again. Courses on finance, debt and interest, financial advice and learn them how to get back on their feet.

So the problem, what is cyberbullying?:
Cyberbullying is bullying with the use of digital technologies. It can take place on messaging platforms, gaming platforms and on social media.
Cyberbullying includes sending hurtful and mean messages, impersonating people, embarrassing someone and Spreading lies about someone [uhm]. The incidents of depression and suicides caused by cyberbullying are rising. A growing problem that leads to depression and anxiety cannot be left unnoticed.

Global Relevance. So, this is Dr. Sameer Hinduja, and he is a Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida Atlantic University , and he said that 34% of students worldwide have experienced cyberbullying at least once in their lifetime. People that have experienced cyber bullying in their life time are nearly 2 times more likely to attempt suicide. Another global [uhm] cyberbullying research survey in 2008, found out that 43% out of 2,000 students that they have tested have said that they have experienced cyberbullying too. Then we have Ipsos, that’s an American study, has ranked the highest cyberbullying rates throughout the world and it is based on parents' testimony, because they are more likely to be concerned. [Uhm] the study is from 2018 and here you can see the results. India has the most cyberbullying rates and Germany, our neighbour country has 17%.

Local Relevance. In the Netherlands, the Association of Universities (VSNU) is going to draw up a plan to better support scientists that are intimidated and threatened. Professors and university educators face online hate campaigns, death threats and home harassment a lot. [Uhm] on this picture, the cover, you see Marion [uhm] Koopmans and shes on dutch television. She is part of the plan. [Uhm] in the article they talk about Catherine E. de Vries. She is a Dutch political scientist and she receives a lot of swear words everyday.  "I hope you get corona," was one of the death threats she has received. It even went so far that they made her address public and they threatened her family. She wants this to stop. [Uhm] online hate is rampant. Dutch moderators receive thousands of hate reports every day. Especially during elections and Sinterklaas. They end the article with: "We can't help the scientists, [uhm] , to silence those who are trying to, those who are trying to silence them through intolerance, sexism and threats, however we can support them. I disagree. I found a political solution and Britt, my team mate, has found  [uhm] an educational solution.

So, a political solution. I think that we can only.[uhm, uhm] tackle cyberbullying by tackling anonymity. A Dutch professor of social psychology, Paul van Lange, says the largely lack of social control on social media accounts is the perfect breeding ground for hatred to occur.

Bullies should be punished. When a target goes to [uhm] goes to court they should be able to sue the person that has violated them. However, it is in most cases hard to find the guilty party, due to the many majority of fake accounts online. [Uhm] meaning the people spreading the lies or rumours can’t be punished.

So I think you need to show proof of your identity, before making an account on social media. This means an improved verification process that allows for accurate identification of the person behind the account. This way cyberbullying will diminish.

[Uhm] In the Netherlands, [uhm] a Dutch singer named Gordon is fed up with all the anonymous hate reactions online. Since the large amount of anonymous hate reactions on the Press release website, he decided to no longer remain silent. He started a petition that has already been signed up more than forty thousand times. He said that you should hold people accountable for the things they post on social media and prevent people from hiding behind a false name when making offensive remarks. [Uhm] This is only possible with stronger real name policies and enforcement. [Uhm] In China they already took control of [uhm] social media and they have controversially banned certain social media platforms, and anonymizers. The operators of social networks are responsible for removing posts that are considered as rumours. Rumours are identified by undermining [mora] morality, the authenticity of information and undermining the social system. So these [uhm] Social networks should put them in different categories therefore they need several licenses. [Uhm] spreading false information and online hatred is a crime and is punishable for up to seven years in prison. This has in fact stopped false information and mean comments from spreading.

However in most, in some  countries [uhm] people are prosecuted for their opinion. So anonymity has its value. The Chinese government [uhm] has control because they don't want anyone directly threatening the government’s power. So any information that could harm the government's power will be deleted, because they will say it's false or it's a rumour even though it's not false or a rumour. So hiding their identity is [uhm] can be a value to be able to express your opinion there. And everybody should be able to encrypt their communications and personal data as an essential protection of their rights to privacy and free speech." The Chinese laws on social media simply limit those established standards of free speech. And governments shouldn’t determine what speech is true and what is not.

So, I think that tackling anonymity is still the best solution, because the negative aspects of anonymity outweigh the positive aspects. Especially, in America and countries within Europe, where everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right includes the freedom to have opinions and to receive or convey information or ideas. So, if you want to share your opinion, you may. There is just no excuse to hide behind a false name. Besides, the identity data does not necessarily have to be made public. They can be withheld from the judiciary. [If] Only if something that clearly involves false and harmful information, [uhm] the justice system should investigate it and know where the information came from, to be able to catch the bully. The rights to privacy will not be harmed when the court and government [uhm] can only look into your data when the judge approves it, just like the police needs a warrant before they can make an arrest. [Uhm], so, to be clear, all users should be subject to an enhanced verification process that enables accurate identification only when required by law [uhm], by law enforcement. When the sources can be traced, we can hold people accountable for what they post on social media, and we can catch the cyber bully and they can be punished accordingly.

These are my sources if you want to look further into this subject.