ISSA Webinar: Social protection responses to family breakdowns

Wednesday, 27 September 2023, 14:00–15:30 (UTC/GMT+2 or CEST)

Languages: Simultaneous interpretation in English, French and Spanish (Simultaneous interpretation – Frequently asked questions)

As well as being a fundamental human right, effective access to adequate and comprehensive social security benefits and services plays a crucial role in protecting children, and families with children against poverty and deprivation. Most often, the design of these interventions considers the traditional family structure dominated by a male breadwinner.

However, societal transformations such as changing marital patterns, increased divorce rates, new social constructs as well as earlier hikes in mortality rates due to HIV/AIDS have taken a heavy toll on the traditional family structure. This has led to a rise in orphanhood and single parent families. Evidence suggest that these families face much higher odds of living in poverty and socio-economic vulnerability. Hence the need for more tailored social protection interventions to guarantee the right to decent lives for all.

Faced with this reality, governments and social security institutions are adopting strategies and measures to enhance the provision of tailored social security benefits and services to children, and families with children, who are exposed to the increased risks inherent in these new forms of family structure.

This webinar will examine the following questions:

What are the trends and challenges faced by non-traditional families in specific country contexts?
What are the social security measures in place to address the risks faced by growing number of non-traditional families and their children?
To what extent do existing social security and humanitarian interventions address the needs of children and non-traditional families?
What are the reform options to enhance access and adequacy of social security protection for children and non-traditional families?

Speakers

	Myriam Schanck, President of the Board of Directors, Fund for the future of children, Association of Social Security Institutions of Luxembourg (Aloss), Luxembourg
	Brenda Morin, Chief Executive Officer, Agency for Social Protection (ASP), Seychelles
	Catherine Collombet, Deputy director, Mission for the European and International Relations and Cooperation, National Family Allowances Fund (CNAF), France