NL residents underestimate how many kids live in poverty

Most Netherlands residents underestimate how many children in the country live in poverty, according to a study by the foundation for ideological advertising SIRE. To create more awareness, SIRE launched a campaign, with videos of kids telling what it's like to grow up with not enough money, ANP reports.

Figures from Statistics Netherlands show that one in 13 children in the Netherlands lives in poverty. SIRE asked 524 respondents about this, and 82 percent underestimated the number.

SIRE attributes this ignorance partly on the taboo on talking about money. "People are ashamed of lack of money because there are many prejudices about it," Lucy van Helm of the foundation said.

Almost half of Dutch think that the parents of children living in poverty don't work, and about a quarter think the lack of money is the parents' own fault and responsibility. "But in reality, 37 percent of the children in poverty have parents who work," Van der Helm said.

Despite these misconceptions, almost half of respondents said that the government should do more to tackle poverty.

Calculations by social and cultural planning office SCP last year showed that the current cabinet policy will increase poverty by more than a quarter. And those calculations exclude the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.