We’ve all seen the headlines that portray those on benefit as scroungers; we’ve most likely all heard ministers question the fairness for hardworking people having to foot the bill for the unemployed who “sleep off a life on benefit”; and most of us will know someone who believes that poverty is the fault of the individual – or who will argue that poverty doesn’t even exist in this country.
How accurate are such perceptions? Are the views presented based on fact, or is it the case that evidence and statistics have been misused, misrepresented and manipulated to create propaganda for a war on welfare? And what effect do these attitudes have on those who are living below the poverty line?
Research has shown that myths and misunderstandings fuel stereotypes that negatively impact those living in poverty in the UK. This supplement, produced in partnership with the Webb Memorial Trust, aims to bust those myths – once and for all.
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25 March 2013