UK Policy Briefing
Gender and Social Security as a Human Right
This briefing examines a human rights approach to social security for women in the UK and is in collaboration with Amnesty International UK.
Social security is important for women because, overall, women tend to rely more on social security than men, in large part as they remain disadvantaged in the economy. Internationally, women are recognised as requiring rights because their needs are often neglected, including in the way the welfare state has been designed based on gendered assumptions. In this briefing, written as part of Amnesty International UK’s work on Social (In)Security, we adopt a Human Rights approach to social security for women in the UK.
Summary
The changes to social security since 2010 have eroded the adequacy of payments and pushed more households into poverty, with a disproportionate impact on low-income women, Disabled women, single parents, and women from minority-ethnic backgrounds. The real-terms cut in benefits has been accompanied by increased levels of conditionality and sanctions. Combined, this impinges not only on the right to social security but could also trigger violations of related rights, including the right to liberty and security.
The government must act urgently to restore social security in the UK to adequate levels, such that it is able to perform its core functions of preventing and alleviating poverty, reducing inequality and promoting social inclusion, and that it is contributing to the realisation of women’s human rights, rather than their violation.