Family policy in Iceland

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The Icelandic family model can be compared to that of the Anglo-Saxon model in regards to its benefits and the Scandinavian model in regards services. Iceland was seen as a lagging country compared to other European countries in terms of family policy. Family policy in Iceland had been long ignored by its policy makers. Not until 1994 when the United Nations celebrated the Year of Family. After the recognition of the importance of family by the United Nations, Iceland's parliament sought to establish a resolution to the concept of family policy that was gaining greater political attention in Iceland.

Iceland Island republic in Northern Europe

Iceland is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic, with a population of 358,780 and an area of 103,000 km2 (40,000 sq mi), making it the most sparsely populated country in Europe. The capital and largest city is Reykjavík, with Reykjavík and the surrounding areas in the southwest of the country being home to over two-thirds of the population. Iceland is volcanically and geologically active. The interior consists of a plateau characterised by sand and lava fields, mountains, and glaciers, and many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate, despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle. Its high latitude and marine influence keep summers chilly, with most of the archipelago having a tundra climate.

Anglo-Saxons Germanic tribes who started to inhabit parts of Great Britain from the 5th century onwards

The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited Great Britain from the 5th century. They comprise people from Germanic tribes who migrated to the island from continental Europe, their descendants, and indigenous British groups who adopted many aspects of Anglo-Saxon culture and language; the cultural foundations laid by the Anglo-Saxons are the foundation of the modern English legal system and of many aspects of English society; the modern English language owes over half its words – including the most common words of everyday speech – to the language of the Anglo-Saxons. Historically, the Anglo-Saxon period denotes the period in Britain between about 450 and 1066, after their initial settlement and up until the Norman conquest. The early Anglo-Saxon period includes the creation of an English nation, with many of the aspects that survive today, including regional government of shires and hundreds. During this period, Christianity was established and there was a flowering of literature and language. Charters and law were also established. The term Anglo-Saxon is popularly used for the language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons in England and eastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century. In scholarly use, it is more commonly called Old English.

United Nations Intergovernmental organization

The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization tasked with maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations, achieving international co-operation, and being a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations. It was established after World War II, with the aim of preventing future wars, and succeeded the ineffective League of Nations. Its headquarters, which are subject to extraterritoriality, are in Manhattan, New York City, and it has other main offices in Geneva, Nairobi, Vienna and The Hague. The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states. Its objectives include maintaining international peace and security, protecting human rights, delivering humanitarian aid, promoting sustainable development, and upholding international law. The UN is the largest, most familiar, most internationally represented and most powerful intergovernmental organization in the world. At its founding, the UN had 51 member states; there are now 193.

Contents

History

Past policies

During the 1990s, before the United Nations' Year of Family Iceland was spending roughly 18% GDP on welfare and health care. This percentage was quite low compared to other European countries. This percentage spent on both healthcare and welfare seemed looked even thinner because Iceland has more children per family than other European countries with more progressive health care and social policies. After Iceland made the decision to implement more progressive family policies the Minister of Social Affairs   appointed The Family Council in 1998. This council helped implement policies like those for paternity leave in 1998 which allowed men to take one third of the paid parental leave. During the 1990s there was also policies enacted that gave both men and women equal legal care for children. Children's care hours and after school activities were more highly funded during this time to establish more child friendly policies for working-class families. These policies were quite essential to Iceland's work force because on average more married men and women took part in the public and private workforce of Iceland. Numerous progressive policies have been established for Iceland since the 1900s so that the position of the Icelandic family would be strengthened. [1] [2] [3]

Minister of Social Affairs (Iceland) Icelandic cabinet position (1939-2008)

The Minister of Social Affairs was a cabinet position which existed between 17 April 1939 and 1 January 2008. The Ministry of Social Affairs existed alongside the minister after 1 January 1970 when the Cabinet of Iceland Act no. 73/1969 took effect since ministries had not formally existed separately from the ministers. On 1 January 2008 the position became Minister of Social Affairs and Social Security and the ministry itself was also renamed accordingly. On 31 December 2010 the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Security was merged with the Ministry of Health and Social Security to form the Ministry of Welfare.

Modern changes

The Icelandic family policy framework has shifted greatly from a model that was established as a single "breadwinner" family into a dual working and equal rights parent structure. In the years between 1970 and 1980 single parent households had proportionate rights. The modern model does strictly offer progressive benefits to families on the means test of income. Housing benefits have been a modern adaptation into the Icelandic family welfare system. Although there have been additional hours added to preschools in Iceland there are still no legal rights to preschool. There is financial assistance available to single and dual parent households. A single parent household receives about twice as much financial assistance than a dual parent household. This highlights the less progressive policies for wealth distribution. Iceland's family policy was re-structured for the equality of men and women in order to distribute balanced family welfare policies and its responsibilities. The framework of family is important to the people of Iceland because they believe social emotional connections develop from the home to the society around them. Although preschools are not mandatory for children to attend, Iceland sets up a structure that makes it most beneficial for both children and their working parents. Icelandic family policy makes child development a fundamental basis for much of their social policy in order to allow them to better develop their intellectual and emotional qualities at a younger age than most other countries. Work settings also help implement gender and family policies by private corporations implementing social policies to help support their government's mission for equality and progress. [4] [5] [6]

A single parent is a person who lives with a child or children and who does not have a wife, husband or live-in partner. A single parent may have either sole custody of the child or joint physical custody, where the child lives part-time with each parent. Reasons for becoming a single parent include divorce, break-up, abandonment, death of the other parent, childbirth by a single woman or single-person adoption. A single parent family is a family with children that is headed by a single parent.

Future goals

Since appointing a special Family Council in 1998 and the present Social Security system, Iceland has implemented substantial progressive family policies from extended preschool to counseling and education on sexual matters. Iceland's Social Security works hand in hand with municipalities and examines different provisions that could be introduced to not only better municipalities but the country as a whole. Although Iceland has made substantial progress in its parental leave policy, it still is shorter than other Nordic countries.  Iceland passed and then repealed a policy that extended parental leave to twelve months which could have been compared to Sweden's 480 days of paid parental leave in 2016. In 2012, Eydal and Friðriksdóttir was passed and stated that parents who did not live with their children did not receive any benefits from the family welfare policies. Fertility rates have always remained constant or have never been an issue to agrees until recent years. In 2014, 4,326 births were reported which was a decline from 4,533 in 2012. This compared to fertility rates in 1950 when women were having more than four children per household. The age of first time mothers was up from 27 in 2013 to 30 in 2013. These trend are due to a highly developed work force and equal rights for men and women. Women are choosing careers that used to be synonymous to men and are taking advantage of the career opportunities earned. Costs of living have gone up as well as costs of normal and cheap goods which alarms prospective first time parents to be more financially secure. The decrease in fertility is also in part due to the education and counseling that both men and women receive in Iceland at a young age in sexual reproduction. Those who choose to have children are incentivized with progressive policies aiming at enhancing both emotional and physical stability and progress. Children have universal benefits in Iceland if they age 7 years of age or less. The Social Security System in Iceland re-affirms how critical these early years are for children especially in terms of instilling social and intellectual frameworks in the minds of children who will become the leaders of that same country as well as political activists. [7] [8] [9]

Social security action programs of government intended to promote the welfare of the population through assistance measures

Social security is "any government system that provides monetary assistance to people with an inadequate or no income." In the United States, this is usually called welfare or a social safety net, especially when talking about Canada and European countries.

Nordic countries Geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic

The Nordic countries or the Nordics are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic, where they are most commonly known as Norden. The term includes Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, as well as Greenland and the Faroe Islands—which are both part of the Kingdom of Denmark—and the Åland Islands and Svalbard and Jan Mayen archipelagos that belong to Finland and Norway respectively, whereas the Norwegian Antarctic territories are often not considered a part of the Nordic countries, due to their geographical location. Scandinavians, who comprise over three quarters of the region's population, are the largest group, followed by Finns, who comprise the majority in Finland; other groups are indigenous minorities such as the Greenlandic Inuit and the Sami people, and recent immigrants and their descendants. The native languages Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Faroese are all North Germanic languages rooted in Old Norse. Native non-Germanic languages are Finnish, Greenlandic and several Sami languages. The main religion is Lutheran Christianity. The Nordic countries have much in common in their way of life, history, religion, their use of Scandinavian languages and social structure. The Nordic countries have a long history of political unions and other close relations, but do not form a separate entity today. The Scandinavist movement sought to unite Denmark, Norway and Sweden into one country in the 19th century, with the indepedence of Finland in the early 20th century, and Iceland in the mid 20th century, this movement expanded into the modern organised Nordic cooperation which includes the Nordic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers. Especially in English, Scandinavia is sometimes used as a synonym for the Nordic countries, but that term more properly refers to the three monarchies of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Geologically, the Scandinavian Peninsula comprises the mainland of Norway and Sweden as well as the northernmost part of Finland.

Activism efforts to promote, impede, or direct social, political, religious, economic, or environmental change, or stasis

Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct, or intervene in social, political, economic, or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society. Forms of activism range from mandate building in the community, petitioning elected officials, running or contributing to a political campaign, preferential patronage of businesses, and demonstrative forms of activism like rallies, street marches, strikes, sit-ins, or hunger strikes.

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Sterilization is any of a number of medical methods of birth control that intentionally leaves a person unable to reproduce. Sterilization methods include both surgical and non-surgical, and exist for both males and females. Sterilization procedures are intended to be permanent; reversal is generally difficult or impossible.

A nuclear family, elementary family or conjugal family is a family group consisting of two parents and their children. It is in contrast to a single-parent family, the larger extended family, and a family with more than two parents. Nuclear families typically center on a married couple; the nuclear family may have any number of children. There are differences in definition among observers; some definitions allow only biological children that are full-blood siblings, but others allow for a stepparent and any mix of dependent children including stepchildren and adopted children.

Welfare state Government promoting its peoples welfare

The welfare state is a form of government in which the state protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of the citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for citizens unable to avail themselves of the minimal provisions for a good life. Sociologist T. H. Marshall described the modern welfare state as a distinctive combination of democracy, welfare, and capitalism.

Family planning planning of when to have children, and the use of birth control and other techniques to implement such plans

Family planning services are defined as "educational, comprehensive medical or social activities which enable individuals, including minors, to determine freely the number and spacing of their children and to select the means by which this may be achieved". Family planning may involve consideration of the number of children a woman wishes to have, including the choice to have no children, as well as the age at which she wishes to have them. These matters are influenced by external factors such as marital situation, career considerations, financial position, any disabilities that may affect their ability to have children and raise them, besides many other considerations. If sexually active, family planning may involve the use of contraception and other techniques to control the timing of reproduction. Other techniques commonly used include sexuality education, prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections, pre-conception counseling and management, and infertility management. Family planning as defined by the United Nations and the World Health Organization encompasses services leading up to conception and does not promote abortion as a family planning method, although levels of contraceptive use reduces the need for abortion.

Welfare is a type of government support for the citizens of that society. Welfare may be provided to people of any income level, as with social security, but it is usually intended to ensure that the poor can meet their basic human needs such as food and shelter. Welfare attempts to provide poor people with a minimal level of well-being, usually either a free- or a subsidized-supply of certain goods and social services, such as healthcare, education, and vocational training.

Parental leave

Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and "paternity leave" to describe separate family leave available to either parent to care for small children. In some countries and jurisdictions, "family leave" also includes leave provided to care for ill family members. Often, the minimum benefits and eligibility requirements are stipulated by law.

Social security in Sweden is one of the parts of the Swedish welfare system and consists of various social insurances handled by the National Agency for Social Insurance, and also welfare given out on a need basis by local municipalities. They are the main conduits for redistribution of approximately 48% of the Swedish GDP in the form of taxed income.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families U.S. federal aid program

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families is one of the United States of America's federal assistance programs. It began on July 1, 1997, and succeeded the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, providing cash assistance to indigent American families through the United States Department of Health and Human Services. This cash benefit is often referred to simply as "welfare."

Social welfare, assistance for the ill or otherwise disabled and the old, has long been provided in Japan by both the government and private companies. Beginning in the 1920s, the Japanese government enacted a series of welfare programs, based mainly on European models, to provide medical care and financial support. During the post-war period, a comprehensive system of social security was gradually established.

A social welfare model is a system of social welfare provision and its accompanying value system. It usually involves social policies that affect the welfare of a country's citizens within the framework of a market or mixed economy.

Social welfare has long been an important part of New Zealand society and a significant political issue. It is concerned with the provision by the state of benefits and services. Together with fiscal welfare and occupational welfare, it makes up the social policy of New Zealand. Social welfare is mostly funded through general taxation. Since the 1980s welfare has been provided on the basis of need; the exception is universal superannuation.

The Nordic model refers to the economic and social policies common to the Nordic countries. This includes a comprehensive welfare state and collective bargaining at the national level with a high percentage of the workforce unionised while being based on the economic foundations of free market capitalism. The Nordic model began to earn attention after World War II.

Aging of Japan

The aging of Japan is thought to outweigh all other nations, with Japan being purported to have the highest proportion of elderly citizens. Japan is experiencing a “super-aging” society both in rural and urban areas. According to 2014 estimates, 33.0% of the Japanese population is above the age of 60, 25.9% are aged 65 or above, and 12.5% are aged 75 or above. People aged 65 and older in Japan make up a quarter of its total population, estimated to reach a third by 2050.

Welfare in Finland

Social security in Finland, or welfare in Finland, is, compared to other countries’, very comprehensive. In the late 1980s, Finland had one of the world's most advanced welfare systems, one that guaranteed decent living conditions for all Finns. Since then social security has been cut back, but still the system is one of the most comprehensive in the world. Created almost entirely during the first three decades after World War II, the social security system was an outgrowth of the traditional Nordic belief that the state was not inherently hostile to the well-being of its citizens, but could intervene benevolently on their behalf. According to some social historians, the basis of this belief was a relatively benign history that had allowed the gradual emergence of a free and independent peasantry in the Nordic countries and had curtailed the dominance of the nobility and the subsequent formation of a powerful right wing. Finland's history has been harsher than the histories of the other Nordic countries, but not harsh enough to bar the country from following their path of social development.

The father's quota, also referred to as the "daddy quota", is a policy implemented in Norway, Sweden and Iceland which reserves a part of parental leave periods for fathers. If the father does not take leave, the family loses the leave period reserved for them; thus the father's quota is not the leave period itself, but rather the principle that a certain part of the leave period can only be taken by the father. The quota, which originally comprised four weeks, was introduced by the Labour government on April 1, 1993. Norway was the first ever country to introduce a father's quota in 1993, followed by Sweden in 1995. Since 2005, the Norwegian quota has been changed several times, and currently is at 15 weeks each for both mothers and fathers. The last change to this policy was put into place by the Conservative Party on July 1, 2014. In Sweden the quota was increased from 8 to 12 weeks on January 1, 2016. In connection with birth, it is common for the father to get 2 weeks paid time off, but this is not related to parental leave or the father's quota, and is normally covered by the employer.

Social security in Germany is codified on the Sozialgesetzbuch (SGB), or the "Social Code", contains 12 main parts, including the following,

Work–family balance in the United States refers to the specific issues that arise when men and women in the United States attempt to balance their occupational lives with their family lives. This differs from work-life balance: while work-life balance may refer to the health and living issues that arise from work, work–family balance refers specifically to how work and families intersect and influence each other. Work–family balance in the U.S. differs significantly for families of different social class.

Shared earning/shared parenting marriage, also known as peer marriage, is a type of marriage where the partners at the outset agree to adhere to a model of shared responsibility for earning money, meeting the needs of children, doing household chores, and taking recreation time in near equal fashion across these four domains. It refers to an intact family formed in the relatively equal earning and parenting style from its initiation. Peer marriage is distinct from shared parenting, as well as the type of equal or co-parenting that father's rights activists in the United States, the United Kingdom and elsewhere seek after a divorce in the case of marriages, or unmarried pregnancies/childbirths, not set up in this fashion at the outset of the relationship or pregnancy. A number of books have addressed various aspects of this type of marriage, including Equally Shared Parenting by Marc and Amy Vachon, The Four-Thirds Solution by Stanley Greenspan and Getting to 50/50 by Sharon Meers and Joanna Strober.

Family policy in Spain refers to the implementation of public policy measures that aim to support the social actions carried out by families, as well as define family roles and relationships within Spain. These laws and services provide Spanish families with provisions regarding parental leave, childcare, family allowances, marriage, divorce, and cohabitation.

Family policy in Japan

Family policy in Japan refers to government measures that attempt to increase the national birthrate in order to address Japan's declining population. It is speculated that leading causes of Japan's declining birthrate include the institutional and social challenges Japanese women face when expected to care for children while simultaneously working the long hours expected of Japanese workers. Japanese family policy measures therefore seek to make childcare easier for new parents.

References

  1. ↑ "Social and Family Policy The case of Iceland". University of York.
  2. ↑ "Iceland Social Policies". SGI-Network.
  3. ↑ "Social Policy and Welfare". Nordic Co-Operation.
  4. ↑ "Fewer Births, Fertility Rate Drops in Iceland". Iceland Review.
  5. ↑ "Social Security Programs Throughout the World: Europe, 2010". Social Security Administration.
  6. ↑ "Recent social policy initiatives in Austria, Estonia, Hungary and Iceland". European Commission.
  7. ↑ "Gudny Bjork Eydal and Stefan Olafsson: Social and family policy the case of Iceland". Academia.
  8. ↑ "Useful Information about Iceland". Extreme Iceland.
  9. ↑ "The Nordic Model: Pros and Cons". Investopedia.
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