Social Policy

Social policy is crucial to promote social justice. It aims to address social issues, enhance equal opportunities, and improve living conditions for all members of a society.

Here you can find current articles, publications, and thematic focuses on social policy.

Recent Articles on Social Policy

Statements From Everyday Life - One Option for the Argumentation Around Identity Politics

Statements we encounter in conversations about left-wing identity politics which it is important to respond to.

By Josephine Apraku and Lou Herbst

“We won’t make progress if we don’t talk about differences in power”

Interview

Lou Herbst talks to Ed Greve about the opportunities and limitations of an anti-discriminatory identity politics, intersectionality and what ultimately leads to a divided society.

By Lou Herbst and Ed Greve

Hard-Won Progress on Gender Equality Destroyed: The Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on Women and LGBTIQ

2020 was expected to be the feminist super year - the anniversaries of the UN Resolution on "Women, Peace, and Security" and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action were supposed to be celebrated, and discussions about the lack of their implementation to be held. Instead, this became the year that, according to UN Women, would destroy 25 years of feminist achievements.

By Birte Rodenberg , Merima Šišić and Jana Prosinger

Family and gender in Orbán’s Hungary

Viktor Orbán`s and his government`s decisions on family tax allowance and child benefits favour middle-class traditional families and portray their conservative view on family and gender.

By Balázs Pivarnyik

Russian village houses, barns and a church through a snow shower

Russian faux family values: Domestic violence decriminalized in Russia

Russia is known as a country with a high level of domestic violence. There is no official statistics available, while NGOs concerned with this issue face serious challenges. And now, the Russian legal system has de facto removed an essential protective barrier between assailant and his prey.

By Dr. Irina Kosterina

All Articles on Social Policy

Thematic Focuses on Social Policy

Reproductive Justice

All Thematic Focuses on Social Policy

Publications on Social Policy

Childbirth: From human rights abuses to autonomous decision-making

Factsheet

Giving birth under conditions of violence, discrimination or stress is a reality for many women giving birth. Economic and social resources often determine access to a safe and friendly birth environment.

Download Factsheet (PDF)

Population policy: Between self-determined family planning and selective birth control

Factsheet

Almost 8 billion people will live on earth in 2021. While in the Global North people are encouraged to have children, in the Global South programmes of so-called development aid tend to aim at reducing the birth rate.

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Contraception: Between self-determined family planning and forced contraception

Factsheet

Contraception is a powerful tool of self-determination and population control. But access to contraception varies around the world and is influenced by economic, social, and cultural factors.

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All Publications on Social Policy