Poverty and Social exclusion in Finland - Case study of five Young Women

Definitions of poverty have varied a lot within past few decades, depending on the approach. The newer trends have been interested in relative dimensions of poverty and its relations to other social issues such as social exclusion. This study has focused on youth poverty in Finland. Poverty is understood mainly in relative term (60% from median) and youth as a process of transition, rather than certain age limit (16-29). This case study examined experiences of poverty and social exclusion of five young women – between age of 25 and 29. Each woman provided a unique view to the topic. Results of this study reflect to the fact that there is high percentage of youth poverty in Finland (in ages 20-24), they underlined how distribution within the poor and within the households, emphasized specific features that relates to youths transition processes becoming independent, and among other findings demonstrated what kind of gaps there are in Finnish Social security system. Although poverty in rich countries is mainly measured in relative term, this study showed that line between relative and absolute definitions is sometimes drawn in water.