social policy

• social policy


  plan or action put in place by the government to tackle a social issue or improve people's lives
• china's one child policy 1980


  -reduce population

  -women must seek permission to get pregnant and there's often a waiting list

  -couples who comply get extra benefits > free child healthcare, higher tax allowances
• what happened to couples who broke china's one child policy?


  -must repay the allowances

  -pay a fine

  -women face pressure to undergo sterilisation after their first child
• communist romania 1980s under rule of Ceausescu


  -drive up the birth rate from 20 to 30 million

  -lowered legal age of marriage to 15

  -made unmarried adults 7 childless couples pay an extra 5% income tax

  -abortion & contraception made illegal
• result of communist romania banning contraception


  -birth rate doubled-birth rate doubled

  -increase in total fertility rate from 1.9 to 3.7

  -number of children's needs not met

  -women often resorted to home remedies for abortion
• Nazi Germany family policy aims 1930s


  -encouraged racially pure to breed the 'master race' by restricting access to contraception & abortion

  -official policy to keep women out of workplace and perform their biological role

  -get rid of 'substandard' people and strengthen master race > sterilised 370,000 disabled people
• impact Nazi Germany policies on families & households


  -women confined to household duties

  -single men & childless families were taxted > causing poverty

  -families were peer pressured to abide by policies via propaganda
• Democratic societies - 21st century Britain


  -2015 : end of tax credits for families for their third or subsequent child

  -policies generally aim to support nuclear family

  -recently Conservatives have tried to 'disincentivise' people through welfare system of having children
• 21st century Britain's policies impact on families & households


  -child poverty has increased and also been affected by Covid, low wages & benefit changes

  -more emphasis on women staying home

  -smaller nuclear families