Self-reported Health among Lone Mothers in Switzerland: Do Employment and Education Matter?
Emanuela Struffolino, Laura Bernardi, Marieke Voorpostel
Lone mothers are more likely to be unemployed and in poverty, which are both factors associated with a risk of poor health. In Switzerland, weak work-family reconciliation policies and taxation that favours married couples adopting the traditional male breadwinner model translate into low labour market participation rate for mothers. In the case of lone mothers, employment can be associated with better health because it eases the potential economic hardship associated with being the sole earner. However, working can represent an additional stress factor due to lone mothers’ responsibility as the main caregiver. We investigate how family arrangements and employment status are associated with self-reported health in Switzerland. Our analyses on the Swiss Household Panel (waves 1999-2011) suggest that lone mothers who are out of the labour market have a higher probability of reporting poor health, especially those with an upper secondary level of education. Lone mothers reported being in better health when working full-time versus part-time, whereas the opposite applied to mothers living with a partner.
Female Genital Mutilation. Overview and Current Knowledge
Armelle Andro, Marie Lesclingand
Female genital mutilation (FGM), which is any form of non-therapeutic intervention leading to the ablation or alteration of the female genital organs, has adverse health consequences. According to UNICEF, in 2016, more than 200 million women in the world have undergone FGM. This article examines the prevalence of FGM and its variation over time in the different regions of the world, and presents current knowledge of the determinants of the practice and its effects on health and sexuality. Recent public health studies have demonstrated the scale and diversity of the consequences of FGM, and specific medical services have been developed for the women concerned. Available data show that while FGM is well studied in Africa, it remains poorly documented in certain regions of the world. This is notably the case in countries where the practice is clandestine, and in those with immigrant populations from countries where women undergo FGM.
- Effects of the 2010 Civil Code on Trends in Joint Physical Custody in Catalonia. A Comparison with the Rest of Spain
Montserrat Solsona, Jeroen Spijker
This article examines whether the Catalan 2010 Civil Code affects trends in joint physical custody in Catalonia, and why joint physical custody more than doubled in Catalonia during 2007-2012, although not in other regions of Spain. It first summarizes the 2005 divorce reform in Spain and the 2010 Catalan Civil Code on joint physical custody. It then describes the patterns and characteristics of physical custody arrangements of minor children, as adjudicated by judges, based on micro data from the Spanish National Statistics Institute on “Decrees of separations, divorces and annulments” for the period 2007-2012 in both Catalonia and the rest of Spain. It concludes that the Catalan legislation partially explains these observed differences, not because it advocates joint physical custody per se, but because it encourages shared parenting through the use of two specific tools: clear criteria for determining the regime and form of child custody; and a parental plan. Both of these elements also have great potential for reducing gender inequality in the family sphere.
Seventieth Anniversary of Population
(Didier Blanchet presents and analyses an article by Paul Vincent published in 1946)
