Vujović: There are more single parents than is assumed

In Montenegro, the population of single parents and single-parent families is more numerous than assumed, and the fight for their full social visibility and breaking prejudices is yet to come, said the president of the Association of Single Parents, Snežana Vujović.

Vujović, at the panel discussion "Position of single parents in Montenegro", said that the Association conducted a survey in which 110 single parents from Podgorica, Bar and Pljevlja participated.

She pointed out that the obtained data cannot be considered representative of the population of single parents, but they give, as she explained, an indicative picture of the challenges that this population is struggling with.

"35 single families from Podgorica, 36 from Pljevlja and 39 from Bar participated in the research. When it comes to the number of children, 110 surveyed single parents support 202 children. "Most single parents support more than one child," she stated.

According to her, these data indicate that the population of single parents and single-parent families is more numerous than assumed, and that, as she said, the largest number of single families in Montenegrin society are mothers with children.

"Recently, the most frequent reason for the creation of single-parent families is divorces, which record a constant growth rate, while a significant percentage of single-parent families are due to the death of one of the parents," said Vujović.

She said that there are still stereotypes about divorced mothers that are associated with their failure in the area of ​​married and family life, while unmarried mothers, as she warned, encounter even greater problems.

"In Montenegro, there are still prejudices about single-parent families, so the fight for full social visibility and breaking prejudices is yet to come," Vujović said.

She said that the Association's research showed that 27,4 percent of single parents receive the monthly amount determined by the judgment for child support from the other parent.

"The most common reasons, as they say, for non-payment of alimony are unemployment of the other parent, conflicting relationships or lack of contact between former spouses, lack of a lawsuit, serving a prison sentence, treatment for addiction," explained Vujović.

A significant number of single parents, she added, are young people.

"A significant number of single parents have not resolved their housing issue, they live as tenants, a large number of them are unemployed or engaged in jobs of an occasional or non-permanent nature. There are indications that the number of single parents is increasing," Vujović said.

She pointed out that the experiences of single parents show insufficient support from society in realizing their responsible family role.

The representative of the Employment Agency, Aleksandar Rakočević, said that this institution does not have a recognized target group of single parents in its work technology.

"Currently, we have 1.335 people on our records who declared themselves divorced on a voluntary basis and 266 of them who said they were widowed or widowed. There is an evident proportion compared to the data of MONSTAT, which indicates that in Montenegro it is still not desirable to declare about some things", said Rakočević.

He believes that the key problem in the employment of single parents is reduced mobility due to family obligations.

Vesna Cimbaljević from the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare reminded that the position of single parents is regulated by the Law on Social and Child Protection, which, as she stated, is in line with all international standards.

"The aforementioned Law stipulates that social and child protection aims to improve the quality of life and empower individuals and families to live independently and productively. In achieving these goals, a single parent with a child without family support and adequate living conditions is especially protected," said Cimbaljević.

The rights that single parents can exercise under this Act are, as she explained, the right to basic material allowances and social and child protection services.

The panel discussion was realized as part of the "Small steps to the goal" project, which is supported through the De facto strong program implemented by the Fund for Active Citizenship - Fakt, and financed by the European Union (EU) through the EU Delegation in Montenegro.