Women threatened by the energy crisis. EU organizations sound the alarm. “Statistics are scary”

Cheap saves. He turns on the heating for one or two hours a day, although the old radiators do not give much heat anyway. Only on colder days does she allow her daughter to turn on the heater for a short time.

Tania is 32 years old, has five children and is single. She divorced her husband while still in Donetsk. She came to Poland right after the outbreak of the war, lives in a small town near , and works illegally in the kitchen of one of the roadside inns.

“12 hours a day,” he says, but doesn’t want to complain. The kitchen of the two-room apartment where he lives is accessed straight from the yard. The conditions are not ideal. On the floor worn linoleum, in the children’s room only a concrete screed, covered with a rug. The first bedroom is occupied by Tania with her youngest child. The other four, the one with the bunk beds along the walls. The oldest child is 14 years old, the youngest – a year. They do not go to a Polish school or kindergarten because Tania cannot afford a layette. Besides, if the older children go to school, there will be no one to look after the younger ones while she is at work.

The energy crisis will hit women. “Today the situation seems more urgent than ever”

EU civil organizations are alarming that an increasing number of Europeans are at risk of energy poverty. EU women’s organizations specify that the crisis will mainly affect .

Already in 2020, 8 percent. of EU residents admitted that they are unable to heat their home adequately. The situation was aggravated by the war in Ukraine, which exposed how much Member States depend on energy imports, including from Russia, and by rampant inflation. As a result, the situation of people who already had problems paying their energy bills worsened. And consumers who have been paying on time so far may have a problem with this.

According to Eurostat, 95.4 million people in the EU are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, ie every fifth inhabitant of the Community; the risk is higher for women than men (22.7% vs. 20.7%). 1.3 billion people live in poverty in developing countries, 70% of of them are women.

– The statistics of women living in energy poverty around the world are appalling. Today, with the start of the winter season and growth, the situation seems more urgent than ever, says Baiba Miltovica of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), representing civil society organizations in the EU.

Energy poverty. Single mothers in the risk group

Experts say that women are more at risk of energy poverty and its consequences because they receive lower average wages and are more dependent on heating at home than men. ‘Energy poverty is linked not only to energy prices, but also to income, affecting the most vulnerable, mainly women,’ says Maria Nikolopoulou of the EESC’s Equality Group.

– Women and their households are disproportionately affected by energy poverty also for socio-cultural reasons. Women depend on heating at home because of their responsibilities, such as childcare, they spend more time there, adds Katharina Habersbrunner from Women Engage for a Common Future (WECF).

Statistics show that single-parent families are more vulnerable to energy poverty. 80 percent such families are mothers with children, such as Tania. The risk is also higher in the case of older women – women receive, on average, lower pensions, which, with rising prices, may have problems with paying benefits, and they also live statistically longer than men. Women are also usually the first to feel the consequences of energy budget cuts, especially in public services. For example, savings on street lighting or restrictions on public transport will affect women more painfully, because they are the ones who use this type of services more often.

The European Economic and Social Committee calls on the EU for a gender-oriented energy policy

The EU has raised the issue of energy poverty several times over the last decade and it is also an important element of the Green Deal and the EU Ready for 55 package. In 2020, the European Commission adopted a recommendation on energy poverty, which provides for, among others, exchange of best practices between Member States and the level of EU support was defined. Civil society organizations, including those fighting for women’s rights, believe, however, that a gender-oriented approach is needed to create an effective strategy to fight against. That is why the European Economic and Social Committee has called on EU legislators to pursue an energy policy focused on women.

– Energy poverty reflects gender inequality, affecting women more than men. The EU can only effectively tackle this problem by adopting a gender-sensitive approach in all its policies, argue the organizations represented by the EESC.

Tania and her children are looking for a new home.