O fenômeno social da feminização da pobreza: um estudo de caso sobre as mães solo que acessam a educação infantil do Instituto de Menores Dom Antônio Zattera no Município de Pelotas–RS

Abstract

This research, developed within the Postgraduate Program in Social Policy and Human Rights at the Catholic University of Pelotas, specifically in Research Line II: Human Rights, Security, and Access to Justice, addresses the social phenomenon of the feminization of poverty. The study focuses on single mothers who access early childhood education at the Instituto de Menores Dom Antônio Zattera in the municipality of Pelotas. The choice of this topic is justified by its relevance, especially concerning single mothers in social vulnerability, a reality that has increased in recent decades both in the country and in Pelotas. From this perspective, through qualitative research, we problematize the situation of single mothers served in the early childhood education program at the Instituto de Menores Dom Antônio Zattera, emphasizing their life trajectories and the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the existing social assistance and protection network in Pelotas. The criteria for sample selection consisted of single mothers with children up to six years old attending the early childhood education school currently operating at the Instituto de Menores Dom Antônio Zattera. The research investigated the impact of the services provided by the Instituto de Menores, through the full-time school for children under six years old, on the labor market insertion of single mothers, family organization, and the guarantee of the social reproduction process, as well as access to social assistance programs available in the municipality of Pelotas. In this perspective, the proposed investigation sought to bring visibility to this social phenomenon, stimulate debate, and propose specific actions and programs to the municipal public institutions involved with the theme.