6. Health care and the social security system for rural women
6.1 Health care and rural women
6.2 Social services and rural women
The national health care system and many social services are well developed in most of the project countries and provided by the municipality or the state or by cooperative and state farms. There are also hospitals, health centres, medical doctors, dentists and school health services in rural areas in most of the countries (Table 12).
There are differences among the countries; Latvia and Lithuania, in particular, have fewer services than the other project countries. Some countries have recently lost their services as a result of the decline of state and cooperative farms, which formerly organized many of the health and social services. There are also shortages and differences among different rural areas. The most severe problems in the supply of services are caused by distances, the lack of telephones, transport and adequate roads, and the price of transport as well as of medicine. Lack of birth control facilities in rural areas was also mentioned. The most general shortage is a lack of maternity clinics in some countries.
Table 12: Health care services available in rural villages, 1994
Eston |
Latv. |
Lith. |
Pol. |
Czech Rep. |
Slovakia |
Hung. |
Slovenia |
Croatia |
Bulg. |
Finl. |
Aust. |
Irel. | |
District hospital |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Health centre |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Private clinic |
+ |
- |
- |
- |
+ |
- |
= |
+ |
- |
+ |
- |
+ |
- |
Family doctor |
+ |
+ |
- |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Dentist |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
School health serv. |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Child health centres |
+ |
- |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ | |
Matern clinics |
+ |
- |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Pharm |
+ |
+ |
- |
+ |
+ |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Source: Focal Informants.
The level of social services is relatively good, although there are differences among countries (Table 13).
Table 13: Social services available in rural areas, 1994
Eston |
Latv. |
Lith. |
Pol. |
Czech Rep. |
Slovakia |
Hung. |
Slovenia |
Croatia |
Bulg. |
Finl. |
Aust. |
Irel. | |
Maternity leave |
+ |
- |
+ |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Child any care service |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Ederly care facilities |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Home help for eldery |
+ |
+ |
- |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Employ. service |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
+ |
+ |
- |
+ |
+ |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Farm/home relief services |
- |
- |
- |
- |
+ |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Source: Focal Informants.
Farm and home relief services are organized only in the Czech Republic; employment services are organized in all countries apart from Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria. Maternity leave for rural women is unknown in Latvia and Poland. The bulk of the services are provided in most countries by the state, other providers being the municipalities and the church (especially child care and care for the elderly facilities and services). There is an unequal provision of some social welfare services for rural or farm women in comparison with other women in paid employment.
Although gross national product (GNP) in the project countries is quite low, social security benefits are well provided (Table 14). All the countries provide maternity and child support benefits as well as state disability pensions for the rural population. Home care allowance, unemployment benefit and pension on transfer of the farm to a successor are social benefits more rarely encountered in the project countries. Abortion is legalized in all countries except Poland and Ireland (UN, 1995a).
Table 14: Social security benefits for the rural population, 1994
Eston |
Latv. |
Lith. |
Pol. |
Czech Rep. |
Slovakia |
Hung. |
Slovenia |
Croatia |
Bulg. |
Finl. |
Aust. |
Irel. | |
Maternity leave |
+ |
- |
+ |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Child any care service |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Home care allowance |
+ |
+ |
- |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Unemployed benefits |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Accident insurance |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Disability pension |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
National pension |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
+ |
Employ pension |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Successor transfer pension |
- |
- |
- |
+ |
- |
- |
- |
- |
+ |
- |
+ |
- |
- |
Source: Focal Informants.
The equal status of women and men is assured in the legislation of all the project countries (Table 15), but not in the reference countries of Austria and Ireland. In Slovenia, Croatia and Bulgaria, farm/home relief services are not provided.
In practice, however, women and men are not equal. The most common inequalities mentioned in both CEE countries and the project's reference countries are: discrimination against women in the labour market; inequality in attitudes; in the privatization process; in public life; in incomes; in leadership both at work and in politics (also at parliament level); and in the amount of free time. Equality between the sexes is assured by law in principle, not necessarily in practice.
Table 15: Legislation on the equal status of women and men, 1994
Eston |
Latv. |
Lith. |
Pol. |
Czech Rep. |
Slovakia |
Hung. |
Slovenia |
Croatia |
Bulg. |
Finl. |
Aust. |
Irel. | |
Succession and inheritance |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
Social security protection |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
Right to credit |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
|
Taxation |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
|
Farm/home relief services |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
+ |
- |
- |
- |
+ |
+ |
- |
Labour legislation |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
|
Entrepreneurship |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
+ |
+ |
- |
- |
Land reform |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
- |
|||
Subsides |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Voting right |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Access to education |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Equal pop.'s in work |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Equal pay for equal work |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Source: Focal Informants.
