What are the public’s attitudes to poverty, what influences their attitudes, and what would help to build public support for anti-poverty measures? These issues are explored in ‘Engaging public support for eradicating UK poverty’, which rounds up what the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and others have learned during JRF’s Public Interest in Poverty Issues (PIPI) programme. It finds that, first, there is limited public awareness of the extent and reality of UK poverty, and people often think it is the individual’s responsibility to get out of poverty because they are unaware of the obstacles to achieving this; secondly, communication has an important role in highlighting solutions to UK poverty, changing attitudes that poverty and inequality are inevitable, and addressing legitimate public fears about anti-poverty measures; thirdly, people experiencing poverty are under-represented in the media – voluntary sector organisations can help to improve their profile; fourthly, there is media interest in poverty, but coverage is limited and often stereotypical; and finally, greater public awareness and support and sustained attitude change depend on a long-term collaboration between government, civil society, media and private sector organisations.
