FCarla Dejonghe has spent much of the past decade highlighting the ways in which single people are often disadvantaged, whether through higher household expenses or the assumption that they can spend their evenings and weekends Work.
In recent weeks, however, a Belgian lawmaker has taken the matter into her own hands, transforming her municipality into the first in the country and perhaps Europe to have policymakers consider the impact of their actions on people living alone.
“This is a milestone,” said de Jonge, whose municipality of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre is located on the outskirts of Brussels. “This is the first time a council has committed to reviewing its policies through the lens of single people.”
Dejonghe, who counts herself among the 36 percent of single-adult households in Belgium, hopes to correct long-standing blind spots in policymaking. “No one thought about it,” she said. “In fact, no one realizes how large this group is.”
Across the EU, the number of households with one adult (with or without children) has surged by 30% in just over a decade. Nearly 72 million people in the EU lived alone in 2022, which Eurostat said was the most common household type in the EU.
However, de Jonghe said this group has been overlooked by politicians, possibly because of the huge diversity it encompasses. “If you talk about living alone, everyone thinks of Sex and the City. But that’s not the case,” she added, citing the divorcees, widows, clergy and migrant workers of all ages who make up this group.
In recent years, attention has been focused on so-called “single fines,” which refer to additional costs borne by people who have no one to share the costs with, such as rent, energy bills, Wi-Fi and TV subscriptions.
In the UK, one financial services firm recently said these additional costs could exceed £10,000 a year, exacerbated by specific tax reliefs for people who are married or in a civil partnership.
Late last month, the Woluwe-Saint-Pierre parliament voted unanimously to approve the charter drafted by de Jonge, which she said was a first for Belgium and Europe.
The charter text emphasizes the goal of ensuring that single-income families are treated equally with other families, adding: “As policymakers, it is in our interest to no longer think in terms of traditional families, but in terms of striving to adopt a neutral approach to living arrangements. measures.”
It includes measures such as encouraging new housing projects to feature public spaces for more social interaction and tweaking municipal invitations to make it clear that guests can bring a “+1” and not just a partner.
The municipality will also work to make the events it organizes accessible. “If you want to organize something like a tango lesson, it has to be two people,” de Jonghe said, adding that those living on one income must also be able to afford the lessons.
The charter is also committed to championing singles-friendly practices within the local hospitality industry, such as communal tables and a wider selection of fine wines by the glass. Workplaces will also be encouraged to reconsider the common practice of relying on people living alone when they need to work overtime.
“These are simple things,” de Jonghe said. “They don’t cost much but are very logical.”
She said response to the charter has been overwhelmingly positive so far, with several peers in other cities expressing interest in similar measures.
De Jonge, a member of the Belgian parliament, said she had not yet received any negative reactions, which she attributed to the cautious approach she had taken, stressing that the charter was in no way intended to diminish the importance of the traditional family.
“This is about equality,” she said. “Everyone has to realize two things: If it’s good for the person who lives alone, it’s good for everyone. Second, whether you want to or not, at some point in your life you’re going to be alone.”
She described the charter as a first step in addressing this reality. “Our society has evolved, but our policies have not kept pace,” she said. “These are small steps, but we have to start somewhere.”
