台灣社會福利實施現況：從單親家庭觀點分析

The Implementation of Social Welfare Policy in Taiwan: A Single Parent Family Perspective

郭靜晃(Jing-Houng Kuo) ； 吳幸玲 (Hsin-Lin Wu)

《華岡社科學報》 17期 (2003/06) Pp. 117-141

https://doi.org/10.6363/HKJSS.200306.0117

摘要

全世界不管富裕或貧窮的國家，家庭結構都在進行影響深遠的改變，而這些轉變已是一種全球性的普遍現象，台灣也不例外。在過去十年，台灣傳統的家庭仍有著強大的凝聚力，血脈間息息相關，但是近年來，經濟高度發展，女性主義抬頭，遷徙人口增加，使得台灣的社會生態丕變，舊有的家庭制度更是面臨空前的挑戰：屢見不鮮的未婚生子與攀升不下的離婚率，甚至是兩岸經濟交流之後的分偶現象，均致使單親家庭成為當代台灣社會變遷裡的一項「社會事實」（social facts）。但是有別於歐美現況的是：台灣單親父親的比例一直偏高，在2001年一項針對全國3500戶單親家庭生活狀況的調查中，男女單親比例趨近於1，且經濟困境無分軒輊，因此台灣單親父親的問題與需求實不容小覬；再者，由於再婚比例低落，有半數的單親家長經歷了超過5年以上的單親生活，顯示台灣單親家庭生活形式已漸趨固定化；至於單親成因，基於國情的保守觀念，分居所造成的隱性單親更是台灣的特殊現象（比例僅次於離婚）；在居住型態方面，與祖父母組成的新三代同堂，則成為台灣單親家庭最主要的社會支持網絡。由於上述單親現象的殊異，使得台灣的單親家庭福利政策與歐美有不同的需求。
無庸置疑地，單親家庭已成為台灣社會變遷下的產物，在角色缺位的多重壓力下，若無法適當照顧其依賴子女，勢將付出更多代價，增加社會成本。而單親家庭能成為社會福利的關注乃是其有未成年的依賴子女，目前台灣並沒有特定的單親家庭社會福利政策，而是散置在各種社會救助措施中，旨在消除貧窮或提供支持以幫助單親家庭紓解困境。實施現況則以親友等非正式支持系統為主，政府與民間團體所扮演的角色功能較為薄弱，且有「單親福利女性化」的現象。
最後本文建議政府應積極建構單親家庭居間支持網絡，提供各種服務減輕家務與工作負擔，並探究不同特質單親的家庭問題與福利需求，以為政策方針之參考。

關鍵字

單親家庭 ； 單親家庭政策 ； 社會福利政策

並列摘要

Within members of the global village, affluent or poor nations alike, the family structure has undergone a dramatic change. Taiwan is no exception. In the past, the traditional Taiwanese family secures social order by fusing social forces adhesively. However, come with economic development, feminist movement, population immigration, the traditional Taiwanese family structure has undergone a dramatically change. The traditional family has faced colossal challenges; the increased unwedded mothers, sky-high divorce rate, separated family dues to parents working in the both side of the Taiwan Strait. All these contribute the single parent family as a ”social fact” in the trend of Taiwan social change. Unlike other countries, the ratio of single parent family with father has been relatively high in Taiwan. A 2001 nationwide survey of 3500 single parent families in Taiwan indicates that the ratio of single parent family with father and mother is close to 1:1, and the economic condition has no significant difference. Furthermore, because of the remarried rate of parents of the single parent family is low, more than half of surveyed single parent family has lived in such structure more than five years. It shows that the lifestyle of single parent family in Taiwan becomes a commonplace. Other two distinctive characteristics of Taiwanese single parent family are the high ratio of (1) covert single parent family due to a conservative culture regarding a separation being better than divorce; (2) three generation family with grandparents, single parent, and children becomes the most significant social support network of single parent family. Hence, Taiwanese social welfare policy of single parent family should be different from other nations. However, Taiwanese government has not yet implemented such policy and establishes various social aids for eliminating poverty. These unstructured aids have focused generally on single parent family with mother while most single parent family are relied on un-official and non-organizational support. This study has suggested that the government should actively construct support network among single parent family to provide service to reduce their heavy housework and job load and explore different needs of various single family.

並列關鍵字

Single parent families ； Single-parent family policy ； Social welfare policy