Social Problems in Societies

Our society is greatly affected by the rapid increase in the reported cases of social problems. These problems range from simple to complex, and they occur in almost every corner of the world. However many they are, there are those which occur more frequently. It is difficult to establish the main cause of these problems, but the most commonly known cause is unemployment. This essay will give an in depth analysis of what the social problems are and focus on the most common ones in society.

A social problem is any condition or behavior that has negative consequences for large numbers of people and that is generally recognized as a condition or behavior that needs to be addressed (Barkan, 2011). Social problems have been existent for decades or even centuries, but many of these have also diminished in their seriousness over time.

Unemployment is a serious problem affecting our society today. According to Nicholas (2000), an individual is said to be unemployed if they are qualified to work but the lack jobs. Unemployment has greatly contributed to the rising cases of poverty all over the world. Approximately 1.29 billion people in the world are living in absolute poverty. Regardless of its causes, poverty has distressing consequences for the people who live in it. It has led to people engaging in prostitution, crimes such as robbery and domestic violence among others. Consequently, it leads to alcohol and drug abuse and other anti-social behaviors. With the increased rates of unemployment, other economy factors are significantly affected, such as: the income per person, health costs, quality of health-care and standards of leaving. All these affect not just the economy but the entire systems and the society in general (Barkan, 2011).

Sexual abuse on the other hand has greatly affected many people especially girls. Every year, almost 80% of girls are forced to drop out of school due to early pregnancies. Instances of rape also lead to sexually transmitted diseases. Consequently, abortion is on the rise in our societies. Around 56 million abortions occur each year in the world, with a little under half done unsafely. Abortion rates changed little between 2003 and 2008, before which they decreased for at least two decades as access to family planning and birth control increased (Stuart, 2010).

Over the years, terrorism has been ruining human civilization. The major impact of terrorism is public fear and intimidation. For instance, the terrorist attack in Kenya in Garissa University on 2015 by Al Shabaab militia left a number of people dead and others injured. Anyone who might have happened to be in or near Garissa will always remember how terrified they were to hear of the attacks and the fears that remained with them for the days and weeks that followed. Terrorism can work, or so terrorists believe, precisely because it instills fear and intimidation (Barkan, 2011). Most governing bodies have joined up with the effort to fight terrorism, typically following tough new laws and regulations, working out with very long legal securities and upgrading local monitoring and intelligence network.  Despite all of those efforts, terrorism still is one of the growing problems in the world today.

Hunger is also the biggest threat facing the world today. Similarly, there are lots of people who are forced to drink contaminated water in order to relieve their t. For instance in Turkana, people are forced to walk long distances in search of water. Others have succumbed to death due to this. Despite plans being set of supplying people with water, the menace still exists.

 In conclusion, social problems need to be addressed by all means. It is something affecting us within and without. The government and other private groups ought to come up with a lasting solution to them. Even so, social problems are there and they hinder development.

References

Grimes, D and Stuart, G (2010). "Abortion jabberwocky: the need for better terminology". Contraception

http://www.yourdictionary.com/social-problem). Retrieved on 2^nd December 2016

http://www.listverse.us/top-10-list-problems-in-the-world. Retrieved on 4^th December 2016

Nicholas, B (2000). Economics of the Welfare State. Oxford University Press

Steven E. Barkan (2011) Social Problems: Continuity and Change. University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing