Improving financial literacy of a selected group in favour of eliminating crime
The aim of this paper is to point out the connections and the relation between financial literacy, poverty and criminal activities in the context of marginalized Roma communities in Slovakia. The target group was selected on the basis of the negative statistics as presented below. Poverty is one of the issues contributing not only to antisocial behavior of Roma communities but also leading them to criminal activities. In the case of the Slovak Roma, 87% of them live in poverty. The marginalized Roma communities are often linked to the so-called petty crime, which is represented by thefts in stores, in groceries, in public means of transport, in the streets etc. The research carried out using the problem analysis method was aimed at the initial structuring of the research field and theoretical and conceptual preparation of tools for detailed exploration. The study also contains an analysis of the financial literacy of the marginalized Roma communities in Slovakia. The survey results of the analysis indicate that the community is lagging behind in the area of the financial literacy and education itself. Only a small percentage of the Roma have completed education that is higher than elementary education. There are about 75% of unemployed Roma that receive material need benefits. Since they are unemployed, they cannot take out a loan in a bank. Therefore, another form of crime is the so-called usury, i.e. loaning money directly in a community and with an extremely high interest rate. There are two areas in the fight against crime caused by low financial literacy that may be regarded as key areas, namely decreasing the level of poverty of the marginalized Roma communities and financial education. The article problematizes the hitherto unknown contexts of connections and the relation between financial literacy, poverty and criminal activities in the context of marginalized Roma communities in Slovakia and original survey focused on analysis of the financial literacy of the marginalized Roma communities in Slovakia.