Lone Mothers in South Africa - The role of social security in respecting and protecting dignity

Lead Research Organisation: University of Oxford
Department Name: Social Policy and Intervention

Abstract

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Description Lone mothers in South Africa face multiple challenges and yet are often neglected in the policy arena. Most fall outside the scope of social assistance as there is no provision for adults unless they are disabled or aged 60 or above. This study explored lone mothers' experiences of social security in South Africa in terms of whether it protects and respects their dignity. Interviews were undertaken with almost 200 low income lone mothers, and with senior policy makers in government. Social attitudes were explored more broadly in relation to dignity, poverty and social security using data from the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS).

Four achievements are highlighted here:

Dignity and poverty: As well as being a foundational value in South Africa's Constitution, dignity was understood and experienced as being a very important concept, not only by the low income lone mother interviewees, but also by a nationally representative sample of South African adults as evidenced by analysis of a module on dignity in SASAS. Poverty was described by lone mothers as erosive of their dignity, impacting negatively on their sense of self-esteem, worthiness, autonomy, and self-respect. Many of the strategies for surviving poverty were also described by lone mothers as being detrimental to dignity, particularly begging, demeaning work for family/neighbours, tolerating precarious employment, and transactional sex.

Social assistance and dignity: The Child Support Grant (CSG) plays a vital role in helping lone mothers to provide for their children, yet was also perceived by many as being so small an amount as to have little impact on the protection of their dignity as caregivers. The application process was described by many as being detrimental to dignity, as was the opprobrium often associated with their status as CSG recipients. Yet use of the CSG income contributed positively and in dignity-enhancing ways to the lives of many of the informants. Senior policy makers stressed that dignity plays an important role in social security policy design, and that its purpose is to help to protect people's dignity by providing an income to alleviate poverty, but some observed that the CSG means-test and the exclusion of caregivers from social assistance, was detrimental to dignity.

Expansion of social assistance: Decent paid work was regarded by lone mothers as the main route to attaining dignity. However, in its absence, there was strong support (amongst lone mother interviewees and in SASAS) for the introduction of social assistance for lone mothers. State-provided social security was regarded as a manifestation of social solidarity. However, dignity-eroding aspects of the administration of the CSG by some officials, the opprobrium accorded to CSG recipients, and their exclusion from provision, meant that for many lone mothers any experience of the spirit of social solidarity was elusive. State support was regarded as preferable, in principle, to dependence on other (usually just as poor or only slightly less so) family members.

New research questions: The significant knowledge generated outlined above highlights the need for new research on attitudes to 'dependency' in South Africa, as well as an interrogation of policy conflict between prioritisation of child rights and rights of the caregiver.
Exploitation Route In order to impact on the debates around social security for caregivers, it is necessary for our research outcomes to be taken forward within academic and non-academic channels.

Academic routes:
- Journal articles (three written, two in preparation).
- Continued dialogue with peers and ongoing dissemination in academic forums, e.g. we have been invited to take part in a seminar series on social security by the University of Cape Town in 2015, with a view to contributing to a special edition of their Child Gauge publication.

Non-academic routes:
- Promoting Debate. The media specialist at PLAAS (UWC) is helping us to prepare press releases for the South African media.
- Improving policy implementation. The DFID-funded BCURE programme at the University of Johannesburg will be approached to explore organising a special training event for senior officials at the South African Social Security Agency in 2015, highlighting ways in which administration of the CSG could be improved in relation to protecting dignity of applicants.
- Raising awareness. E.g. the Manager of the Demography and Research Unit of the Department of Social Development in the Eastern Cape (a fieldwork area) has requested a dissemination event for key stakeholders in the Eastern Cape.
Sectors Communities and Social Services/Policy,Government, Democracy and Justice
URL http://www.casasp.ox.ac.uk/esrc_dignity.html
 
Description The findings have been used to raise awareness of the material needs of caregivers in South Africa. They are currently ineligible for social assistance if they are low income and of working age, unless they are disabled. When the State Maintenance Grant was converted to the Child Support Grant, the caregiver component was eliminated (for cost reasons), and this project has helped expose the untenable position that caregivers find themselves in, particularly in relation to lone mothers, and the negative impact that this has on dignity. This is serving to broaden the debate about the CSG, shifting from a mere defence of its existence and promotion of its positive impacts (a necessary activity in the face of prejudiced attitudes about social security), to a debate that acknowledges that low income children cannot be considered in isolation: the physical and mental wellbeing of the adults within the household are also of relevance to the child rights discourse as well as being a matter of human rights and gender equality. The impact has therefore been of a conceptual nature in the main, but in so doing, there is the potential that the design and implementation of policies will be influenced. This project was used as a case study by Ecorys and IDS as part of their evaluation of the ESRC-DFID Joint Fund for Poverty Alleviation Research, to assess the impact of research funded through this initiative. The case study document provides a more detailed account and evaluation of the impact of the project, with consideration of conceptual impact, and instrumental impact on policy and practice.
First Year Of Impact 2014
Sector Communities and Social Services/Policy
Impact Types Societal,Policy & public services
 
Description Preparation of special policy briefing paper for South African Social Security Agency
Geographic Reach Africa 
Policy Influence Type Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health
Impact The research team produced a special briefing paper for the South African Social Security Agency to brief them about challenges that the study identified in relation to the application process for the Child Support Grant. The study yielded many examples of women describing how the application process was detrimental to their sense of dignity and so this paper was specially written with a view to raising awareness within SASSA about ongoing challenges relating to treatment of applicants by staff on the ground.
 
Description AEN Newsletter 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? Yes
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.)
Results and Impact A wide network across Africa was notified about the project and provided with a link to CASASP's project page including links to the final report.

Increase in requests for further information.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2014
URL http://www.africaevidencenetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/AEN-June-Newsletter.pdf
 
Description ICSW Newsletter 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? Yes
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The inclusion of a section in this newsletter about the project resulted in a wide international network of development practitioners and specialists being alerted to the outputs.

None at present.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2014
URL http://www.icsw.org/doc/2014-09-Global_Cooperation-Eng.pdf
 
Description Presentation to UCT MPhil course attendees (Cape Town) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Prof Noble and Dr Ntshongwana presented the main findings of the project on 27/01/2016 for the
Graduate School of Development Policy and Practice at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. The group attending were senior policy makers from across Southern Africa (up to and including Permanent Secretary level) who are currently registered for the MPhil in Development Policy and Practice.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
 
Description Seminar on the Child Support Grant: Listening to new research findings and debating "the next expansion" 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact This event which was hosted in Cape Town RSA by the Children's Institute at the University of Cape Town, provided us with an opportunity to present the findings of the project to a group of practitioners and researchers who are specialists in social assistance for children in South Africa. It enabled the results to be presented and discussed (for 1 hour each respectively) with representatives of non-governmental organisations including the Centre for Child Law (ttp://www.centreforchildlaw.co.za), the National Association of Child and Youth Care Workers (NACCW), Child Welfare (http://www.childwelfaresa.org.za), Black Sash (http://www.blacksash.org.za), the Children in Distress Network (www.cindi.org.za), as well as researchers from the University of Cape Town and independent scholars. Those attending the gathering mainly focus on children, child rights and social security for children. Our presentation promoted a broadening of focus to consider the material needs (and plight) of children's caregivers when discussing options for social security reforms in South Africa. The presentation was given by Dr Gemma Wright.

After the talk there was a detailed discussion (convened by a facilitator) to explore the implications of our findings for the debate on social security in South Africa. Many commented on the rich findings of the study, and the importance of considering the needs of the caregiver. There was a lengthy discussion on the need to integrate debates about child rights and gender equality, rather than treat each issue in isolation.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2014