“DESERVING” CHILDREN, “UNDESERVING” MOTHERS? MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES ON THE CHILD SUPPORT GRANT

Authors

  • Dorothee Hölscher School of Social Work and Community Development, University of KwaZulu-Natal: Howard College Campus, Durban, South Africa.
  • Madhu Kasiram School of Social Work and Community Development, University of KwaZulu-Natal: Howard College Campus, Durban, South Africa.
  • Reshma Sathiparsad School of Social Work and Community Development, University of KwaZulu-Natal: Howard College Campus, Durban, South Africa.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15270/45-1-218

Abstract

Following the change from over 350 years of colonial and apartheid rule in South Africa, the
first democratically elected government that came into power in 1994 was faced with the
challenge of having to address vast levels of inequality and poverty. The distribution of wealth
were extremely skewed in terms of race, gender and region, with children growing up in rural,
black and female-headed households disproportionately affected by severe levels of poverty
(Cassiem, Perry, Sadan & Streak, 2000; Landman, Bhorat, Van der Berg & Van Aardt, 2003;
May, 1998; UNDP, 2004). Consequently, child mortality and levels of stunted growth in South
Africa in general and amongst this group of children in particular were unacceptably high, and
– by now constitutionally enshrined – children’s rights and basic needs were unmet for the
majority of South African children (Manuel, 2007). Poverty continues to be the biggest
challenge faced by the government: Brandon and Pather (2007) for example cite that 24 million
South Africans are living below the poverty line, half of whom are dependent on government
grants.

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Acknowledgements: The authors would like to acknowledge the following students who were

involved in the research project:

C Weir-Smith, F Al Razak, I Naicker, L Ngcobo, M Ndlovu, M Yandisa, N Chanderman,

N Masinga, N Ncwane, N P Ndaba, N P Ndaba, N Shabane, P Mncwabe, P Mnqayi, P Mpisi,

S Chinsamy, TN Nkomo

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Published

2014-06-19

How to Cite

Hölscher, D., Kasiram, M., & Sathiparsad, R. (2014). “DESERVING” CHILDREN, “UNDESERVING” MOTHERS? MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES ON THE CHILD SUPPORT GRANT. Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 45(1). https://doi.org/10.15270/45-1-218

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