Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk

Digital parenting interventions to prevent violence against adolescents: Lessons from the ParentApp for Teens trial for South African social work practice

Abigail Ornellas — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Violence against children remains a critical challenge in South Africa, with disproportionate impacts on marginalised families. This note from practice reflects on the ParentApp for Teens trial in Tanzania — a blended digital parenting programme adapted from the Parenting for Lifelong Health model — and considers its implications for South African social work. Preliminary insights suggest the intervention may reduce adolescent physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, improve caregiver and adolescent mental health, and decrease caregiver intimate partner violence, at a delivery cost of approximately USD 6 per family. This commentary examines how such a model can support prevention-focused social work, extend services to underserved communities, and align with the profession’s ethical mandate for empowerment and social justice. Key considerations for implementation include addressing the digital divide, safeguarding and data privacy, cultural adaptation, and workforce readiness. The findings suggest that digital interventions, when ethically and contextually adapted, can be a valuable addition to South Africa’s violence prevention strategies.

Interdisciplinary pathways for advancing social justice, peace, and sustainable development in social work education and professional practice

Lambert K. Engelbrecht, Mpumelelo E. Ncube — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This issue of Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk celebrates the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Association of South African Social Work Education Institutions (ASASWEI) and the journal’s diamond jubilee, highlighting interdisciplinary scholarship that advances social justice, peace, and sustainable development in social work education and practice. It includes a special article, ten research studies, a book review, and a note from practice. Together, these contributions demonstrate how research, education, and practice intersect to strengthen professional capacity, inform policy, and foster transformative interventions for individuals, families, and communities.

Handbook on social protection and social development in the Global South

Selelo F. Rapholo — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This detailed yet useful volume fills a crucial gap in the scientific body of knowledge on social protection and social development, taking into consideration that many developing countries have recently been migrating from a residual approach to a development approach in addressing social problems and needs in society. The book situates social protection in a broader system of social welfare and development policies and programmes in the developing countries – the global South in particular. Each author in the book focused on a specific facet that is relevant to social protection and social development in the global South. This a very good and readable text that is well aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs), for instance, SDG goal 1 on poverty reduction, which is integral to the achievement of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as it intersects with the other SDGs such as achieving zero hunger (SDG 2) and good health and well-being (SDG 3).

Linking themes relating to rural and environmental social work: Towards integrated knowledge development

Mel Gray, Qian Meng — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The social work literature attests the profession’s transformative role in advancing environmental sustainability by shaping human interaction with the natural world and empowering individuals and communities to enact meaningful change to promote sustainable development. It does this through its attention to related issues concerning environmental justice, poverty, racism, sustainability, sustainable development and vulnerable populations. By highlighting problems in social work knowledge development around issues relating to the environment and examining recent reviews of related literature, this paper aims to show that a clearer picture on social work’s environmental engagement would emerge from consideration of linking themes integrating disparate strands of social work research and scholarship, especially those concerning environmentally-related issues and rural populations. It suggests linking themes to achieve more integrated knowledge development on environmental and rural social work.

A scoping review of research on family resilience in South Africa: What is known and what are the gaps?

Adrian D. van Breda, Judith M. Reynolds — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Families are a central building block of society. The social work profession has always been invested in strengthening family life, and one of the ways this can be done is by building family resilience. South African social workers should base their work with families on solid research on family resilience and conduct some of this research themselves. The study aimed to answer the question: What is known about the research on family resilience in South Africa? The answers to this question would aid social workers and people from other disciplines to conduct their own research on this important topic to fill gaps identified in the review. Following the PRISMA guidelines, the authors conducted a scoping review of 251 publications in South Africa on family resilience between 2004 and 2023, generating 59 eligible journal articles, theses or dissertations. Most studies were conducted by psychologists and only four by social workers. Although numerous risks are addressed, several risks important for social work have not been studied, e.g. fostering, teenage pregnancy and family reunification. Family resilience is conceptualised as an intrafamilial process in nine out of ten studies – few focus on the family’s social ecology. Social workers are well placed to study families within their broader context. Most studies used mixed methods or qualitative designs, but none interviewed whole families. Recommendations for social work family resilience research are offered to address gaps in the current literature and to increase social work’s contribution to understanding family resilience.

Grandmothers unite: Sharing wisdom and advocacy for the wellbeing and success of foster children

Mulalo Musetsho, Mimie Sesoko, Goitseone Leburu — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A foster care awareness programme (FCAP) can play a critical role in strengthening caregivers’ understanding of ways to support vulnerable children under their care. Despite the significance of such programmes, grandmother-headed families face challenges such as managing indiscipline, establishing family values, parenting and addressing health risks. Moreover, there is lack of literature on grandmothers’ experiences of FCAPs as an intervention strategy. Using a qualitative approach and a phenomenological research design, 10 grandmothers were purposefully recruited with the aim of developing an in-depth understanding of their experiences of foster care awareness programmes as an intervention strategy. Data were collected through individual, face-to-face semi-structured interviews and analysed using six steps of thematic data analysis. The findings revealed that grandmothers shared experiences and learnt from one another, leading to significant changes in their families' lives, particularly in communication, parenting and financial management. These changes contributed to emotional stability within their households. The study recommends extending foster care programmes to include joint and individual sessions for foster children and their parents. Additionally, social workers are encouraged to invest more time in group and community work as alternative strategies to traditional casework.

Socio-economic factors contributing to juvenile delinquency in Zimbabwe: A social work perspective

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The study was conducted at a time when a growing concern has emerged about increasing incidents of juvenile delinquency in Zimbabwe. Adopting a social work lens, social process theory, a qualitative research approach and a case study research design, this paper presents findings on some of the socio-economic factors contributing to juvenile delinquency in Zimbabwe. The study targeted caregivers of juvenile delinquents in Highfield, a high-density suburb of Harare, where children received services from Care at the Core of Humanity and key informants who work with children in conflict with the law (juvenile delinquents) at the same organisation. Ten primary participants and two key informants were purposively sampled. Data were collected using in-depth interviews and analysed through thematic analysis. The analysis revealed several socio-economic factors contributing to juvenile delinquency, including peer influence, poverty, an abusive home environment, substance use, supernatural phenomena and the media. Findings also show that children are a product of their environment; thus, a healthy socio-economic environment guards against juvenile delinquency. This research provides a foundation of knowledge and evidence to inform practice and interventions. The researchers recommend that social workers engage in positive parenting skills training with caregivers to protect children from engaging in unlawful behaviour.

An approach to empower social work students with entrepreneurial skills: Reflections on the social work curriculum in South Africa

Nkanyiso N. Mkhize, Matshemo J. Moganedi, Selelo F. Rapholo — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Unemployment remains an unresolved social problem that has culminated in major socio-economic challenges across the globe, and South Africa is not an exception. Many young people in South Africa, including social work graduates are unemployed, contributing to the high rate of poverty. South Africa have endured a wave of unemployed social work graduates for the past decade, yet the increase in social problems justifies the need for more practitioners. This paper acknowledges the gap between the current social work curriculum and the need for innovation. The empowerment theory is used as a lens to explore innovative strategies to integrate entrepreneurial skills into the social work curriculum to curb the scourge of unemployment amongst social work graduates. Whilst the unemployment of social work graduates is alarming, there is limited research that rigorously explores this area from a social work perspective. There is a need for the social work curriculum to empower social work students with entrepreneurial knowledge and skills to mitigate the impact of unemployment faced by social work graduates. A desktop systematic review was used as a research methodology to conduct the literature review by purposefully focusing on social work education, social work unemployment and entrepreneurship.

Unravelling the dynamics of successful collaboration and the potential for community-based learning in child and youth care

Raisuyah Bhagwan — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The aim of the research was to investigate successful collaborative community-university partnerships. The intention was to identify factors that contribute to effective service in rural spaces as transformative teaching and learning environments for final-year child and youth care students from a University of Technology in KwaZulu-Natal. Utilising a qualitative research methodology, the research design involved non-probability purposive sampling, with twelve students recruited for semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was conducted using thematic analysis to identify key themes related to the effectiveness of the engagement process and its impact on both students and the community. The findings highlight the importance of mutual trust, clear communication and shared goals in fostering successful collaborations. The study underscores the potential for community engagement projects not only to serve local needs, but also to enrich students' educational experiences, ultimately suggesting that thoughtful partnerships can lead to sustainable community engagement and enhanced learning outcomes.

Social workers' perspectives on supporting parents of adolescents recovering from substance use disorder

Faith Mathibela, Petro Botha — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Substance use disorder (SUD) is a widespread issue that has made it difficult for families to maintain their wellbeing, especially for the parents of adolescents who are recovering from SUD. SUD is characterised by the inability to stop using a harmful substance and loss of inhibitory control of the desire to continue the substance abuse. Social workers are vital in supporting these parents with knowledge and skills. The goal of this study was to understand the challenges faced by parents of adolescents recovering from SUD in treatment centres in the Tshwane region, Gauteng province, South Africa. The research study adopted a qualitative research approach and the Intervention Design and Development (IDD) model with purposive sampling to select participants. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. Ethical considerations were adhered to. Findings highlight that holistic support is needed for parents to cope with adolescents recovering from SUD and to support the recovery of their adolescents.

Narratives of survival and growth of rape survivors in the Northern Cape

Morné Holland, Mariette van der Merwe — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

South Africa has one of the highest incidences of rape globally, highlighting the urgent need for social work research in addressing this critical issue. In this article the authors present the narratives of survival and growth of rape survivors in the Northern Cape, supplemented by narratives of significant people who provided support. Employing a strengths perspective and bioecological approach, the study enables social workers to focus on the inherent strengths and post-traumatic growth of rape survivors as well as on their contexts. Utilising a qualitative descriptive design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with rape survivors and their indicated significant others, complemented by visual data-collection strategies, timeline mapping and a visual metaphor. Thematic analysis of the data indicated post-rape challenges, adjustment and growth. Key findings included non-constructive coping, such as substance abuse and on-going challenges with the justice and police systems. Conversely, findings also underscored constructive coping, post-traumatic growth, and the value of spirituality, religion and social support.

Trajectories into gang membership: Exploring risk exposure, protective factors and the factors motivating involvement in devil-worshipping gangs

Ashwill R. Phillips — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Gangs represent a complex phenomenon, emerging in response to social exclusion, limited opportunities and systemic inequalities. In South Africa, gang-related crime is rife, impacting on individuals, families and broader society. Gang practices in the Free State province allegedly incorporate elements of the occult, including devil-worshipping and witchcraft, generating fear within affected communities. These gangs engage in spiritually-motivated crimes including blood sacrifice, animal slaughter and communication with demons. Drawing on qualitative data obtained from interviews with detained gang members, non-gang-affiliated offenders and service providers, the paper explores key factors motivating membership as well as the protective factors which safeguard against gang involvement. Moreover, the existence of ‘devil-worshipping’ gangs and the prominent risks and protective features in this regard are explored. The findings highlight the need for protection, poverty and peer influence as pertinent factors perpetuating gang membership, while creating prosocial activities, employment and gang-awareness were noted as key protective factors. Understanding risk exposure, gang trajectories and factors that enhance resilience from the lived experience of offenders serve to humanise the gang issue and assists social workers and other stakeholders to strengthen support services for vulnerable youths, develop targeted interventions, refine policies and systemic responses, and incorporate relevant protective factors when designing or facilitating programmes within gang-prone communities.

Predicting psychological abuse in intimate relationships: Insights from perceptions, victimisation, and perpetration histories in South Africa

Sunday Fakunmoju, Shahana Rasool — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This study examines the factors contributing to the likelihood of psychological abuse in intimate relationships in South Africa. Using data from 454 adults aged 20–51, the study explores how perceptions, past victimisation and previous perpetration shape the propensity to engage in psychological abuse: verbal aggression, isolation/control, neglect/ignoring, and economic/financial abuse. Participants were recruited through social media platforms, and data collection utilised a validated scale developed for the South African context. The findings identified isolating, controlling, ignoring and neglecting behaviours as the most common forms of psychological abuse. Past victimisation and perpetration of psychological abuse strongly predict future abuse, with past abusive behaviours significantly influencing the likelihood of future tendencies. Younger participants were more likely to engage in economic abuse, highlighting an age-related pattern. Additionally, while perceptions of abuse influenced behaviours differently across relationship statuses, the link between past experiences and future abuse remained consistent. These results emphasise the need for social workers to focus on preventing abuse, implementing trauma-informed interventions to support victims and rehabilitate perpetrators, enhancing recovery efforts, and developing educational programmes and policy interventions to break the cycle of violence. Future research should consider longitudinal designs to better understand the dynamics of abuse over time in South Africa.

Bullying in an educational setting in Limpopo Province: Insights from the social work discipline

Tumelo Sekgobela — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Bullying is arguably the most prevalent form of aggression and violence experienced by learners during their schooling years. This phenomenon is gaining increasing recognition among social scientists globally and is becoming a pressing concern at local levels. Bullying is associated with a myriad of social issues, including mental health problems, trauma, diminished academic performance, school dropout rates and, tragically, suicide. Given the emotionally demanding nature of the social work profession, understanding bullying is of utmost importance. The study was conducted in five regions of the Limpopo province of South Africa. This study employed a qualitative research approach to investigate the understanding of bullying among social workers in educational settings. Social workers were targeted as the study participants. The study aimed to develop a comprehensive understanding of bullying using face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with participants selected through purposive sampling. Prior to data collection, participants provided their informed consent and were informed of audio-recording procedures. Thematic content analysis was applied to analyse the data. The study was guided by the ecological approach as a theoretical framework. The study findings revealed that the participants have a clear understanding of bullying. The study recommends continuous training and recruitment of social workers in schools.