Leila Patel

It buys food but does it change gender relations? Child Support Grants in Soweto, South Africa

A gender lens was applied in an empirical study to assess the dynamics and policy implications of one of South Africas largest social protection programmes, the Child Support Grant (CSG). The findings are based on a household survey conducted in an urban community in Soweto, South Africa. They suggest that the grant supports womens ability to control and allocate resources, and that this has a positive impact on household food security. While the CSG eases womens burden of care and responsibility for household and child survival, women remain largely responsible for caring and looking after families. This prevails despite increased opportunities for women in society and some small shifts in gender relations in urban areas. Social protection policies such as the CSG do not on their own transform gender relations. To ensure that they contribute to gender transformation, they need to work in concert with other public policies that are specifically designed to support changes toward gender equality.

Developmental social work in South Africa: Translating policy into practice

Developmental social work is receiving increasing international recognition and much may be learnt from its application in different societal contexts. The article draws on empirical data from a South African study and provides valuable insight into how social workers conceptualize and translate developmental social work into practice.

Poverty, Gender and Social Protection: Child Support Grants in Soweto, South Africa

The reduction of poverty after the demise of apartheid is attributed largely to South Africas expansive social protection program. A key driver of this growth has been the Child Support Grant established in 1998. Although the grant was not intended only for women caregivers of children, it is accessed mainly by women. This presents a rich opportunity to examine the gendered nature of poverty and to assess the contribution of the program to poverty reduction from a gender perspective. This article draws on household survey data in one of the poorest urban communities in Johannesburg with the highest uptake of the grant. It provides insight into the gendered impact of the grant and identifies key challenges in the development of gender-sensitive social protection strategies.

Gender and child sensitive social protection in South Africa

Drawing from a 2010 study of women receiving the Child Support Grant in an urban area of South Africa, this article discusses the link between social protection, womens empowerment and the well-being of children. It appears that the Grant enhances womens power and control over household decision-making in financial matters, general household spending and child well-being. At the same time, the data show that women continue to bear the greatest burden of care in the household and that these responsibilities significantly heighten gender inequalities. Therefore, while the Grant has benefits for child well-being and womens empowerment, it cannot on its own transform unequal and unjust social relations of power. It should be working in concert with other public programmes not only to focus on childrens needs but also to strive for gender equality for poor women.

The interaction of local and international child welfare agendas: A South African case

This article assesses the interaction between international and local influences in South African child welfare practice and education between 2001 and 2010. Based on a mixed methods study, it finds that the primary mechanism for international exchange occurred through funding. Professional imperialism continued to be evidenced in the domination of Northern agendas in local curricula and the lack of critical interrogation of external practices. A disjuncture between research and practice priorities was found with some areas of intersection. The article provides insight into the local/global nexus in child welfare and recommends further investigation into more authentic and egalitarian international relationships of exchange.

Indigenous Welfare and Community-Based Social Development: Lessons from African Innovations

Although indigenous community-based welfare practices have historically promoted social well-being in African communities, their contribution has seldom been recognized. Because these practices play a major role in social development, they should be more effectively integrated with formal social development programs. Three examples of community-based social development innovations in Southern African countries, which integrate traditional cooperative practices with formal programs, are discussed, and lessons are drawn for other countries.

How broad-based is broad-based black economic empowerment?

Common perceptions about broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) have been that it is nothing more than a tool for the already affluent to access further wealth and has limited potential to address the economic exclusion of the most marginalised. An analysis was conducted of data on black economic empowerment (BEE) deals between 2004 and 2009. The findings demonstrate that although the elite continue to benefit from deals, broad-based beneficiaries, particularly employees and women, are also beginning to benefit to some extent. This suggests that empowerment policies have some potential to promote private sector involvement in addressing the states social transformation agenda. However, a closer analysis of the BEE transactions shows that the BEE landscape is far more complex and nuanced than commonly thought. Further research is necessary to understand the real impacts of BEE on the ground.

Towards a critical theory and practice in social work with special reference to South Africa

The point of departure adopted in this article is that social work in South Africa is undergoing a critical evaluation. The social work profession, like other social service professions, is not unaffected by the crisis facing our society. Social workers are posing questions with regard to the relevance of their work the need to assess the appropriateness of social work methods of intervention, the dangers of finding private solutions for public issues and a range of value and ethical dilemmas. The present political conflict and the declining economic situation in the country has forced the social work profession to appraise its role critically. Social workers have felt impotent in the face of repression in South Africa. The harsh reality of practising social work in an apartheid society has taken its toll on many. Ironically, it is these very conditions which have motivated

Child Support Grants in South Africa: A Pathway to Women's Empowerment and Child Well-being?

Despite the growth of cash transfers to reduce poverty, promote child and family well-being and womens empowerment, the gender dynamics and impact of social protection remains poorly understood. We hypothesise that poor female care-givers receiving a cash transfer for their children are better able to contribute to the material and social well-being of their children than female care-givers who do not receive a cash transfer. This paper reports results of a household survey in one of the poorest wards in Johannesburg, South Africa. Structural equation modelling is used to analyse the data. We found that cash transfers increase womens individual income, which is in turn positively associated with increased financial independence, decision-making power over financial resources and decisions about childrens well-being. Beneficiaries were more actively engaged in care activities with their children. There are two implications for the insertion of gender and care into social protection policies. First that it is not necessary to attach behavioural change conditions to social protection policies in order to stimulate female care-givers to be more engaged in developmental activities with their children. Second, there is no risk of promoting a maternalistic model of care or ‘maternalism’ in the South African context as the transfer contributes to both womens individual incomes and their financial decision-making power.

Early motherhood in Soweto: The nexus between the child support grant and developmental social work services

In this article we ask whether the child support grant can mitigate the vulnerability of early motherhood, and if so, in what ways and what are its limits. Using data from a study on CSGs in a poor urban area of Johannesburg, we report on the circumstances of young women recipients. We find that the grant has positive outcomes for the women, but these are limited in the face of the range of needs and support necessary to give the young women a chance to successfully negotiate both motherhood and their own transition to adulthood. We suggest areas where social workers can engage positively with these issues