Zitha Mokomane

Needs of South African adolescents orphaned by AIDS: evidence from photography and photo-elicitation

BACKGROUND Available evidence shows that over half of all orphans under the age of 18 years are adolescents aged between 12 and 17 years. Despite this, the needs of adolescents orphaned by AIDS are seldom recognized or adequately addressed in policy and programmes. Instead, the focus tends to be on the needs of orphans and vulnerable children. However, there are several factors that render adolescent-specific programmes important. PURPOSE Using data from an urban area in South Africa, this paper illuminates the needs of adolescents orphaned by AIDS. METHOD A phenomenological study using photography and photo-elicitation was used with 15 adolescents aged between 14 and 18 years orphaned by AIDS. RESULTS The study participants captured different objects that were grouped under six broad themes: symbols of death, nature, people, past life, children and hope. The photographic component of the study was followed by photo-elicitation. From the meanings the adolescents made of their images, the needs of adolescents orphaned by AIDS were discerned as love, care and acceptance, safety, and security and support. CONCLUSION Overall, the results showed that adolescents orphaned by AIDS want to feel secure, safe, wanted by caregivers and to feel that caregivers support them in their grieving journey.

Social security for young people amidst high poverty and unemployment: Some policy options for South Africa

South African youth experience extremely high levels of unemployment and poverty. Currently there is no social assistance for low-income young adults in South Africa unless they are disabled. Interventions are needed that can achieve widespread poverty alleviation, as well as help facilitate economic participation to improve lifelong earnings. In this article, six examples of social security policy options are considered, including five grants ranging from an unconditional non-means-tested grant for young people to a conditional grant for young people in training or education, plus an ‘Opportunities voucher’ that is administered through the social security system but paid out to organisations offering youth education or work opportunities. Using a tax and benefit microsimulation model to simulate the five grants, we estimate the potential numbers reached and cost, as well as the impact of these six options on poverty.

South Africa youths’ higher-risk sexual behaviour: an eco-developmental analysis

Despite their high levels of knowledge about HIV and AIDS, young people ages 15–24 years in South Africa remain disproportionately affected by the epidemic. Young peoples continued susceptibility to HIV infection has been consistently linked to intractable higher-risk sexual behaviours. This paper uses multivariate techniques and secondary data from two nationally representative surveys to illuminate individual and socio-structural factors that play a significant role in youths’ continued engagement in higher-risk behaviour, despite their high awareness about HIV and AIDS. The findings show that notwithstanding progress in terms of increased condom use and reduced incidence of other sexually transmitted infections, the average age of sexual debut remains low, multiple sexual partnerships are prevalent, and inconsistent condom use is widespread among young people. Factors significantly associated with these risk behaviours occur at the individual and structural levels and include issues of race, gender, poverty and susceptibility to peer pressure. The paper concludes by recommending that future HIV-prevention interventions in South Africa should aim at building resilience among youths by promoting affirmative, supportive interventions that emphasize the potentials of young people.

Discrimination against South African adolescents orphaned by AIDS.

This article describes the discrimination against adolescents orphaned by AIDS. A qualitative phenomenological approach using reflective diaries was used to extract how this population is discriminated on. Fifteen adolescents ages 14 to 18 living in an urban area in South Africa participated in the study. Data were collected as part of a larger study in which a peer-based mental health intervention was designed for use with adolescents orphaned by AIDS. Colaizzis seven stages were used to analyze the data from the reflective diaries. Analysis revealed that adolescents orphaned by AIDS experienced physical, social, and institutional expressions of stigma leading to discrimination. Adolescents were discriminated on by peers, caregivers, and teachers. The results of this study show that adolescents orphaned by AIDS face discrimination; further studies on the topic with a larger sample are needed to verify these findings.

A Demographic and Socio-Economic Portrait of Cohabitation in Botswana

Abstract This study examines the general patterns of cohabitation in Botswana. Using published data from the past two population censuses, the study begins by presenting estimates of the prevalence and the age-sex patterns of this lifestyle. A 2001 national sample survey is then used to examine the demographic and socio-economic profiles of cohabitants relative to married people at the time of the survey. Finally a logistic regression model is used to assess which factors are significantly associated with being in a cohabiting union as opposed to a legal marriage. The results reveal an increasing trend in the prevalence cohabitation and show that, contrary to observations made in many sub-Saharan African countries where cohabitants are often economically independent, cohabitation in Botswana is associated with low socioeconomic status.

Formation of cohabiting unions in Botswana: A qualitative study

As in most African societies (Kayongo-Male and Oyango 1984), a fundamental component of customary marriage in traditional Tswana society was the participation of the extended family (Roberts 1972; Schapera 1940). The traditional Tswana social organisation system, therefore, had no place for unions in which couples cohabited without the approval of their respective families or descent groups (Roberts 1972:37). Indeed, the lack of a distinct Tswana term that describes this living arrangement may be a reflection of the fact that this is a relatively new phenomenon (Mokomane 2004). According to Roberts and Schapera, such unions established in defiance of the respective families were usually reported to the chief or headman and terminated by tribal authorities. Consequently the traditional Tswana society resembled the rest of sub-Saharan Africa insofar as marriage was early and almost universal and living together without a valid marriage was rare. Recent studies (Mokomane 2004; Mookodi 2003) have, however, revealed a clear upward trend in the prevalence of cohabitation or people who live together outside of marriage, thus showing a variation from the traditional approach to dyadic living. Despite this increase, and the well-documented implications of cohabitation for reproductive behaviour, fertility patterns, marriage patterns, family stability and the future of society as a whole (Castro Martin 2002; Meekers 1991), cohabitation has been left largely unexplored in nuptiality research in Botswana. Consequently the specific dimensions that influence the formation of cohabiting unions are only dimly understood.

A Review of Work–Family Research in Sub-Saharan Africa

To conclude this book which aimed to contribute an African perspective to the rudimentary cross-cultural research on the subject of work–family conflict, this chapter uses in the results of a literature review conducted in 2011 to present a summary and assessment of sub-Saharan African research on the subject between 2000 and mid-2011. The geographic focus of the research, major themes of the research, and the academic journals in which the research has been published are explored. The chapter draws on the conclusions made in the preceding 11 chapters to complement the literature review in identifying gaps in existing sub-Saharan African research and to offer suggestions for future research.

Family Policy in South Africa

South Africa, like many other African countries, does not have an explicit family policy. What the country has, though, is an enabling legislative and policy framework. This chapter discusses this framework within three broad categories: that targeting marriage, that related to child-rearing and work-family balance and that aimed at supporting families at risk. It is shown that the latter, provided in the form of social grants, is the government’s key initiative in addressing the livelihood challenges of vulnerable family members, specifically older person, children and people with disabilities. The social assistance system is not, however, without weakness and challenges. These are discussed and the recommendations to address them are proposed.

The collection of marital status data in Botswana: a review of the living together category.

This paper reviews the definitions used in Botswana to measure the ‘living together’ category which is meant to capture information on cohabitation. Using data from the 2001 census and the 1996 Family and Health Survey, it illuminates some of the measurement complexities and inaccuracies that may arise from application of current definitions. A number of approaches and strategies designed to improve the measurement of cohabitation are suggested.

Public Perceptions, Beliefs and Experiences of Fostering and Adoption: A National Qualitative Study in South Africa

In South Africa, rates of adoption remain low while the number of fostered children continually rises. Little is known about the public perceptions, beliefs and experiences that inform decisions to either foster or adopt in South Africa. This qualitative research explored these issues among a national sample of childless adults, biological parents, kin and non‐kin fostering parents and prospective and successful adopters. Fostering is driven predominantly by access to subsidies but is also informed by socio‐cultural beliefs. Low adoption rates are influenced by an absence of subsidies, poor access to quality adoptive services and a lack of information about adoption.