Civic Service in Sub-Saharan Africa

Civic service in Sub-Saharan Africa reflects the complex social, cultural, economic, and political history of the region in a changing global world marked by increasing risks to human security and development. National and international service including local, informal, and community-based service continues to remain prominent and is an appropriate response to the intractable development issues facing these societies. New initiatives to address the marginalization of Africa from the new information economy and society will need to keep human development on the agenda. Civic service can make a significant contribution to mobilizing local and international efforts in partnership with governments and civil society. Future research and policy should address the institutional impediments to service, develop research capacity to strengthen a scholarship of civic engagement, and conceive of service as part of a broader social development strategy

Social Workers Shaping Welfare Policy in South Africa: The White Paper for Social Welfare and Lessons for Policy Practice

Social Workers Shaping Welfare Policy in South Africa: The White Paper for Social Welfare and Lessons for Policy Practic

Social Development in a Society in Transition

Voluntary organizations play a vital role in complementing governmental efforts in meeting human needs and in strengthening democracy. This case study documents South Africa’s collaborative approach to social development partnerships in a changing national and global context. It also outlines the tensions and challenges facing the state and the voluntary sector in a plural democratic institutional context

Social Protection in Africa: Beyond Safety Nets?

Social protection is one of the most recent, yet fastest growing social policy instruments in low and middle income countries to end poverty. At least 50 countries in Africa have non-contributory social protection programmes targeting poor and vulnerable households and individuals. Are these social policies an extension of residual social policies, or do they signal new directions in social policy in the Global South? This article reviews the theoretical approaches that inform social protection policies as well as their practical application in different African countries. The analysis suggest that there is a changing trend towards more expansive social investment-oriented poverty reduction policies, especially in middle-income countries, with more limited policies in low-income countries. Despite significant challenges, these developments have the potential to grow welfare institutions that are more appropriate, responsive to the needs of people, and that could further a developmentally-oriented and justice-based notion of social protection. There is much to learn from how African countries are tackling the social challenges of poverty and inequality and how these are shaping their welfare institutions and regimes

Five-country Study on Service and Volunteering in Southern Africa

In the context of globalization, civic service and volunteering is emerging as a growing social phenomenon and a field of inquiry internationally. This research was done to strengthen knowledge and understanding of service and to build research capacity in order to develop service as a field of inquiry and to strengthen its knowledge base and practice

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 Africa's 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 women's ability to control and allocate resources, and that this has a positive impact on household food security. While the CSG eases women's 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

CHILD-ON-CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE: RESULTS OF A SURVEY IN JOHANNESBURG

Child-on-child sexual abuse in South Africa has been recognised only recently as a significant social problem, reflected in the dearth of research on the topic. There is also a lack of evidence in South Africa on the extent of abuse and issues that relate to youth sex offending (Ehlers & Wood, 2001; Mbambo, 2002). It is difficult to establish the extent of either child-on-child or child-on-adult sex offending in South Africa, because not all of these cases are reported or recorded (Stout, 2003). It is estimated, however, that 42% of sexual offences reported to Childline, a national help-line providing crisis intervention services, are committed by other children (Vanzant, 2004) and the latest statistics available from the Department of Correctional Services (2007) show that on 31 January 2007 a total of 288 children were in prison for crimes of a sexual nature. It was reported in the Pretoria News that in South Africa a daily average of 82 children were charged for indecently assaulting or raping other children (Maughan, 2006:1). There is also a dearth of empirical international research and literature on the origins of child-on-child sexual abuse (Lightfoot & Evans, 2000)

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 issue

HOMELESSNESS AND MENTAL ILLNESS IN HILLBROW, SOUTH AFRICA: A SITUATION ANALYSIS

This study explored the social situation of homeless people with mental illness living on the streets of Hillbrow, Johannesburg, with the view to facilitating action in terms of support services. Data were collected via interviews and observations from three groups: homeless persons with suspected mental illness, homeless people and service providers. The research focused on reasons for homelessness; health and living conditions; relationships between homeless persons and those with mental illness; survival strategies; and services utilised. Results were presented to all stakeholders and a forum was established to enable the findings to be taken forward