Children’s agency in responding to shocks and adverse events in Ethiopia: Young Lives working paper 128

Abstract

This paper focuses on children’s experiences of shocks and adverse events and their agency in dealing with the impacts of such events in Ethiopia, using survey and qualitative data collected from individuals and groups of children and young people. It draws on Young Lives data, including data from two qualitative sub-studies carried out in 2009 and 2010. It finds out that children have their own experiences of shocks, different from the experiences of adults or of the household as a whole, and that some of the shocks have long-term consequences for children’s well-being. The paper also argues that during difficult circumstances or crises, children are active social agents. Their agency is primarily reflected in their decisions to take on paid work and subsidise their families’ incomes and their own basic needs during crises. However, it also spells out that some of their coping mechanisms are so informal and fragile that they are only applicable in specific situations and then do not necessarily bring about sustainable change. In some situations, children are seen resorting to unfavourable coping mechanisms which later give rise to other shocks with long-term developmental and health consequences for them. Finally, the paper suggests that agency of children can be described as constrained and ‘thin’, cautioning that it is necessary to consider contexts and to acknowledge children’s agency as active while at the same time offering protection, in case children’s decisions lead to other vulnerabilities in the future.© Young Lives 2014. All rights reserved. Reproduction, copy, transmission, or translation of any part of this publication may be made only under the following conditions: with the prior permission of the publisher; or with a licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd., 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 9HE, UK, or from another national licensing agency; or under the terms set out below. This publication is copyright, but may be reproduced by any method without fee for teaching or non-profit purposes, but not for resale. Formal permission is required for all such uses, but normally will be granted immediately. For copying in any other circumstances, or for re-use in other publications, or for translation or adaptation, prior written permission must be obtained from the publisher and a fee may be payable