South Africa’s Child Support Grant and the dignity of female caregivers (original) (raw)

Lone Mothers Policy Brief 2, 2014

Abstract

There is no social security for low income caregivers of working age in South Africa unless they are disabled. However many caregivers interact with the social security system as recipients of the Child Support Grant (CSG) for their beneficiary children. The CSG plays a vital role in the lives of low income families and many studies have demonstrated its positive impacts. This study explores ways in which the recipients experience the CSG as protective or erosive of their dignity in order to identify ways to ensure that people’s constitutional right to have their dignity protected and respected plays a central role in social security policy design and implementation. The CSG was experienced by many caregivers as protective of dignity in three main ways: by reducing poverty, by helping them to fulfil the role of looking after their children, and more indirectly by enabling caregivers to use the grant in dignity-enhancing ways in their social networks. However, the CSG was also experienced by many as erosive of dignity in three main ways: issues to do with the application process, negative societal attitudes towards CSG recipients, and the small amount of the CSG. The balance of positive and negative experiences varied by recipient and context, reflecting the complexity of dignity as a lived phenomenon.

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