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Orphans and vulnerable children in children’s homes are exposed to multiple psychosocial risks. This study aimed to explore the risks facing orphans and vulnerable children in a children’s home in a township setting during COVID-19. Fifty-eight female Black African children (n = 58) in a children’s home were individually interviewed to ascertain the psychosocial risks that they experienced during COVID-19. The participants were orphans and vulnerable children residing in a children’s home located in Johannesburg in South Africa. All children were enrolled in either primary…
This sixteenth issue of the South African Child Gauge focuses attention on child and adolescent mental health and how early experiences of adversity ripple out across the life course and generations at great cost to individuals and society. It calls on South African society to put children at the centre of all policies in order to protect children from harm, build their capacity to cope with stress and adversity, and provide them with opportunities to thrive.
This 16th annual review of the situation of the country’s children is published by the Children’s Institute (CI…
In contexts where poverty and mental health stressors already interact to negatively impact the most vulnerable populations, COVID-19 is likely to have worsened these impacts. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in South Africa already faced intersecting mental health stressors and vulnerabilities. It is critical to understand how additional challenges brought on by COVID-19 have intersected with existing vulnerabilities and mental health risks AGYW faced, particularly given the intersections between psychological distress and increased risk behaviours that…
In this first event of Family for Every Child's How We Care series, Family Members CINDI (South Africa), Conacmi (Guatemala) and Uyisenga Ni Imanzi (Rwanda) shared their approaches and experiences of providing psychosocial support to children and families during the COVID-19 crisis. Their presentations were followed by a panel discussion and Q&A, complementing the How We Care materials being produced on this theme. Juliana Trujillo from Juconi (Mexico) moderated this…
People with disabilities have the right to live in the community, according to Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. However, more than a decade after the adoption of the CRPD by the UN and nearly global ratification, children with disabilities continue to be placed in institutions in every region of the world. Worse still, low-middle income countries that have never had systems of institutionalization have started to build them.
In 2017, the CRPD Committee adopted general comment No. 5 on Article 19 on living independently and being included in the…
Abstract
Background
COVID-19 has highlighted and amplified structural inequalities; drawing attention to issues of racism, poverty, xenophobia as well as arguably ineffective government policies and procedures. In South Africa, the pandemic and the resultant national lockdown has highlighted the shortcomings in the protection and care of children. Children in alternative care are particularly at risk as a result of disrupted and uncoordinated service delivery.
Objective
The aim of this study was to explore the experiences and impact of the pandemic and the resulting social…
Abstract
There are an estimated 21,000 children in Child and Youth Care Centres in South Africa. They come from backgrounds of neglect and abuse. Such experiences in early childhood influence the formation of secure attachments, and may have an effect on relational functioning lifelong. The South African welfare system has adopted the circle of courage as a framework for positive youth development. Child and youth care workers are required to implement the circle of courage in child and youth care centres. The circle of courage has four quadrants; belonging, mastery, independence and…
Introduction
Out-of-home care, especially treatment residential care programs (TRC) are often described in the media, and even in some professional studies, as obsolete social structures (Consensus Statement, 2014). Residential care settings are out-of-home facilities such as educational youth villages and educational, therapeutic, or rehabilitation residential treatment centers (Grupper, 2013). Their aim is to provide education, treatment, rehabilitation or protection for children and youth, including those at risk and others, to protect these young people and work toward making a…
Family for Every Child, as part of its How We Care initiative, has developed a series on Psychosocial support for children and families during COVID-19, which highlights different approaches taken by three of its member organizations to providing essential psychosocial support to…
Abstract
The journey from care to young adulthood is often accompanied by many challenges, making care leavers one of society's most vulnerable populations. Although research on young people leaving residential care is gaining increased attention globally, there is limited research that focuses on female care leavers. This article describes the psychosocial resilience processes that facilitate successful transitioning of young women as they journey out of residential care towards young adulthood. The methodology employed is a modified replication of a previous study with young men, with…