LONE MOTHERHOOD IN SOUTH AFRICA: SOME METHODOLOGICAL CHALLENGES AND POLICY IMPERATIVES

ABSTRACT

In this paper a working definition of lone motherhood in the South African context is presented. Whilst rejecting any assumption that lone motherhood is necessarily experienced as an identity, it is argued that the category of lone motherhood has analytical value as it exposes the circumstances faced by women who care for children without a partner or spouse present. The working definition is operationalised using household survey data and certain methodological challenges are discussed. A profile of lone mothers is presented and it is demonstrated that lone mothers living with children are more deprived than women who additionally live with a partner or spouse. This raises several policy imperatives including the need for broader debates about valuing unpaid care work and achieving comprehensive social security, particularly within the hostile climate of widespread poverty and unemployment.

Keywords:

• lone mother
• South Africa
• poverty
• social socurity

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Phakama Ntshongwana

PHAKAMA NTSHONGWANA is Head of Missionvale Campus at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in South Africa. Prior to this she was a Research Fellow at the Centre for the Analysis of South African Social Policy at the Department of Social Policy and Intervention at the University of Oxford.

Gemma Wright

GEMMA WRIGHT (author for correspondence) is a Director of the Southern African Social Policy Research Institute NPC in South Africa and its sister UK not-for-profit Southern African Social Policy Research Insights; Professor Extraordinarius at the Archie Mafeje Research Institute at the University of South Africa; Research Associate at the Institute of Social and Economic Research at Rhodes University.

Helen Barnes

HELEN BARNES was at the time of writing a Research Fellow at the Centre for the Analysis of South African Social Policy at the Department of Social Policy and Intervention, University of Oxford.

Michael Noble

MICHAEL NOBLE is Emeritus Professor of Social Policy at the University of Oxford; Executive Director of the Southern African Social Policy Research Institute NPC in South Africa and its sister UK not-for-profit Southern African Social Policy Research Insights; Visiting Professor at Rhodes University; Honorary Research Fellow at the Human Sciences Research Council.