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i
THE STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS REPORT 2018
TREVOR DAVIES
This is the fi rst issue of an evolving
report, planned for publication every
three years. It can be used in the
development of policy and legislation
for families, labour market regulations,
educational curricula and other training
materials. It can be referenced as
a source of expert information for
advocacy and community groups,
individual families and legislative
committees. It contains specifi c
recommendations for shifting norms
towards gender-equitable parenting,
and highlights men’s caregiving as an
institutional and social priority. The
report promotes a nuanced approach
to fatherhood for improved support for
families in South Africa.
ISBN: 978-0-620-80417-2
THE STATE OF
SOUTH
AFRICA’S
FATHERS
REPORT: 2018
SONKE GENDER JUSTICE
HUMAN SCIENCES
RESEARCH COUNCIL
MENCARE
STATE OF
SOUTH
AFRICA’S
FATHERS
2018
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
SONKE GENDER
JUSTICE
HUMAN SCIENCES
RESEARCH COUNCIL
fatherreport_13covertoprint.indd 1 2018/07/03 12:31
ii
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
The MenCare Global Fatherhood Campaign
MenCare is a global campaign to promote men’s and boys’
involvement as equitable, non-violent caregivers. With activities in
more than 45 countries, MenCare partners carry out joint advocacy
initiatives, research, and programming to engage men in positive
parenting; in equitable caregiving; in violence prevention; and in
maternal, newborn, and child health. The campaign is co-coordinated
by Sonke Gender Justice and Promundo, with Save the Children, Plan
International, Oxfam GB and MenEngage Alliance serving as Steering
Committee members. For more information about the campaign and
its partners, visit www.men-care.org.
This “State of South Africa’s Fathers 2018” report is produced as
a MenCare Global Fatherhood Campaign affiliated resource. The
report forms part of a set of country- and region-focused reports
on men’s involvement as caregivers around the world, inspired by
the “State of the World’s Fathers” reports. The first-ever “State of
the World’s Fathers” report was published in 2015, and followed by
the “State of the World’s Fathers: Time for Action” in 2017. “State
of the World’s Fathers”reports available in multiple languages, and
regional and country reports in the same series, are available at
www.sowf.men-care.org.
The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and
do not necessarily represent the official views of any of its affiliated
organisations.
ISBN: 978-0-620-80417-2
© 2018
Sonke Gender Justice &
Human Sciences Research Council
iii
STATE OF
SOUTH
AFRICA’S
FATHERS
2018
SONKE GENDER JUSTICE
HUMAN SCIENCES RESEARCH COUNCIL
iv
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
We liked a photo here - just not the one of the
guy making the smoothie that we originally had
here...
We thought the details you note here, could be
added to the acknowledgement page, at the
bottom. Will collate and send with the other
copy
Family Time
Sikhangele works for Sonke
as a prisons specialist, doing
health and violence prevention
education in correctional
facilities. He often speaks about
how his work at Sonke has
influenced his personal life, and
the gendered division of care
work in his home.
v
CONTENTS
Opening reflections 1
Mbuyiselo Botha
Foreword 2
Linda Richter and Rob Morrell
Key terms 4
1 Introduction 5
Wessel van den Berg and Tawanda Makusha
Voices of children: “He only wants us to have the equal to his 11
two sons”
2 The history of fatherhood in South Africa 13
Marlize Rabe
Case: Fatherhood and customary marriage dissolution Elena Moore 15
Case: Maternal uncles’ significance in female-headed 19
households with non-resident fathers Motlalepule Nathane
Voices of children: “Dad, I wish I could experience you on my own” 27
3 An overview of fatherhood in South Africa
Kopano Ratele and Mzikazi Nduna 29
Case: Non-residential fathers’ custody arrangements and father-child 35
contact Leonie Human
Case: Fathers and child maintenance in South Africa Grace Khunou 39
Voices of children: “I see him as my father and not my grandfather” 47
4 Father involvement in the first 1,000 days
Tawanda Makusha and Linda Richter 49
Case: Fathers’ involvement in maternal health Gareth D. Mercer 52
Case: Men receiving the Child Support Grant Zoheb Khan 57
Voices of children: “To him I am just an asset” 63
5 Future directions for research, advocacy, policy and
implementation for research
Mzikazi Nduna and Grace Khunou 65
Voices of children: “I wanted to know that I mattered” 70
6 Conclusions
Tawanda Makusha, Wessel van den Berg and Andre Lewaks 71
Glossary of terms 74
About the authors 76
SARAH ISAACS
vi
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
REPORT TEAM
Editors: Wessel van den Berg and Tawanda Makusha
Managing Editor: Charmaine Smith
REPORT AUTHORS
This report was written by Wessel van den Berg, Tawanda Makusha,
Linda Richter, Marlize Rabe, Kopano Ratele, Mzikazi Nduna, Grace Khunou,
Leonie Human, Motlale Motlapule, Zoheb Khan, Gareth Mercer, Elena Moore and
Andre Lewaks.
EXTERNAL REVIEW
This report benefitted greatly from the thoughtful feedback and comments
provided by:
Linda Richter (DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Human Development,
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg)
Robert Morrell (Office of the Vice-Chancellor, University of Cape Town)
Debbie Budlender (Specialist Researcher)
PRODUCTION AND DESIGN
The production of this report was coordinated by Charmaine Smith,
Wessel van den Berg and Tawanda Makusha.
Copy Editor: Charmaine Smith with proofing support from Danya-Zee Pedra.
Design & Layout: Idea in a Forest.
Suggested citation:
Van den Berg, W. & Makusha, T. (2018). “State of South Africa’s Fathers 2018”,
Cape Town: Sonke Gender Justice & Human Sciences Research Council.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
A special note of acknowledgement to the donors of this inaugural report, DST-
NRF Centre of Excellence for Human Development, University of the Witwa-
tersrand, Johannesburg and the DG Murray Trust, for their generous financial
support for the report’s writing, production and dissemination.
We also acknowledge with gratitude the following people and institutions:
Staff from the Children’s Institute, University of Cape Town, especially Lori Lake
and Kath Hall, for guiding this first edition. Linda Richter and Robert Morrell for
their patronage, review, critique, support and cheering. Debbie Budlender for her
work on providing current and accurate data analysis, and feedback. Kwanda
Ndoda from DG Murray Trust for eager support and helpful advice. Photos are
from Sonke, the HSRC, and Eric Miller Photography; and the children’s essays
from Fathers in Africa.
The Sonke management and logistics teams including Dean Peacock, Andre
Lewaks, Karen Robertson, Lizhan Brown, Julie Staples and Letitia Manter. The
HSRC team, led by Heidi van Rooyen, for providing institutional support for
collaboration with Sonke on this publication. Also thank you to Maria Booi for
checking references and Lynne Stuart of Idea in a Forest design. Finally, we’d like
to acknowledge the invisible care work done by those people who supported all of
us in this project as the most valuable contribution of all.
FOREWORD
1
I was shot in the head by the police on the 15th
of September 1986. Due to this incident I began
to miss the love of a father I did not know, and it
changed my life. I needed a father figure so des-
perately as I was lying on that bed in a Sebokeng
hospital, not knowing if I would ever be able to
walk again or even to perform any basic function
such as washing and feeding myself. Also, I did
not know if I would ever father a child with my
wife. These were some of the thoughts that were
torturing me, and that I could not share with
my mother, Lathiwe Elizabeth Botha, who kept a
lone vigil next to my hospital bed.
Although my mom kept assuring me that all
will be well, I desperately needed my own father
at that time to also affirm me, as a man, that
I will be fine. Unfortunately he wasn’t there at
that critical moment in my life. I had to learn
to rely on my mother and family and to look
for ‘social fathers’ – a term that Linda Richter
had coined through her work on the Fatherhood
Project at the Human Sciences Research Council.
I found one Ntate Moagi, who diligently
guided me on what it means to be a man. He
taught me that it was possible to be non-vio-
lent, compassionate, to be loving, and above all
to believe in the equality of men and women.
I am therefore continuously grateful to have had
these two personalities in my life, my mom and
Ntate Moagi.
It was in 1996 that we gathered as men
at the Eskom conference centre in Midrand to
launch the South African Men’s Forum. The slo-
gan was “RESTORING THE SOUL OF THE NATION”.
It was at this launch that I again was forced
to finally face the fact that I did not know who
my father was. I was flooded with mixed emo-
tions in that I began to ask the emotionally ex-
cruciating questions to myself: Why did he aban-
don us? What did we do as his children for him
to find it in his heart to be so cold and mean?
Opening Reflections
Why did he allow whatever differences he must
have had with my mom to affect us? She who
single-handedly raised seven of us with her mea-
gre earnings as a domestic worker? I could not
find answers to all of these questions, and the
pain continues to this day.
Sadly in my adult life, I still miss having a
father. However, the experience of not having a
father has taught me to love and to unreservedly
get closer to my own children Raphakisa, Lathiwe
and Sbonganjalo. I have tried to be an emotion-
ally present father in their lives and to avoid be-
ing just an ATM, or only a physically present fa-
ther. I hope that with the emotional investment
I have made in their lives they will turn out to
be men and women who would believe and em-
brace gender equality and have respect for both
men and women.
This report comes out at a time when our
country is battling with high levels of violence
directed at women and children. It reminds us
of the importance of fathers in the lives of their
children, and that we should all support the
emotional involvement of fathers, resident and
non-resident, in their children’s lives.
Mbuyiselo Botha
Commissioner from
the Commission for
Gender Equality
FOREWORD
2
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018 FOREWORD
From Providers to Carers:
Men as Fathers
Twenty years ago, fatherhood wasn’t much of a
political issue. Gender activists in South Africa
focused on the ravages of HIV and gender-based
violence. Concerns about fatherhood centred on
men as abusive or absent fathers, not accepting
responsibility or paying maintenance for their
children. This trope in the media and popular
discourse in many parts of the world ultimately
prompted a global fatherhood movement call-
ing for men to be more engaged and for gov-
ernments and society to be active in facilitating
their involvement with their children.
In 2002, Linda Richter began working on
the issue of fathers. Then at the Human Sciences
Research Council, she had recently completed
co-editing a book on the sexual abuse of pre-
pubertal children, prompted by the gruesome
rape of Baby Tshepang in Louisvale in 2001. De-
tails of cruelty perpetrated by men on children
struck deep because, in her own life, she was sur-
rounded by good and loving men – her father,
brothers, husband, son, friends and colleagues.
Together with her late husband, Dev Griesel,
she started the Fatherhood Project, initially a nat-
uralistic photographic record of men in affection-
ate and caring moments with children. From this
grew a research network with strong outreach
to men. Imagery of fatherhood remained strong,
showing the many forms that fatherhood took
and recognising men who assumed fatherhood.
At about the same time, Robert Morrell
drew on his research on masculinity to suggest
that fatherhood was an important feature in the
identities of many men. He wondered if father-
hood could be promoted by gender activists to
contribute to gender equality with the outcome
of happier, more engaged and fulfilled men; new
representations of masculinity that emphasised
the contribution that men made; and more har-
monious gender relations between men, women
and children. Bringing these two perspectives to-
gether, we edited a book, “Baba: Men and father-
hood in South Africa”, which was published by the
HSRC Press in 2006.
Activists involved in the Fatherhood Project,
like Mbuyiselo Botha, Desmond Lesejane, Wessel
van den Berg and others, extended their work,
linking with other concerned men, and with in-
ternational organisations to consolidate a focus
on fatherhood in South Africa.
Since then, a lot has happened. Research
on the topic has deepened and expanded, with
several centres of concentrated work. In law the
rights and involvement of fathers have steadily
been reinforced, for example, with respect to the
Child Support Grant and, recently, the landmark
decision to extend the general family responsibil-
ity leave provision (of three days) to a proposed
law for 10 days of paternity leave, inclusive of
same-sex and other types of parents. We have
also seen the growth of a concerted, energetic,
politically savvy campaign by non-governmental
organisations to promote fatherhood and father
involvement.
This volume builds on earlier foundations
and changes over the last decade, and adds to
their momentum. Although gender-based vio-
lence and HIV infections remain critically impor-
tant issues, the terrain has changed. South Africa
remains a troubled and violent country, but with
commitments to gender equality, of which we
are all proud. Making commitments real is hard,
but active citizens and organisations bite deter-
minedly at the heels of a foot-dragging govern-
ment and Gender Commission. We must keep at
it.
The potential of fathers, in all forms, to
contribute to the future of South Africa is being
recognised, as this collection shows. Only a small
proportion of men, mostly those who are bet-
ter off, live with their children. Men living apart
from their children is the result of many fac-
3
tors, most of which are socio-economic vestiges
of our shameful political past, and the painful
challenges of couples remaining attached under
social and other pressures. It does not necessar-
ily indicate that men don’t care, don’t want to
see their children or do not support them. And
it does not necessarily result in children being
without loving father figures in their lives.
Nonetheless, it is not good enough. As Gra-
ham Lindegger pointed out in his chapter (“The fa-
ther in the mind”) in “Baba: Men and fatherhood
in South Africa”, “a father” is a powerful and deep
archetype in our cultural history. All of us long for
a father who is loving and constant. As a corol-
lary, men who participate in the pregnancy, birth
and early years of their children’s lives are often
transformed by their experience, with deep and
enduring emotional attachment to their children.
We salute the researchers, policymakers and
activists who have brought a fuller understand-
ing of fatherhood to the attention of our country
and the world, including through this report.
Linda Richter
DST-NRF Centre
of Excellence
for Human
Development,
University of the
Witwatersrand,
Johannesburg
Robert Morrell
Office of the
Vice-Chancellor,
University of Cape
Town
FOREWORD
Men who participate
in the pregnancy,
birth and early years
of their children’s
lives are often
transformed by their
experience, with
deep and enduring
emotional attachment
to their children
4
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
ABSENT FATHERS
This term is used to refer to a father that is
neither physically living in the same household
as his child, nor involved in the child’s life. While
it is often used in writings about fatherhood to
refer to the absence of a biological father in the
household where the child lives, it can also refer
to a non-biological or social father being absent.
RESIDENCY
Residency status of fathers refers to whether the
child and father live in the same household, or not.
CO-RESIDENT FATHERS
Statistics South Africa regards a father as co-
resident when he sleeps in the same household
for four or more days per week. This definition
is used to estimate co-residency of a biological
father with his child.
NON-RESIDENT FATHERS
Non-resident fathers are considered by Statistics
South Africa to be those who are away from
home for four or more days per week. Non-resi-
dent fathers may still be involved in a child’s life.
SOCIAL FATHERHOOD
A social father is a person that takes on the re-
sponsibility and role of being a father to a child,
but who is not the biological male parent of
the child. The status of fatherhood is therefore
a social status rather than a biological one, and
may be actively sought by and/or ascribed to
the person by their family or community. One
person could be a biological father to one child
and a social father to another.
FATHER INVOLVEMENT
Involvement is used as an overarching term
for several categories of interaction between
fathers and children that include – but are not
limited to – emotional support, communication,
financial support and caregiving.
Key Terms
USED IN THIS REPORT
PROVIDER
Being a provider includes the important provi-
sion of financial support for a child’s wellbeing
and health such as providing for food, clothing,
housing and education. This notion of ‘being a
provider’ also extends further to include other re-
sources such as attentive time together, care work,
educational support, and emotional support.
CARE
The word ‘care’ is used in several ways in this
report: ‘caring about’ refers to paying atten-
tion to feelings of affection and concern about
another, ‘caring for’ refers to taking responsibil-
ity for the wellbeing of another, and ‘caregiving’
refers to the competent engagement in physical
care work such as feeding or washing.
These and other terms in the
glossary (page 74) are highlighted
at first use in each chapter
ABOUT THE CHILDREN’S VOICES
IN THIS REPORT
Fathers in Africa is a non-profit company
championing the role of responsible
fatherhood and challenging the traditional
“man box” approach to socialising young
boys.
Much of the research on fatherhood
in South Africa has excluded the voices of
children, but Fathers in Africa’s national essay
contest, held annually since 2013, aims to
hear those important voices.
The essay subject – “What my father
means to me” – evokes an emotional
response in every child, regardless of their
circumstances. Every year the cries from the
hearts of 1,000s of children are heard as
they verbalise (through written word) their
feelings, sometimes very articulately, and
most times with absolute raw honesty. Some
of these essays are published in this report.
For more information, see www.fathers.co.za.
4
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
5
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
There is no typical father in South Africa. There
are many types of fathers and many types of
fatherhood in the country. There are biological
fathers, social fathers, gay fathers, straight fa-
thers, young fathers, older fathers. We have self-
identified fatherhood, ascribed fatherhood, long-
distance fatherhood and proximal fatherhood, to
name only a few. The texture is rich by age, racei,
class, geo-type, ethnicity or family type. Mothers,
fathers and children experience a wide canvas
of fatherhood portrayals. Such a richly textured
canvas requires sensitivity that moves beyond
simplistic interpretations.
This report introduces the history of father-
hood research in South Africa, and of key mo-
ments about fatherhood in the country to date;
it provides a description of the state of fathers in
South Africa in the overview, and then examines
fatherhood in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life.
The report explicitly uses an appreciative approach
to document the importance of fatherhood for
children, families and society by focusing on posi-
tive examples, and gives an opportunity for new
voices to join the community of researchers, activ-
ists and others working on fatherhood.
The report is produced as a contribution to
the national literature in South Africa, but also
falls within the series of the “State of the World’s
Fathers” (SOWF) reports for 2015 and 20171, which
were published as part of the MenCare Global
Fatherhood campaign. The report draws on the
context provided by the SOWF reports, and will
contribute to future iterations of the global re-
port. The SOWF reports, in turn, join the “State of
the World’s Children” and the “State of the World’s
Mothers” reports produced by UNICEF and Save
the Children International respectively.
Conceptually, this inaugural edition of the
“State of South Africa’s Fathers” report critiques
the overemphasis of social research on the ab-
sence or presence of biological fathers in house-
Introduction
Wessel van den Berg, Sonke Gender Justice
& Tawanda Makusha, Human Sciences Research Council
holds. The report hopes to provoke a broader
landscape for research on fatherhood in South
Africa. We reflect on the implications of the lat-
est data on children’s co-residence with biologi-
cal fathers; and describe the limitations of this
data in terms of representing fatherhood in
South Africa, and the limitations of this overem-
phasis on co-residence. Throughout the chapters
and cases, the report revisits this theme, and the
accompanying theme of fathers as financial pro-
viders.
The report showcases examples that tell the
story of other dimensions of fatherhood that
have been underdeveloped, especially describing
social fathers and fathering, father involvement,
and caregiving. The report is a unique combina-
tion of learnings from researchers and advocates
who are working together, and looks ahead to
what needs to be done about fatherhood in
South Africa. Building on this conceptual base
we provide directions for researchers to explore
towards a more comprehensive spectrum of
knowledge on fatherhood in South Africa.
The vision of this report
The “State of South Africa’s Fathers” report has
been developed as an advocacy tool to influence
policy and law reform and monitor implemen-
tation of current policies and laws related to
i Here, and elsewhere in this report, the four racial
categories (Black, Coloured, Indian and White) are used
to refer to the Statistics South Africa categories of Afri-
can/Coloured/Indian and White. We use the term ‘Black’
to refer to Black African people, and we have replaced
‘African’ with ‘Black’ where we report on statistics. This
is in acknowledgement that categories other than Black
African people may identify as African. It is, however,
a compromised position, given that the same applies
where Coloured or Indian people may also identify as
Black. We acknowledge the compromise, and are open
to utilising different categorisation in future editions.
6
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
fatherhood; and as a catalyst to influence the
narratives in research, media and public dis-
courses about fathers towards more specific and
critical interpretations than the language cur-
rently used in talking about fatherhood.
Influencing law reform
As an advocacy tool, the report provides infor-
mation for policymakers to develop laws and
policies based on evidence about the contri-
bution that fathers can make to society. A key
example is the Labour Laws Amendment Bill3
(see the discussion box on this page). The bill is
expected to be passed by the National Council
of Provinces, and signed off by the President, in
2018. The “State of South Africa’s Fathers” report
is being launched now to track and document
over time if and how fathers engage with oppor-
tunities such as parental leave. A frequent ques-
tion about parental leave for fathers is whether
fathers will use the leave to provide caregiving,
or to take a paid holiday. The report can docu-
ment this information and, in this way, monitor
how fathers utilise parental leave, which can in-
form future law, policies and programmes in this
regard.
Encouraging emerging narratives
In its endeavour as a catalyst to new or emerging
narratives about fatherhood in South Africa, the
report weaves a specific, and appreciative nar-
rative, with more nuance and focus on father-
hood than the frequently used terms ‘absence’
or ‘absent fathers’ in the discourse about fathers
in South Africa. While the term ‘absence’ did
provide an initial impetus for focusing on the
lack of involvement of fathers with children, it
is often problematically used as a synonym for
‘non-involvement’, or conflated with all biologi-
cal fathers who do not live with their children,
based on household data about co-residence.
The report also acknowledges the various
ways that knowledge and narratives develop,
which go beyond the definition of ‘research’ but
include literature, stories, images, radio, film and
other creative expressions. This may be called the
broader cultural work of writing the story of fa-
therhood in South Africa. As the hosts of a radio
talk show on fatherhood4 said: “We are writing
NEW PARENTAL LEAVE
PROVISIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA
Parliament’s National Assembly in late 2017
approved a bill that will initiate new parental
leave provisions that allow fathers to qualify for
10 days of paid leave.2 Ten days may not seem
much for a new father, but the bill is a landmark
achievement for various reasons: it establishes
a few important principles in the South African
labour law framework, including gender-neutral
language for parental leave, dedicated leave for
adoptive parents and commissioning parents in
a surrogacy agreement, and allows for same-sex
couples to qualify for parental leave.
Background
The bill has been the result of consistent ad-
vocacy by various groups and individuals from
civil society. Due in part to pressure from Sonke
Gender Justice in 2013, the White Paper on
Families mandated government to investigate the
feasibility of paternity leave in South Africa. In
2014, a father of two, Hendri Terblanche, lodged
a petition to Parliament that called for 10 days
of paternity leave, which drew substantial media
exposure, with support from Sonke. Based on
a first draft by Terblanche, an African Christian
Democratic Party Member of Parliament, Cheryl-
lyn Dudley, presented a Private Members’ Bill to
Parliament in 2016, which was passed by the
National Assembly in 2017.
What the new provisions say
The amendments increase the maximum amount
paid for the existing maternity leave provision to
66%. It also introduces paid parental leave of 10
days for parents that do not qualify for maternity
leave. Fathers make up the largest group of such
parents, so in effect paternity leave will be avail-
able. However, it is important to note that the bill
does not define it as paternity leave as it allows for
all genders and sexual orientations. This progres-
sive bill also introduces adoption leave of 10 weeks
for surrogacy commissioning and adoptive parents
from the day of placement in the case of adoption.
Due to parenting leave only being available to
employed people, the leave will not offer support
to parents who are not in employment; but it
is nevertheless an important development for
greater gender equality between parents.
7
the book on fatherhood in South Africa.”
The report aims to illustrate that some fa-
thers who live elsewhere, regarded as non-resi-
dent fathers, are often very involved, be it finan-
cially or emotionally, in childcare, and therefore
are different from absent fathers.5 On the other
hand, some co-resident fathers may not be in-
volved in children’s lives or their care, and may be
emotionally absent. Further, in many households
the role of father is not ascribed to a biological
father, but to an uncle, brother, grandfather or
other adult male. To augment the concept of ‘ab-
sence’ with concepts such as ‘co-residency’, ‘in-
volvement’ and ‘social fathering’ allows for more
specific and valid ways to describe a father’s rela-
tionship with a child. The report therefore prob-
lematises an overemphasis of the term ‘absent
fathers’ and encourages a pathway for future
understandings that utilise more specific inter-
pretations of the complex reality of fatherhood.
We provide such examples of fatherhood by
sharing new research findings on, for example,
fathers’ use of the Child Support Grant, the role
of bomalome (maternal uncles) in childcare, and
contemporary fatherhood in the context of cus-
tomary law.
The report highlights the importance of
relationships between different levels of father
involvement and economic investment in chil-
dren’s development, such as a father’s involve-
ment in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life. In
a context where popular perceptions and the
media emphasise the negative aspects of men
in South Africa as uninvolved in children’s lives,
and generally uncaring and disengaged6, the re-
port shows evidence of fathers who are indeed
involved in caregiving, and unpacks what such
caregiving looks like. The main areas that the re-
port explores in addition to the co-residence of
biological fathers are: social fatherhood, involve-
ment, caregiving, and non-resident fathers.
Social fatherhood
Social fatherhood refers in general to fatherhood
provided by people who are not a child’s biologi-
cal parent (see the expanded description on page
4). This report begins to show the different ways
in which social fathering occurs. The General
Household Survey7 (GHS) 2016 shows that:
• 71% of children (0 – 17 years) live with an
adult man in the same household;
• of these, 36% live with their biological father
in the same household;
• and the other 35% reside with an adult man
who is not their biological father.
In addition to social fatherhood provided by men
who do not live with children, the set of relation-
ships represented by the difference, of 33% of
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
71% of children live with an adult man in the same household
36% live with their biological father in the same household
35% reside with an adult man who is not their biological father
29%
no adult man
10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Source: Statistics South Africa (2017) General Household Survey 2016. Pretoria: Stats. SA. [Analysis by Debbie
Budlender]
Fig.1 Social fathering: children’s co-residence with biological fathers and other adult man
8
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
children who do not live with their biological fa-
thers but with another adult man, could be one
way to explore whether social fatherhood occurs
between children and co-resident men who are
not their biological fathers. The GHS numbers do
not tell us about involvement, or quality or type of
caregiving. From these statistics, we do not know
if the adult men are involved or act as caregivers,
whether they are biological fathers or not. It does
highlight however the potential for caregiving, or
for social fatherhood, by men who live with chil-
dren. Household survey data do not provide the
granular detail to tease out how much of the care-
giving men are doing. Some recent studies have
analysed more specific data to begin to answer
the question of how involved men are in caregiv-
ing.
Involvement and caregiving
From the research and cultural work (as dis-
cussed earlier) on fatherhood to date, it could be
inferred that men are not involved sufficiently in
childcare in South Africa, and that this lack of
involvement poses several wide-ranging chal-
lenges for mothers, children and fathers. We
also know that we do not know enough about
this lack of involvement, or about the situations
when men do contribute significantly.
In this report, we regard caregiving for chil-
dren as a category of involvement. Involvement
with a child may be positive or negative, and
include activities other than care. Care may be
considered broadly in terms of caring about, or
caring for; however, this report refers to practical
caregiving, where the caregiver is practically or
actively providing care to the child.9
Men who live with children are unlikely to be
the primary caregivers, and likely to do less child-
care work than women. A recent study10, which
used data from the National Income Dynamics
Studyiii, found that only 11–12% of children
received primary care from their fathers. This
corroborates the Time Use Survey 2010, which
showed that for every eight hours of unpaid care
work done by a woman in South Africa, only one
hour is done by a man.11
Studies that found men involved in caregiv-
ing showed such involvement is associated with
gender equitable attitudes, and that men are
HOW MANY MEN ARE
FATHERS IN SOUTH AFRICA?
There are no direct estimates available on
the number of men in South Africa who
are fathers. This question was explored
by Posel and Devey8, who arrived at
47% of men as fathers for 1998, with a
combination of population and household
level statistics. Weii revisited the question
based on data from the General House-
hold Survey 2016:
We assume that the numbers of
mothers and fathers are about the same,
and that the fact that the median number
of children per household with children
(two) permits the assumption that women
with children have an average of about
two children.
The estimated 18,565,190 children in
South Africa in 2016 would, between
them, have 9,282,595 mothers and
9,282,595 fathers. This is about 53% of
the total adult male population aged
18 – 59 years (17,527,315). Therefore,
from this calculation, just over half of the
number of adult men in the country are
likely to be biological fathers.
The fact that fathers may have procre-
ated children with several mothers, and
that mothers may have borne children
fathered by more than one man, make
even the first assumption a rough one.
However, while the biological relationship
between a mother and a child is usually
relatively easily established, this is not the
case for men who are fathers. The latter
may not know of their status as parents,
or may not be willing to report on their
fatherhood even if they do know.
ii The arithmetic emerged from correspond-
ence between specialist researcher Debbie
Budlender and the editors. The researcher
was clear that this is by no means accurate
and based on some heroic assumptions. We
are very grateful for the work, and publish it
in the spirit of inspiring researchers to tackle
this question.
9
likely to engage in childcare tasks such as wash-
ing their clothes, talking to them about personal
matters, or helping with schoolwork.12 Involve-
ment of fathers stretches beyond co-resident
fathers and can also refer to the involvement of
non-resident fathers.
Non-resident fathers
Fathers who are involved in their children’s
lives but live in a different household to the
childiv can be distinguished from those who are
‘absent’ (i.e. complete non-involvement). This
understanding is important to avoid confusing
involved, non-resident fathers with absent fa-
thers. Non-residence does not always equal non-
involvement. This argument is illustrated by the
case on page 36, which describes caregiving by
non-resident fathers.13
Analysis of the first wave of NIDS data
(2008)14 shows Black children had the largest
percentage of absent fathers (40%) and 7% had
a non-resident, involved father. Twenty-seven
percent lived with both parents, and 45% with
their biological mother only.
Non-resident fathers often make contri-
butions to their children’s lives, for example
through financial support or moral guidance:
NIDS data analysis shows that 13% of children
received financial support for education from
absent household members, compared to 46%
who received support from non-resident house-
hold members.15
Expanding the lens
To conclude this introduction to the “State of
South Africa’s Fathers”, we note that the empha-
sis on the concept of ‘absent fathers’ also may
highlight a classist bias. The statistic of children’s
co-residence with biological fathers is only one
measure of the relationship between fathers
and children. It is an important measure when
considering dual-income, heterosexual, nuclear
families since it is likely that children in these
families may not be exposed to other sources of
fathering.
But applying this measure to all South Afri-
can families not only overlooks the social father-
ing that happens, but presents a negative view
of extended families, which are mostly Black.
The neglected focus in our documentation of
fathering, in addition to the emphasis on the
presence or absence of co-resident biological fa-
thers, may thus perpetuate the colonial tradition
of White middle-class frames of reference being
imposed on low-income Black families.
This is the first issue of an evolving report,
planned for recurring publication every three
years, that can be used in the development of
policy and legislation for families, labour mar-
ket regulations, educational curricula and other
materials for training. It can be referenced as a
source of expert information for advocacy and
community groups, individual families, and leg-
islative committees for policy development. It
contains specific recommendations for shifting
norms towards more gender-equitable parent-
ing, and advocates for a normative shift to
highlight men’s caregiving as an institutional
and social priority. Given the educational tools,
institutional impetus, and expansion of the
network of scholars and advocates invested in
assessing and promoting the values of positive
fatherhood, it is our hope that the report galva-
nises this shift in priorities towards a more nu-
anced approach and better support for families
in South Africa.
The emphasis on
the concept of
‘absent fathers’ also
may highlight a
classist bias
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
iii The National Income Dynamics Study data allows
for a more detailed analysis than household survey
data.
iv Statistics South Africa defines a non-resident mem-
ber as a person who has not lived in a household for
at least four nights per week and has not done so for
the six months before the survey.
10
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
1 Hellman, B., Levtov, R., van der Gaag, N., Hassink, A.,
& Barker, G. (2017). State of the world’s fathers: Time
for action. Washington DC: Promundo, Sonke Gender
Justice, Save the Children & MenEngage Alliance.;
Levtov, R., van der Gaag, N., Greene, M., Kaufman, M.,
& Barker, G. (2015). State of the world’s fathers: A
MenCare advocacy publication. Washington, DC:
Promundo, Rutgers, Sonke Gender Justice, Save the
Children & MenEngage Alliance.
2 Labour Laws Amendment Bill [B 29–2017].
3 See no. 2.
4 CapeTalk Dads, Primedia. See
http://life.primedia.co.za/podcasts/105.
5 Hatch, M., & Posel, D. (2018). Who cares for
children? A quantitative study of childcare in
South Africa. Development Southern Africa,
DOI: 10.1080/0376835X.2018.1452716.
6 Richter, L., & Morrell, R. (2006). Introduction. In
L. Richter & R. Morrell (Eds.), Baba: Men and father-
hood in South Africa (pp. 1-12). Cape Town: HSRC
Press.
7 Statistics South Africa. (2017). General Household
Survey 2016. Pretoria: Stats SA. [Analysis by Debbie
Budlender, May 2018]
8 Posel, D., & Devey, R. (2006). The demographics of
fathers in South Africa: An analysis of survey data,
1993 – 2002. In L. Richter & R. Morrell (Eds.), Baba:
Men and fatherhood in South Africa (pp. 38-52). Cape
Town: HSRC Press.
9 Tronto, J.C. (1993). Moral boundaries: A political
argument for an ethic of care. Routledge.
10 See no. 5.
11 Statistics South Africa. (2013). A survey of time use,
2010. Pretoria: Stats SA.
12 Morrell, R., Dunkle, K., Ibragimov, U., & Jewke, R.
(2016). Fathers who care and those that don’t: Men
and childcare in South Africa. South African Review of
Sociology, 47(4): 80-105.
13 Clark, S., Cotton, C., & Marteleto, L.J. (2015).
Family ties and young fathers’ engagement in Cape
Town, South Africa. Journal of Family and Marriage,
77(2): 575-589.;
Madhavan, S., Richter, L., & Norris, S. (2016). Father
contact following union dissolution for low-income
children in urban South Africa. Journal of Family
Issues, 37(5): 622-644.
14 See no. 5.
15 See no. 5.
References
11
“He only wants us to have
the equal to his two sons”
I’m 17 years old. I never knew my father, and Mother died
when I was four years old. I was raised by my sister and
her husband. What amazes me a lot is that their children
are younger than me. I call them mother and father because
they are my parents.
Father, he means a lot to me. He took me in his house
when I had no home. He sends me to school and attends
parental meetings as it requires. He reminds me to do my
school work and to do well at school. When I’m sad he
makes jokes just to see me happy. He washes our clothes and
sometimes cooks for us.
He likes to talk to us (me and my younger sister) about
life and the future. He always says he only wants us to
have the equal to his two sons. He wants us to grow and be
educated and responsible. One day he told me that he wants
to see me graduating from the University of Pretoria.
He doesn’t have much but the little he has he shares with us
and his children. There is no difference between us and his sons.
He gets angry just like every parent when I misbehave and puts
me back to my place as a child and the oldest in the house.
Sometimes I wonder what I have done to deserve a father
like him. Most men of his age are still running around like
boys in the streets but he chose to be the father of two
orphans, me and my younger sister, who is very naughty at
the age of 14. Even after these years that I’ve been silly and
naughty he’s been there for me. He made me realise that it
is not only your biological parent that can raise you, send
you to school and love you unconditionally.
“I call him my father.” Essay contestant, North West
VOICES OF CHILDREN
12
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
Key momenTs from recenT policy and law developmenTs
ThaT affecT families and faTherhood
1994 First democratic elections of South Africa
1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa
1998 Maintenance Act 99 of 1998
1997 Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997
(maternity leave)
1998 Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of
1998
Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998
2001 Draft National Policy Framework for Families
2005 Children’s Act 38 of 2005
2006 Civil Union Act 17 of 2006 (legal recognition for
same-sex couples)
2007 Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters)
Amendment Act 32 of 2007
2012 White Paper on Families in South Africa
2015 National Integrated Early Childhood Development
Policy
2018 Labour Laws Amendment Bill (parental leave
provisions)
13
Fathers have been portrayed negatively in the
South African media for decades.1 The high
number of absent biological fathers in house-
holds, which is discussed in this report, and horri-
fic cases of domestic violence and child abuse fuel
negative images of fathers. The view that fathers
are not involved in their children’s lives by being
physically or emotionally absent has been labelled
the deficit paradigm.2 However, the deficit para-
digm, together with statistical snapshots of bio-
logical fathers’ living arrangements and harmful
fatherhood practices, do not constitute the full
picture of fatherhood. This report partly aims to
draw a more comprehensive picture of father-
hood; and this chapter aims to help explain how
certain practices, depictions and expectations of
fatherhood became entrenched in South Africa.
Fatherhood as a research interest
Prior to the 21st century, fatherhood did not re-
ceive particular attention from social research-
ers although patriarchy and family practices are
mentioned often. In the last 25 years, however,
there has been considerable academic interest in
fatherhood worldwide. This academic field has
lagged behind somewhat in Africa but in South
Africa it has grown exponentially in the last 15
years. The Fatherhood Project of the Human Sci-
ences Research Council, launched in 2003, aimed
to, among other things, bring positive images of
fatherhood to the fore. This project was also one
of the first major collective efforts to focus spe-
cifically on fatherhood as a topic of discussion
and research.
Thereafter, a number of noteworthy collec-
tive publications on fatherhood were published
including “Baba: Men and fatherhood in South
Africa”3, in 2006, which focused on an array of
aspects related to fatherhood. This was followed
by “Teenage tata: Voices of young fathers in
South Africa”4 that expanded the scope of fa-
therhood studies to include younger men.
Additional information on young fathers
saw the light, but this time by focusing on the
experiences of young fathers and mothers, cul-
minating in the 2012 publication, “Books and
babies: Pregnancy and young parents in school”5.
The South African Institute of Race Relations
report, “First steps to healing the South African
family”6, paid significant attention to fathers
and fatherhood. In 2015, “Men’s pathways to
parenthood: Silence and heterosexual gendered
norms”7 was the first book to explore the deci-
A Historical Overview of
Fatherhood in South Africa
Marlize Rabe, Department of Sociology,
University of South Africa
CHAPTER 2 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
BABA:
Men and
fatherhood in
South Africa
TEENAGE TATA:
Voices of young
fathers in South
Africa
FIRST STEPS TO
HEALING THE
SOUTH AFRICAN
FAMILY
BOOKS AND
BABIES: Pregnancy
and young parents
in school
MEN’S PATHWAYS
TO PARENTHOOD:
Silence and
heterosexual
gendered norms
YOUNG FAMILIES:
Gender, sexuality
and care
2006 2009 2012 2015 2017
Fig.2 Key publications about fatherhood in South Africa
14
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
sions men make to have children, and specifically
interrogate heteronormativity in this regard.
A broader interest in fatherhood in combina-
tion with family structures continued, in 2017, with
“Young families: Gender, sexuality and care”8. Vari-
ous journal articles and dissertations on different
aspects of fatherhood also appeared, ensuring that
fatherhood became a vibrant topic of research.
Fatherhood practices and family
and kin structures
Fatherhood can be discussed as an abstract con-
cept, but it is more important to understand it as
experienced daily. Also, fatherhood is embedded
within dynamic family structures and practices9,
economic realities10, gendered and cultural ex-
pectations11 and historical developments12.
South Africa has a rich diversity of marital,
family, kin and household practices. For example,
it is the only country in the world where both po-
lygamy (through the Customary Marriages Act13)
and same-sex unions (through the Civil Union
Act14) are given legal recognition. Within this rich
variety, fatherhood also takes on many dimen-
sions. A father living with his biological children
on a daily basis should not be seen as a norm to
which all families should aspire15 since it is simply
not feasible or desirable in all cases. For exam-
ple, the Living Conditions Survey of 2015/2016
found that approximately 16% of children’s fa-
thers were deceased.16
A family is defined in the White Paper on
Families17 as a “societal group that is related by
blood (kinship), adoption, foster care or the ties of
marriage (civil, customary or religious), civil union
or cohabitation, and go beyond a particular resi-
dence” (emphasis added). The latter is of particu-
lar importance since households (or residences)
may be confused with families who may or may
not live together. Censuses (and most large-scale
surveys) provide snapshot pictures of households.
From these snapshots, as depicted in figure 3, it
is clear that fatherhood in South Africa cannot
be understood as mainly flowing from a nuclear
family household where a married, heterosexual
couple live with their offspring.
The aim here is not ‘to blame the father’
or coerce fathers to conform to one model, but
rather to understand how men play beneficial or
harmful roles in the lives of their children. If it
is understood why men make certain decisions
with regard to their children, they can be better
supported to play more active roles in the lives
of their children – whether they live with them
or not. Some of the historical trajectories in this
regard are traced below.
History of fatherhood among different
groupings
Current fatherhood practices developed from
various groupings18 in South Africa and some of
the origins of these practices give an indication
of the complexity of South Africa’s history.
The Dutch East India Company established a
refreshment outpost in 1652 at the southern tip
of Africa. In the first three decades, the European
settlers were mainly single men from the Nether-
lands, but from 1688 to 1700, approximately 200
Fig. 3 Children’s residency in different
household types, 2016
Source: Statistics South Africa (2017) General
Household Survey 2016. Pretoria. Stats. SA. [Analysis
by Debbie Budlender]
TYPE OF HOUSEHOLD OCCUPANTS
Childed couple Only parents and
children, interpreted
as nuclear family
Lone parent Only single parent
and children
Extended household Parents, children
and other members
Composite At least one person
not related to the
household head
20%
70%
7% 2%
7%
15
FATHERHOOD AND CUSTOMARY
MARRIAGE DISSOLUTION
Several factors affect the rights of fathers in customary law under
the Recognition of Customary Marriage Act19 (RCMA). In Black South
African communities that live according to customary law, a father’s
right to his biological children is linked to inhlawulo or lobola.
If lobola was agreed (with either immediate or partial transfer,
depending on the agreement), the child belongs to the father’s
family. If it was not, the child belongs to the mother’s family. In
customary law, a biological father has therefore no absolute right
to the children he procreates.20 He acquires parental rights by either
paying an acknowledgement of paternity, or lobola for the mother
of his child or children.
However, in the current economic and social context where levels
of marriage are declining21, many men have biological children out-
side of a recognised union. Some research evidence suggests that un-
til a child’s father enacts inhlawulo, he may not be recognised as a
legitimate father of a child, especially by the family of the child’s moth-
er, and he may be restricted from visiting and spending time with his
child at the mother’s family homestead.22 However, there is evidence
from small-scale studies that fathers are taking responsibility and pro-
viding care for their children.23 The living customary law on inhlawulo
and the payment of inhlawulo are complex, and changing24, and the
limited evidence of the practice and its impact on paternal involvement
is mixed.
Custody and dissolved registered customary marriage
The principles embedded in the RCMA have changed the ways in
which care and guardianship are regulated after the dissolution of a
customary marriage. This is however only true for couples who get a
divorce and does not hold in the same way for couples who are not
legally divorced.
A qualitative study25 examining 28 custody orders following the dis-
solution of a customary marriage in a regional court found that custody
was contested in nine cases and uncontested in 19 cases. Despite the
low number of (customary marriage) divorce cases found in the courts,
the findings reveal that some fathers seek involvement and contest
custody so that their relationships with their children are safeguarded.
Moreover, in 15 of the 19 uncontested cases, parents shared the care
work and day-to-day living with the child(ren). All parents in this group
held joint custody with specific detailed care plans.
In cases where only the mother was awarded custody, it was in the best
interests of the child as the courts were protecting the child from abuse,
and prioritising caring connections. In one case, for example, the court
held that the father–child relationship was not strong and that joint
custody was not appropriate: the father had only limited contact with
ELENA MOORE
Department of
Sociology,
University of Cape
Town
CHAPTER 2 CASE
Custody orders
Contested
Uncontested
Uncontested and
parents share care
work
Fig. 4 Contestations
of custody orders
after dissolutions of
customary marriages
Source: Himonga, C., &
Moore, E. (2015) Reform
of customary marriage,
divorce and succession
in South Africa: Living
customary law and
social realities.
Cape Town: Juta.
15
16
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
the four-year-old boy (twice in three years), and the parents were
always in conflict.
Care arrangements following informal separation of a
customary marriage
In a context where most couples do not legally divorce but informally
separate in consultation with family members, a study with 21 parents
revealed that the mother was the primary carer in 18 cases and, in
most cases, the mother still encouraged father–child contact.26 In three
cases, the father (and paternal family) was the primary carer. The study
revealed that there was considerable support from all actors (including
mothers, fathers, and traditional leaders) for the best interests of the
child.
Paying maintenance under customary law
Research on the living customary law of maintenance of children indi-
cates there is widespread agreement and a normative expectation that
a father should maintain a child, irrespective of marital status.27 Courts
have acquired the power to order and enforce maintenance payments
under section 8(4) of the RCMA. However, in practice, maintenance is
often not paid and the financial responsibility for children, in many
cases, is left to mothers and maternal kin.28 (See the case study on
fathers and maintenance on page 39.)
In the past, once inhlawulo was paid, a father could not be held
liable to back-pay maintenance under common law.29 It is unclear how
this defence is used by fathers in the current economic context.
Gaps and priorities for future research
There is insufficient evidence on how fathers care for children both
during a customary marriage and following the dissolution of a
customary marriage. For example, in 2016, more than one in three
(42%) divorces concluded in South Africa were among Black cou-
ples30, many of whom have their personal lives regulated according
to customary laws. Research investigating fathering practices and
involvement should pay closer attention to practices in custom-
ary law settings, particularly in relation to care, involvement and
maintenance.
16
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
17
French nuclear families (gesinne) arrived.31 The
nuclear family model was thus already imported
with the early settlers and, although many men
were single, the ideal was to get married and
have children.
Similarly, when the White inhabitants from
the Cape colony moved inland in what is known
as the Great Trek, they mostly moved as patriar-
chal nuclear families. The early settlers were gen-
erally Christian Protestants who to a large extent
believed that men’s superior position in the fam-
ily was ordained by God.32 Fathers were involved
with their children but families had clear gender
segregation, men being primarily protectors and
women the caregivers.
Between 1860 and 1911, a total of 152,184
Indian people were brought to Natal as inden-
tured labourers. With the abolition of slavery,
the British lured them to the sugar plantations
of Natal, often with false promises. The migrants
came from different regions in India and hence
they brought with them a diversity of cultures.33
Although the Indian families were characterised
by nuclear units, it was not unusual for three
generations to share a household. Fathers’ au-
thority was observed in Indian families and they
were regarded as breadwinners whilst women
had to stay within the domestic sphere where
they could be protected from danger and sexual
advances outside of marital relationships.34
People classified as ‘Coloured’ under apart-
heid had various ancestors including slaves
brought to South Africa35, European settlers,
Asians, as well as local African and Khoisan peo-
ple. There is thus great variation within this one
category and research conducted between the
1960s and 1980s identified two distinct socio-
economic categories. The first is “a higher socio-
economic class with stable family relationships
and with relative social and economic security.”36
The second is a lower socio-economic class that
experienced apartheid legislation at its worse,
including the devastating effects of forced
removals.
The result is that many so-called Coloured
people have “a marginal economic existence”
that may have a destabilising effect on fam-
ily life.37 Although there might be a preference
for nuclear families, more than two generations
often live together in one household as an eco-
nomic survival strategy. Fathers are expected to
fulfil the breadwinner role.38
In pre-colonial and early colonial times,
parenting and fatherhood took place within
the larger context of African kin systems.39 Ex-
tended families provide various forms of sup-
port to individuals all over the world but it is
particularly evident in African societies40 which
certainly have clear historical roots. Various
historical and anthropological accounts41 have
detailed how the recognition of children by fa-
thers’ extended kin followed certain norms. For
example, the marriage practice of lobola relates
to fatherhood since it “gives the family of the
husband rights to all children born to his wife;
it serves the purpose of distribution of consum-
able and productive resources; and it marks the
transition into adulthood”.42 If the practice of
lobola (which is widespread in southern Africa)
is explained as such, it constitutes far more
than just what is translated to English as “bride
wealth”.
The importance of marriage and the links
between fatherhood and family can also be
deduced from the Setswana expressions: “ng-
wana ke wa dikgomo” or “o e gapa le namane”
which loosely translated would imply that mar-
rying someone means that all children of one’s
partner would be part of the marital union. In
cases where a child was born out of wedlock
and the couple do not plan to get married, the
paternal and maternal families would make spe-
cific arrangements which may include acknowl-
edgement of the child by the paternal family43
(inhlawulo – Nguni /hlahollo – Sesotho).
These arrangements and practices clearly
show that not only biological parents but fami-
lies too were involved in raising children (al-
though women, especially mothers, did most
of the care work). However, colonial and apart-
heid powers disrupted many family practices
in complicated ways. Policies of racial separa-
tion restricted Black people to ‘Bantustans’ – or
‘homelands’ – which were remote, rural and im-
poverished.44 This disempowerment led to men,
who were only allowed to migrate to the ‘White
areas’ as labourers, to leave their homes to work
as annual labour contractors in mines, factories
CHAPTER 2 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
18
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
and on commercial farms. The gold mining sector
provides an example in this regard.
Removing Black men from their kinship
systems
Towards the end of the 19th century, the dis-
covery of minerals in various places (in what is
now known as South Africa) “changed the face of
the (South African) landscape and economy for-
ever”.45 The main gold reef in the Witwatersrand
(discovered in 1886) had low quality gold depos-
its and the only way to mine this profitably was
by employing cheap labour. Initially, men came
to work on the mines for short periods with clear
financial goals in mind (such as obtaining cash to
buy cattle for lobola); they were there on “busi-
ness”46. It was a growing industry: there were
30,000 migrant mineworkers in 1893 in Trans-
vaal (today Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and
North West provinces) alone, but by 1977 this
had increased to 600,000 migrant mineworkers.47
The mining industry also required a more skilled
labour force, giving rise to mineworkers working
for increasingly longer contracts that were rou-
tinely renewed – they became “career miners”48.
By the 1970s, migrancy was entrenched and
mine labourers lived away from their families for
the greater part of the year. Apartheid legislation
(e.g. the Urban Areas Act) prevented the majority
of Black labourers to live with their families and
children often stayed behind in rural areas, living
within larger kin structures. In a nutshell, large
numbers of Black labourers became physically
absent from their families due to direct state and
market interference in the lives of Black families.
Although the practice of erecting single-sex
hostels for Black labourers was widespread in
different labour sectors, men did not always live
alone. Relationships with urban women varied
from casual sexual liaisons to long-term relation-
ships where the urban partner may even replace
the rural wife. Similarly, the relationships with
children born from these liasons varied from not
knowing about them or not recognising them as
one’s children, to being close to them.49 Many
rural wives dreaded such urban liaisons not only
because of the emotional implications, but also
because the flow of financial resources for their
rural homestead and children could be disrupted.50
After all the apartheid laws and restrictions
on where citizens may live were finally lifted in
post-apartheid South Africa, many Black male
labourers continued to work as migrants, visiting
their rural homesteads intermittently. They were
still faced with economic realities that included
a shortage of affordable housing in urban areas
and job insecurity (since growing mechanisation
and the myriad of apartheid policies over the
years resulted in an oversupply of labour). For
many, the latter implied that a rural homestead
was needed as a safety net. Moreover, many mi-
grants have emotional and kin affiliations with
specific rural areas that they do not want to give
up. In short, male labour migrancy, and hence
non-residential fathers, became an entrenched
feature of many Black families in South Africa
due to economic necessity, practical reasons and
personal choices.
In recent years, the reliance of the mining
sector in South Africa on unpaid care work was
demonstrated with terminally ill mineworkers re-
turning home to be cared for by their mothers,
partners and children, usually women and girls.
Due to poor health and safety standards in the
mining industry, many mineworkers left their
employment with terminal and incurable lung
diseases like silicosis. In 2018, a settlement was
reached between major mining companies and
30,000 mineworkers and their families who had
conducted a class action suit.51
Based on this history and caregiving prac-
tices, as can be observed from the censuses and
other surveys, non-resident fatherhood deserves
as much attention from researchers as residen-
tial fatherhood. The next chapter discusses with
whom children live in contemporary South Africa
and some of the factors that influence residency
with biological fathers.
From patriarchy to economic
providers
In this report, co-residency, the biological father,
economic provider and social fatherhood roles
are distinguished from one another (see these
key terms explained on page 4). These aspects
of fatherhood can of course be embodied in one
man, but the current absence of biological fa-
19
MATERNAL UNCLES’ (BOMALOME)
SIGNIFICANCE IN FEMALE-
HEADED HOUSEHOLDS WITH
NON-RESIDENT FATHERS
While it is universally acknowledged that biological father–child in-
volvement is very important, research on fatherhood should not be re-
stricted to them only. Throughout Africa, there is recognition that the
person fulfilling the role of father may not always be the child’s bio-
logical father. The African context raises the relevance of the concept
of a ‘social father’ – an ascribed, as opposed to an attained, status for
maternal and paternal uncles, grandfathers, older brothers and mothers’
partners who singly or collectively provide for children’s livelihood and
education, and give them paternal love and guidance.52
This case presents the views of young people on the significance and
role of bomalome (‘maternal uncles’ in Sesotho).53 Household interviews
were conducted with 30 participants comprising mothers (n=15) and
their adult children (n=15) who grew up in maternal-headed households
in Black families in Evaton township, south of Johannesburg.
Male relatives as extended fathers
In South Africa, a man may never reside with his biological children; yet
he may be integrally involved in the lives of children who may regard
him as a father while also supporting members of the extended family
in different households. In this way, a man is providing father care and
support for children who may not be his biological offspring.54 The
importance of other male relatives in children’s lives in South Africa
has been highlighted in a study55 that noted that, in Zulu culture,
some children and adults refer to the father’s younger brother (ubaba
omncane) or his older brother (ubaba omkhulu) as the child’s junior or
senior father. In this regard, it has been argued that the concept of a
father in African societies is that of a man who fully engages in the
responsibility of caring and protecting children.56
Despite negative views of bomalome in many South African communi-
ties, maternal uncles play an important role in extended families, hold a
position of authority, and are overseers with clearly ascribed responsibili-
ties. In this case study bomalome were significant in the following ways:
Bomalome as guardians
Bomalome were significant in the lives of young people growing up
without their biological fathers residing with them, and in female-
headed households. Firstly, the significance was due to kinship ties that
bomalome had with young people whose fathers were not living with
them, or were absent or unknown. Bomalome were described as dis-
ciplinarians who were able to guide young people, and as defenders in
situations where participants needed protection in the community. There
MOTLALEPULE
NATHANE
Social Work
Department,
School of Human
and Community
Development,
University of the
Witwatersrand,
Johannesburg
CHAPTER 2 CASE
I would say my uncle
is the one person I
can to talk to and
discuss important
matters about us
men you know; we
are very close like
that. Yaa, he is there
in each and every
encounter in my life.
He is there when I am
not okay in my life,
he listens, and he is
the person I can say
I trust with my life.
(Male participant)
19
20
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
were dominant narratives of lasting relationships with bomalome and
childhood experiences of growing up in maternal extended families.
Bomalome as nurturers
Bomalome were also portrayed as nurturers, providing care and ‘being
there’. This means that bomalome were present and involved in the
lives of the children whose biological fathers were either non-resident
or absent. There was warm affection for bomalome as these ties were
established early in the lives of these young people.
Bomalome as links to family lineage
Bomalome were significant in providing a sense of belonging to chil-
dren born out of wedlock and whose fathers were absent. In line with
the traditional African values of embracing and assimilating children born
out of wedlock into extended families57 , bomalome stood out as individ-
uals who legitimised children of fathers who had not paid inhlawulo or
lobola, and those of absent fathers. Young people in this study commonly
used their mothers’ surname, and so shared the same surname with their
bomalome. This maternal surname and lineage guaranteed ancestral pro-
tection of children born out of wedlock. Consequently, there was a strong
sense of belonging and being legitimised within the extended family.
Bomalome as more than financial providers
While there were bomalome who were providing economically for young
people whose fathers were absent, it is noteworthy that young people
did not only value the provider role of bomalome. They also valued the
ties and connections that these relationships provided. These ties were of
utmost significance in the lives of young people. Therefore, the role
played by bomalome was more than material provision, but also emo-
tional connection and significant presence in the lives of participants.
Valuing and promoting social fathers
While the role of bomalome and other social fathers has been slowly
eroding in contemporary South Africa due to spatial separation, living
arrangements and challenging economic conditions characterised by
high levels of poverty and unemployment, there is a need to recognise
different ways in which social fathers can be involved in the lives of
children. The role and involvement of men in the ‘caring work’ of child-
rearing in general must be promoted and valued. There is a need to
raise awareness about societal and cultural notions of fatherhood that
do not only focus on the financial provider role but expand and include
notions of providing care and support.
While the provider role is significant in the context of high poverty
levels; there is a need to re-evaluate the norm that reduces the role of
men to financial providers and undermines other roles that men can
play meaningfully. Most importantly, the significant role that boma-
lome and other social fathers have traditionally played through deep
connections of care, ritual performances, financial and practical sup-
port must be recognised and promoted.
My uncle talks to
me in a courteous
manner as if I am his
child, if he invites me
to his house he does
not keep me waiting
or never shows up.
Also, he does not say
hurtful things like
my father, he keeps
all the promises he
makes. If he cannot
afford to pay for my
school trip, he tells
me in advance and
that he will do it next
month if possible. He
treats me like his own
child not just like an
outcast. I can feel
that he is closing the
gap of not having a
father in my life.
(Female participant)
20
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
21
thers in many family households in South Africa
suggests that these aspects of fatherhood are
often fulfilled by different men. Here it is argued
that for South Africa, the reliance on Black la-
bour migration was the way in which the capi-
talist system influenced the ‘father as breadwin-
ner’ role to become more dominant than other
roles.
Much has been written about patriarchy,
not only from Western scholars but also in the
African context. Often patriarchy is associ-
ated with the domination of men over women.
Patriarchy can be defined as the rule of men
over women and children where power, such as
access to economic resources and major family
decisions, rests in the hands of senior (in age and
societal status) men.
Many forms of patriarchy exist though. A
distinction can be made between private and
public patriarchy where the former refers to the
domestic sphere (usually control by the father)
and the latter to the public realm. Here legisla-
tion and embedded structures deny women cer-
tain rights and thus discriminate against them
collectively.58 In colonised countries, the term
“dual patriarchy” was developed to highlight
the combined power of colonial administrators
and husbands/fathers over women.59 It should be
noted that motherhood in itself was a source of
power, especially in pre-colonial periods, but dual
patriarchy lessened this power with time.60
However, even though patriarchs and patri-
archy tend to be viewed negatively today, there
are interpretations of earlier patriarchy that are
more favourable: “The father as patriarch has
long been a respected figure in southern Afri-
can society. Over the years, socio-cultural and,
later, political changes have undermined the
authority of African men and their status within
the family.”61 Fatherhood was a position that
was connected to, and dependent on, other kin
members, and not a position that an individual
would usurp through use of power.62
Moreover, older African men passed on col-
lective understandings of masculine identities to
younger men informally and in rituals (for ex-
ample initiation schools) during pre-industrial
periods. Since large numbers of young men re-
located to take up employment in the mining
sector, the mining premises became a new en-
vironment where different masculine identities
were formed.63 Over time, many young men lost
their ties with their fathers, as well as other adult
male members of their families.64 Such erosion
of contact between different generations meant
that older men could not play a guiding and car-
ing role any longer and, if they also could not be
financial providers, they had very little left to link
them with their families.
In South Africa, it was shown how patriar-
chies, instead of a singular form of patriarchy,
played out.65 Race was a dominant factor in es-
tablishing different trajectories of fatherhood;
for example, White male labourers earned much
higher wages than Black labourers since it was
argued (for instance by mine management struc-
tures) that it was beneficial for a man to settle
with his wife and children near his workplace
and hence more cash was needed for their up-
keep. However, since the inception of industry
(the mining industry for example) it was argued
that Black labourers should work without ac-
companying family members and the scene for
the oscillating migration of Black male labourers
was set. Members of the Chamber of Mines had
a discussion on changing these discriminatory
practices in the 1950s, but it was rejected.66 This
migration pattern removed Black men physically
from their families and kin for the greater part of
the year and contributed to the understanding
of fatherhood being narrowed down to a non-
Fatherhood was a
position that was
connected to, and
dependent on, other
kin members, and
not a position that
an individual would
usurp through use of
power
CHAPTER 2 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
22
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
resident breadwinner for his family.
There is also a flipside to patriarchy that
demonstrates its close links with class and race
as the following quote suggests: “In an affluent,
upper class, first world situation, the patriarch
functions as a provider and liberator from hard
work, and beyond that a contributor of luxuries
and pleasure. In South Africa upper class black
women and white women almost as a general-
ity experience patriarchy in this context, rather
than in the context of oppression.”67 If this view
is accepted, it helps to explain why some women
actively support patriarchy, even today.
There has been a general shift in dominant
fatherhood practices and expectations during
the 20th century in South Africa, where father-
hood is primarily associated with the reduced
role of being a material provider.68 Since many
men have precarious job prospects and no other
means of financial support, they have no access
to economic means.69 Due to unemployment,
and more women entering the labour market,
many men are no longer the sole providers for
their children. Men who are not able to live up
to the expectations of being a financial provider
may break the bonds with families rather than
face the shame of feeling inadequate.
Involved fathers and caregiving
In pre-colonial periods, kinship systems usu-
ally had clear guidelines on care responsibilities
and hence there was a degree of predictability.
Major events such as “colonialism, war, drought
and wage labour”70 disrupted these guidelines
but caregiving remained decidedly gendered as
“mothers, wives, daughters, sisters and aunts are
expected to be willing and ready to provide rou-
tine care”71.
Moreover, in many South African house-
holds, especially in the more prosperous ones,
paid caregiving is part of raising children. Out of
necessity, especially Coloured and Black women
are domestic workers or nannies working for
low wages, making it possible for many middle-
class and working-class families to afford their
services.72 When looking closer at families with
paid care support, the female paid worker may
exempt fathers from taking an active role in the
physical care, especially of their young children.
In families of all socio-economic backgrounds,
men are thus generally less involved in caring for
children.
When thinking about care, the focus should
not only be on physical care, such as grooming
and feeding, but also on the emotional work of
care. Although women take on the bulk of all
childcare in families, it does not mean than men
are not involved in caretaking at all. Towards the
end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st cen-
turies, South African studies revealed that men
are increasingly involved in childcare. Although
men’s involvement in the lives of their children
may not be to the same degree as women, they
are in general far more involved in childcare
compared to their own fathers.73 Bargaining for
paternity rights74 and paternal custody cases75 in
South Africa supports the view that many men
are eager to be involved in the lives of their chil-
dren from birth onwards. It has also been shown
that involved fathers enhance gender equality;
for example, women who had involved fathers
are better able to negotiate equal sexual rela-
tionships.76
The issue of heteronormativity is increasingly
given attention in family studies, in other words,
the expectation that all families are heterosexual
in nature is challenged. In South Africa, same-
sex unions have been legalised since 2006 and,
since adoption rights are also recognised, gay
fathers have been receiving attention in research.
Gay men may be fathers due to having children
in previous heterosexual relationships, engaging
surrogate mothers, adopting children, kinship
ties with siblings’ children like bomalome (as
discussed in the case on page 19) and socially
ascribed fatherhood. Either way, gay fathers
challenge the way in which many people regard
fatherhood and families.
Gay fathers are often found to raise children
in an egalitarian and nurturing environment.77
Despite the legality of same-sex relationships in
South Africa, same-sex couples often experience
structural challenges and hostility in their daily
lives. In recent years, several male couples who
adopted children took recourse via the legal sys-
tem to access parenting leave under the exist-
ing maternity leave framework. The new parental
23
leave provisions, due to be enacted in 2018, now
also provide for such couples. (This legislative
development is discussed on page 6.)
Although there are thus positive devel-
opments in recent times with many fathers
increasingly wanting to be involved in their chil-
dren’s lives, use of violence by fathers against
children and partners is also seemingly on the
increase.
Violent fathers
Before “the democratic elections of 1994, the
South African state committed systematic vio-
lence against the institution of the family among
Africans”.78 Since brutal force was regularly used
by an oppressive government in many communi-
ties, physical violence became normalised and it
spilled over into interpersonal violence.79
Research has shown that other aspects,
which are also found globally, contribute to do-
mestic violence in South Africa as well. In 1998,
a cross-sectional study in South Africa found risk
factors associated with domestic violence include:
experiencing violence as a child, low levels of edu-
cation, women having “liberal ideas on women’s
roles”, alcohol consumption and conflict over the
male partner’s drinking, having another partner,
the male partner preferring to have a son, fre-
quent interpersonal conflict and one partner sup-
porting the household financially.80
A closer look at these aspects reveal that
power dynamics are often central in the abuse
where men feel threatened when women be-
come more empowered.81 Once the power bal-
ance in gendered relations shifts, those who
hold more power (in this case men) often react
violently to cling to that power. Since the use
of violence has become commonplace in com-
munities, men easily resort to violence towards
their partners and children. Family and commu-
nity members sometimes encourage women to
stay in abusive relationships, even when women
are financially independent.82 This should be
understood within gender constructions where
men are portrayed as aggressors and women as
peacemakers.83
Yet, the belief that men are inherently vio-
lent or set in their ways has been disproven and
their ability to care for others is undeniable.84 In
order to “move towards a gender-equal society
one requires men and boys to think and act in
new ways, to reconsider traditional images of
manhood, and to reshape their relationships with
women and girls”.85 In their roles as fathers, men
should thus be supported to become involved in
care and fulfil various other forms of engage-
ment with children.
Conclusion
Various historical trajectories of fatherhood
have shaped current fathering practices in
South Africa. Childcare work, which has histori-
cally been in the hands of women, still remains
largely understood as women’s work. But many
men are involved in childcare and men increas-
ingly want to be more involved. The history of
fatherhood shows that men have historically
played an important role in parenting but often
as a lesser partner to wives, mothers, aunts, and
domestic workers.
With changes in the South African gender
order, more women are in paid employment and
more men are involved in the (largely unpaid)
work of childcare. This has impacted on concep-
tions of masculinity so that fatherhood is now
becoming a component of hegemonic mascu-
linity and engaged fatherhood is valued. On the
other hand, structural inequality and low levels
of employment continue to be a barrier for many
men to embrace fatherhood and to become cen-
tral in the lives of their children.
Many men are under enormous pressure to
live up to ideals of being economic providers, yet
taking up responsibility for the financial wellbe-
ing of their children is unattainable for many,
especially young, unskilled or semi-skilled men.
A renewed focus in understanding the variety of
roles that biological and social fathers do, and
could, play are of extreme importance.
CHAPTER 2 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
24
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
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45,103-123. P. 111.
48 Crush, J., Jeeves, A., & Yudelman, D. (1991). South
Africa’s labor empire. A history of Black migrancy to
the gold mines. Cape Town: David Phillip. P. 29.
49 See no. 46.
50 See no. 46.
51 Ledwaba, L. (2018, May 11). Suffering litigants
rejoice over mining houses’ R5-billion silicosis settle-
ment. Mail & Guardian. Retrieved from https://mg.co.
za/article/2018-05-11-00-suffering-litigants-rejoice-
over-mining-houses-r5-billion-silicosis-settlement.
52 Makusha, T. (2013). Determinants of father in-
volvement: Children, women and men’s experiences
of support children receive from men in KwaZulu-
Natal (doctoral dissertation). University of KwaZulu-
Natal, Durban.
53 Nathane-Taulela, M. (forthcoming, 2018). Female-
headed households’ experiences of father absence:
Narratives of mother and their children (PhD thesis).
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
54 Mkhize, N. (2006). African tradition and the social,
economic and moral dimension of fatherhood. In L.
Richter & R. Morrell (Eds.), Baba: Men and fatherhood
in South Africa (pp. 183-200). Cape Town: HSRC Press.
55 See no. 54.
56 Richter, L., & Morrell, R. (2008). Fathering: The role
of men in raising children in Africa – Holding up the
other half of the sky. In M. Garcia, A. Pence & J. Evans
(Eds.), Africa’s future, Africa’s challenge: Early child-
hood care and development in sub-Saharan Africa
(pp. 151-166). Washington, D. C.: World Bank.
57 Nzimande, N. (2007). Exploring the link between
non-marital childbearing and entry into
conjugal unions among South African women: Com-
peting alternatives? Paper presented at the Union for
African Studies Fifth African Population Conference,
Arusha, Tanzania, 10-14 December 2007.;
26
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
Ntshongwana, P. (2010). Social security provision for
lone mothers in South Africa: Dependency, independ-
ence and dignity (Unpublished doctoral thesis). Univer-
sity of Oxford.
58 Walby, S. (1997). Theorising patriarchy. In H. Bar-
nett (Ed.), Sourcebook on feminist jurisprudence (pp.
124-126). London: Cavendish Publishing.
59 Wiesner-Hanks, M. E. (2011). Gender in history.
Global Perspectives. Second edition. West Sussex: Wi-
ley-Blackwell.
60 Stevenson, J. (2011). “The mamas were ripe”: Ide-
ologies of motherhood and public resistance in a South
African township. Feminist Formations, 23(2), 132-
163.;
See no. 11 (Reynolds, 2016)
61 See no. 43, p. 173.
62 See no. 43, p. 173.
63 See no. 41 (Harries, 1994).
64 See no. 39.
65 Bozzoli, B. (1983). Marxism, feminism and South
African studies. Journal of Southern African Studies,
9(2), 139-171.
66 See no. 48.
67 Meer, F. (1990). Black - woman - worker. Durban:
Madiba Publishers. P. 38.
68 Madhavan, S., Townsend, N.W., & Garey, A I. (2008).
‘Absent breadwinners’: Father-child connections and
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Southern African Studies, 34(3), 647-663.;
See no. 46.
69 See no. 48.;
See no. 46.
70 Manderson, L., & Ellen, B. (2016). Relatedness and
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42(2), 205-217. P. 205.
71 See no. 70, p. 205f.
72 Amoateng, A.Y., & Richter, L.M. (2007). Social and
economic context of families and households in South
Africa. In A.Y. Amoateng, & T.B. Heaton, Families and
households in post-apartheid South Africa: Socio-de-
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Sciences Research Council.
73 See no. 32.;
Morrell, R. (2001). The times of change. Men and mas-
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men in Southern Africa (pp. 3-37). Pietermaritzburg:
University of Natal Press.
74 Appolis, P. (1998). Workers as fathers. Agenda, 37,
78-81.
75 Khunou, G. (2006). Fathers don’t stand a chance.
Experiences of custody, access and maintenance. In L.
Richter & R. Morrell (Eds.), Baba: Men and fatherhood
in South Africa (pp. 265-277). Cape Town: HSRC Press.
76 Lesch, E., & Scheffler, F. (2016). The need for re-
search on father-daughter relationships in South Af-
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Children in South African families. Lives and times. (pp.
200-226). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars
Publishing.
77 Charles, T. (2013). ‘Marriage above all else’: The
push for heterosexual, nuclear families in the making
of South Africa’s White Paper on Families. Institute of
Development Studies Evidence, Report No. 41. Eng-
land: IDSE.;
Lubbe, C. (2007). Mothers, fathers, or parents: Same-
gendered families in South Africa. South African Jour-
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Rothmann, J. (2011). South African gay fathers’ parent-
ing practices: From pathology to ‘normalisation’. Acta
Academica, 43(1), 39-78.
78 Reynolds, P. (1995). “The ground of all making”:
State violence, the family and political activists. Preto-
ria: Human Sciences Research Council. P. 1.
79 Vetten, L., & Ratele, K. (2013). Men and violence.
Agenda, 27(1), 4-11.
80 Jewkes, R., Levin, J., & Penn-Kekana, L. (2002). Risk
factors for domestic violence: Findings from a South
African cross-sectional study. Social Science & Medi-
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81 Boonzaier, F. (2005). Women abuse in South Afri-
ca: A brief contextual analysis. Feminism & Psychology,
15(1), 99-103.
82 Mazibuko, N.C., & Umejesi, I. (2015). Domestic vio-
lence as a ‘class thing’: Perspectives from a South Afri-
can township. Gender & Behaviour, 13(1), 6584-6593.
83 Rasool, S. (2015). The influence of social construc-
tions of family on abused women’s help-seeking after
domestic violence. South African Review of Sociology,
46(4), 24-38.
84 Van den Berg, W., Hendricks, L., Hatcher, A., Pea-
cock, D., Godana, P., & Dworkin, S. (2013). ‘One Man
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85 Connell, R. (2003). The role of men and boys in
achieving gender equality. EGM/Men-Boys-GE/2003/
BP.1, United Nations, Brasilia.
27
“Dad, I wish I could
experience you on
my own”
Sunday past was fathers’ day and this year I missed you
more than ever. I try my best not to miss you too much,
but as I grow older I feel hurt and lost that you were
taken too soon. We were not even two years old when you
decided to leave us and, yes death has never been a choice
but I was hoping you’d find a reason to fight to live for us.
Your death was brutal and cruel; that’s what mom says all
the time; she still cries herself to sleep you know, I don’t
even know grandma properly – maybe it’s because my face
mirrors yours or maybe we’re just another reminder of
your death.
I sometimes wonder if your killers ever feel guilty; if they
ever consider the people that you had to leave. Dad I miss
you, it sounds crazy because I’ve been told you can’t miss
something you’ve never had, right?
Growing up I’ve been taught having yourself is suffice for
anything else, but there are times when I need you, I don’t
even know what I need you for, but I feel lost.
There are times when things are so tough at home,
money’s too little, the smiles are ending and I wonder, if
maybe, just maybe things would be better or maybe they’d
just be worst, I can’t really say because I was never given
the chance to get to know you and, although I’ve been told
about you, I wish I could experience you on my own.
Essay contestant, Western Cape
VOICES OF CHILDREN
28
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
Leading by Example
Grandmother Alice Mdaka and
her son are sharing the unpaid
care work. She supports the 10
people living in her small three-
bedroom house in Khayelitsha.
29
ERIC MILLER
“The real ‘masculinity crisis’ today is not too
many Marlboro Men, but too few fathers”, David
Popenoe1 said 20 years ago about the United
States of America. Can we speak of a similar cri-
sis of fathers and fatherhood in South Africa, and
how useful is it to do so?
A major point in this chapter is that the cri-
sis – if indeed there is a crisis – of fathers and
fatherhood is tied to the socio-economic legacy
of apartheid and, over a longer period of time,
slavery and colonialism. In addition, racially dif-
ferentiated levels of poverty, rates of unemploy-
ment and marriage rates in contemporary society
have an effect on the state of fathers and father-
hood, particularly where a ‘fatherhood crisis’ or
lack thereof is measured by father absence.
These historical and contemporary social
and economic forces have had the effect of
destabilising mainly Black and Coloured mascu-
linities, families, lives, relationships, identities and
communities, sometimes utterly. As we show be-
low, the hangover of these socio-economic his-
tories and developments is very much evident in
the data on households and families today.
The concern about fathers and
fatherhood
The usefulness of casting the state of fathers and
fatherhood in South Africa as in crisis is, how-
ever, debatable, even though the concern about
biological fathers and fatherhood appears to be
warranted. The disquiet is characterised by the
physical absence of men from the households
where their biological children live – which is
to say, consistent co-residency.2 Compared to
An Overview of Fatherhood
in South Africa
Kopano Ratele, Institute for Social and Health Sciences, University of South
Africa & Violence Injury and Peace Research Unit, South African Medical
Research Council & Mzikazi Nduna, School of Human and Community
Development, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
women, many men are not physically present in
the day-to-day lives of their biological children.
Physical absence is often coupled with, but not
always adequately distinguished from, men’s lack
of emotional involvement in their children’s lives.
The inference is that physically absent fathers
are emotionally and psychologically absent from
their children’s lives and do not always take eco-
nomic responsibility for their children.3
The anxiety over the physical absence of bio-
logical fathers from their children’s lives, which
is not always distinguished from lack of involve-
ment, is evident in a number of policy-related
publications. For example, the Green Paper on
Families4, the White Paper on Families5, the “First
Steps to Healing the South African Family” report6
by the South African Institute of Race Relations,
and other research reports have noted the unfa-
vourable impact of father absence and non-in-
volvement in children’s lives. Contrastingly, studies
have observed the positive impact of the presence
and active involvement of a father in a child’s life
with respect to improved academic performance,
healthy sexual socialisation, as well as favourable
social, emotional and cognitive functioning.7
In the Green Paper, father absence is indi-
cated as one of a myriad of societal forces seen
to threaten the ability of the family “to play its
critical roles of socialisation, nurturing, care and
protection effectively”.8 Whilst noting the nega-
tive impact of poverty and unemployment on the
likelihood of biological fathers to be physically
present consistently and to take responsibility for
their children’s lives, the White Paper notes that
absence is “a cause for concern given the sig-
nificant body of evidence showing the positive
CHAPTER 3 OVERVIEW
30
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
effect of the presence and active involvement of
a father in a child’s life chances”.9
The South African Institute of Race Relations
report states that “children growing up without
fathers are more likely to experience emotional
disturbances and depression. Girls who grow up
with their fathers are more likely to have higher
self-esteem, lower levels of risky sexual behaviour,
and fewer difficulties in forming and maintaining
romantic relationships later in life. They have less
likelihood of having an early pregnancy, bearing
children outside marriage, marrying early, or get-
ting divorced. Boys growing up in absent father
households are more likely to display ‘hypermas-
culine’ behaviour, including aggression”.10
The problem with the nuclear
family “norm”
Qualitative research has reported on the yearn-
ing for the presence of a father by children and
young people who do not know their fathers or
consider their fathers to be absent.11
Researchers have also pointed out that while
single motherhood may not necessarily be a choice
by some women, co-residency with biological fa-
thers is not always the sought outcome. However,
for women who are not in a stable, marriage-like
relationship with the biological father of their
child, acknowledgement of pregnancy, consistent
emotional presence and involvement in the child’s
life are a desired state of co-parenting.12
It is critical that single mothers, whether
because of choice or unplanned pregnancy, are
not blamed for unfavourable child outcomes. As
indicated in the previous chapters, this report
should not be read as advocating for the return
to a heteropatriarchal nuclear family in which a
biological father is the head of the family and
lives with his wife and biological children on a
daily basis. Here is why:
The second Living Conditions Survey13 shows
that approximately 22% of households were sin-
gle-member households, which may or may not
have children in them, and among which around
25% were headed by men and 18% were headed
by women. Just under four in every 10 house-
holds were reported to be nuclear or extended
(39% and 36%) households. While statistically
It is critical that
single mothers,
whether because of
choice or unplanned
pregnancy, are
not blamed for
unfavourable child
outcomes
31
the percentage of nuclear family households
headed by males (around 46%, compared to
about 29% female-headed nuclear households)
is slightly more than extended family house-
holds, and significantly more than single parent
households, the nuclear family as a naturally car-
ing unit is a fantasy.
Given the levels of violence against children,
and domestic and intimate partner violence, the
fantasy of the loving nuclear family where the
father plays a caring role ‘equal’ or complemen-
tary to that of the mother is something South
Africa needs to be disabused of. It is possible that
life in nuclear families with a father present can
be as uncaring and violent, or as loving and sup-
portive, as in other forms of family. The nuclear
family should not be seen as a norm to which all
families should aspire since it is simply not feasi-
ble or desirable in all cases.
What is needed is a variety of studies –
cross-sectional, longitudinal, experimental, and
in-depth – on the social, health and educational
consequences of responsive parenting by single
mothers and fathers compared to nuclear, ex-
tended, complex or other types of families with
co-residential fathers – whether they be respon-
sive, harsh or violent fathers. Only then will we
understand under what conditions single parent-
ing is in the best interests of children and when
it is not.
We also do not have research comparing
responsive single mothers to absent but caring
fathers. It is necessary, therefore, to support and
undertake different types of studies on the ef-
fects of different fathers’ absences and presences
and different types of fathers (physically present
and emotionally caring; physically present but
emotionally neglectful; to those who are physi-
cally present but harsh or violent parents; and
those who are physically and emotionally absent)
to inform future policies, programmes and advo-
cacy on fatherhood.
The lack of extensive research notwithstand-
ing, from the perspective of positive parenting,
the absence of a biological father is preferable
to violent present fathering for child outcomes.
The physical absence of fathers
The physical absence of biological fathers from the
household in which their biological children live
is a key concern for policymakers and researchers
of fathers and fatherhood. At the same time it is
vital to underline that a deeply concerning feature
of the lives of South African children is the high
number who do not consistently live in the same
household with either biological parents.
Physical absence is measured by asking
whether or not children consistently co-reside
with their biological parents in the same house-
hold. When physical absence is used as an indica-
tor, a significant number of children are reported
to not co-reside with their biological parents.
In this section, when an indicator refers to “liv-
ing with … only” it means that this is the only
biological parent present in the household. Many
children in South Africa live in extended house-
holds with adults other than their parents and
therefore the “only” should not be read as “the
only other adult person in the household”.
CHAPTER 3 OVERVIEW
Source: Statistics South Africa. (2018). Men, women and children. Findings of the Living Conditions Survey.
Pretoria: Stats SA. P. 9.
Type of household Total (%) Male household head (%) Female household head (%)
Single 22.1 24.7 18.4
Nuclear 39.0 46.3 28.6
Extended 36.0 26.2 49.9
Complex 2.9 2.9 3.0
Total 100 100 100
Fig. 5 Sex of household head, by type of household in South Africa, 2015
32
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
absence and race
The physical absence of fathers differs according
to race. The General Household Survey 201614
data for children 0 – 7 shows that Black children
are the most likely to not live with their biological
parents: around 3,895,000 children, which trans-
lates to about one in every four, did not live with
either of their biological parents. Over 6,780,000
(43%) lived with their mother only. Just under
half a million (3%) lived with their father only;
and approximately three in 10 children in this ra-
cial group (29.5%, or approximately 4,629,000)
lived with both parents.
The most telling point about the lives of
South Africa’s children is the significant number
who live with neither of their parents. While
Black children are the worst affected, even more
staggering is that two in every three Black chil-
dren do not live with their biological fathers. In-
tensive research, research-led policymaking and
evidence-based interventions that address the
separation of children from their parents, and in
particular fathers, are required.
It is critical to underline that it is most likely
a combination of a person’s access to economic
resources (money or well-paid job), social capital
(the social networks and support to which a per-
son has access), as well as cultural norms (which
are influenced by history), and not of one’s ra-
cial identity that best explains the relationship of
physical absence to a racial group.i A fundamental
feature of apartheid, and of colonial rule, was to
methodically link the laws and policies on racial
identification (for example, being categorised
as White) and socio-economic laws and policies
(such as better educational facilities and reserv-
ing well-paying jobs for those classified as White).
The main consequence of these linked laws and
policies has been, on the one hand, to concen-
trate wealth, high levels of education, and low
rates of unemployment among Whites, and, on
the other, poverty, lower levels of education, and
high rates of unemployment among Black people.
As the apartheid era recedes and the economic
fortunes of the people of South Africa diverge away
from apartheid-determined patterns, Blackness (as
well as Colouredness) may come to be decreasingly
equated with poverty, low levels of education, and
unemployment. The emergence of a growing Black
and Coloured middle-class is a key factor in a future
where race is increasingly sundered from economic
class. However, this delinking of race from econo-
mic class depends to a large extent on not only
more just socio-economic laws and policies having
the desired effect, but also the correction of the
structure of the South African economy.
i We are grateful to Robert Morrell for urging us to
underline this point, as well as the one about the ef-
fect of apartheid and colonialism on White fathers.
Mothers
only
7,524,000
Both
parents
6,316,000
Neither
parent
4,613,000
Fathers
only
406,000
Source: Statistics South Africa (2017) General
Household Survey 2016. Pretoria: Stats SA. [Analysis
by Debbie Budlender]
5%
50%
25%
15%
35%
40%
30%
20%
10%
Fig. 6 Children’s co-residence with parents, 2016
10%
100%
50%
30%
Black Coloured White Indian
Both
parents
Neither
parent
Mothers
only
Source: Statistics South Africa (2017) General
Household Survey 2016. Pretoria: Stats SA. [Analysis
by Debbie Budlender]
Fig. 7 Children’s co-residence by race, 2016
70%
80%
60%
40%
20%
Fathers
only
33
CHAPTER 3 OVERVIEW
After Black children, Coloured children are
most likely to not live with their biological par-
ents. (The same point about race and absence ap-
plies here and in all of this section). Half (50%)
of Coloured children (approximately 780,000)
lived with both parents; one in 10 (12%, or about
192,000) lived with neither parent; 35% (approxi-
mately 538,000) lived with their mother only; and
under 3% (around 46,900) lived with their father
only.15 While not as striking as the picture for
Black children, the share of Coloured children who
live without their fathers in the home is cause for
concern and calls for careful consideration.
In contrast to Black and Coloured children,
Indian/Asian and White children are most likely
to live with their biological parents. Of every four
White children, approximately three (76%, or ap-
proximately 748,000) lived with both parents.
Nearly 4% (about 36,000) of White children lived
with neither parent. Around 17% (approximately
169,000) lived with their mother only, and, about
28,500 (3%) lived with their father only.16
Indians/Asians had the highest co-residency.
Four in every five Indian children (or approxi-
mately 289,000) were living with both parents.
Around 7% (an estimated 24,000) lived with nei-
ther parent. About 10% (approximately 37,000)
lived with their mother only, and 1% (which
numbered around 4,000) of Indian/Asian chil-
dren lived with their father only.17
Where children were least likely to live with
their father
Where children were most likely to live with
their father
Fig. 9 Children’s co-residence by province, 2016
absence and income
Income is associated with co-residency. Figure 8
shows that children in the poorest 20% of house-
holds (quintile 1) were least likely and children
in the wealthiest 20% of households (quintile 5)
were most likely to live with both biological par-
ents.ii Of children in the poorest families, 21% had
both parents living with them, compared to 75%
of the children in the richest families.18 It seems
that income and social class are much stronger
determinants of father-child residence than race.
Eg, 68% of Black children in the wealthiest quin-
tile co-reside with their biological fathers. How-
ever, for both groups of children the percentage of
children co-residing with both parents has gone
down since 2002, when around 26% of children in
the poorest households and 81% of the children in
the wealthiest households lived with both biologi-
cal parents.19 In 2016, approximately half of the
children in the poorest 40% of households (about
1.5 million) lived with neither parent and 43% (2.1
million) lived with their mother only.20
Children living with neither parent are most
likely to live with their grandmother. In 2016, be-
tween 6% (123,000) of children in the wealthiest
40% of households (quintiles 4 and 5) lived with
neither parent while one in five (16%, or 308,000)
Source: Statistics South Africa (2017) General
Household Survey 2016. Pretoria: Stats SA. [Analysis
by Debbie Budlender]
ii A quintile is a statistical value of a dataset that repre-
sents 20% of a population group. Quintile 1 represents
the poorest households and quintile 5 the richest.
Fig. 8 Children’s co-residence by income, 2016
Source: Statistics South Africa (2017) General
Household Survey 2016. Pretoria: Stats SA. [Analysis
by Debbie Budlender]
Poorest
20% Quintile
2
75%
51%
21% 23%
43% 55%
16%
43% 35% 29%
Wealthiest
20%
Quintile
3Quintile
4
20%
60%
20%
40%
60%
80%
40%
0%
0%
Both parents
Mothers only
34
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
lived with their mother only. The percentage of
children who lived with their biological father only
for all income groups was under 5%.21 When look-
ing at the association of income to parental ab-
sence it is interesting that, while the overall share
of children who live with both parents has declined,
there was an increase in the percentage of children
living with both parents for quintiles 3 and 4 (mid-
point and second wealthiest households).
absence and age
In 2016, around 3% (or approximately 556,000)
of South Africa’s children lived with their biologi-
cal fathers only; more than 41% (approximately
7,524,000) lived with their biological mothers
only; 34% (6,316,000) lived with both their bio-
logical parents; and almost one in five (22%, or
4,148,000) lived with neither biological parents.22
Given the importance of father involve-
ment in the earliest period of children’s lives –
the first 1,000 days – the absence of fathers in
the lives of infants is troubling. Statistics South
Africa23 provides figures for younger children
(ages 0 – 4) which show that, in 2016, two
in every 100 children of this age group lived with
their biological fathers only; 48% lived with their
biological mother only; more than 37% lived
with both their biological parents; and 13% lived
with neither biological parent. 24
The next chapter discusses the significance of
the first 1,000 days of children’s lives and the cru-
cial role that father care plays during this period.
absence across provinces
In 2016, the three provinces where children were
least likely to live with their fathers in the house-
hold were Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Lim-
popo; while the two provinces where children were
most likely to live with both parents were Western
Cape and Gauteng. The number of children who
lived with their father only did not exceed 4%
in any province. The differences in children who
lived without both parents between more ruraliii
and economically deprived provinces on the one
hand, and the two most economically developed
and urban provinces on the other, suggest that
migration of parents (or in some cases children)
from rural to urban areas could be contributing
to the separation of parents from their children.
iii KwaZulu-Natal is regarded as having more of a bal-
ance between urban and rural households within the
same province than Limpopo and Eastern Cape.
A need to understand the context
of absence
The concern with absent biological fathers has
been viewed in relation to the disturbingly high
number of children in South Africa who do not
co-reside with their biological parents. Both
these facts have been placed in the context of
high unemployment and poverty25 as well as
elevated mortality rates.
While the impact of poverty is apparent
from the data on co-residency, surveys among
men who are biological fathers are needed to
fully understand the inhibitive effect of unem-
ployment and poverty on father presence. In-
depth qualitative studies to understand men’s
narratives of absence and presence are also re-
quired. The HIV and AIDS epidemic26 has also had
an impact on the mortality of fathers. However,
the extent of the absence of fathers due to AIDS-
related death needs further investigation.
Different social and other forces that have
affected ideas about masculinity and men’s re-
lations with women, other men and other gen-
ders (such as trans, genderqueer, and non-binary
persons) also play a role in prevailing discourses
on fathers and fatherhood. These include social
and legislative changes (the rate of divorce, for
example, and laws such as the Customary Mar-
riages Act and Civil Union Act), and cultural (in
particular lobola and inhlawulo) and economic
developments – poverty and unemployment be-
ing the most pressing.
As pointed out in the introduction, the most
significant social force to which the contempo-
rary state of father and fatherhood, especially
among Black and Coloured men, has to be con-
nected in our understanding and work is the
brutal political and economic history that has
shaped men and masculinity.27 The forced dis-
placement of Black, Coloured, Indian and Asian
communities, and the linked impact of the as-
sault on the masculinity of the men in these
communities by White racist and patriarchal
economic structures, affected in diverse ways the
families, childhood, motherhood, and fatherhood
35
LEONIE HUMAN
School of Human
and Community
Development,
University of the
Witwatersrand
CHAPTER 3 CASE
NON-RESIDENTIAL FATHERS’
CUSTODY ARRANGEMENTS AND
FATHER–CHILD CONTACT
Once parents of a child have separated as a couple, fathers without
custody over the children usually do not reside with the children.28 As
non-residential fathers do not have daily contact with their children, they
have to negotiate with the mother to gain access to their children.
In light of the extensive absence of fathers in the lives of South
African children (as discussed on the previous pages), it is important to
explore the ways in which non-residential fathers engage in childcare.29
In illustration of non-residential fathers’ engagement in childcare,
examples are drawn from a current qualitative study30 exploring men’s
involvement in children’s lives after their relationship with the mother
of the child has ended.
Fathers were recruited to participate in the study through com-
munity-based counselling facilities, social welfare organisations and
participant referral. This study involved 10 heterosexual non-residential
fathers aged between 28 and 54 years – six Black fathers, one Coloured
father, one Indian father and two White fathers – all living in Johannes-
burg. Seven fathers live in urban informal settlements, typically charac-
terised by high levels of unemployment, poverty, social instability and
poor access to educational and public health facilities.31
They have varied levels of education, ranging from grade 4 to tertiary
qualifications. Four fathers earn a monthly salary and six are unem-
ployed and rely on intermittent income. All have been separated from
the mothers of their children for between two to 11 years, and three
fathers have re-partnered, whilst seven have remained single. One of
these fathers lives with a child from another relationship while the rest
have no other children. These fathers’ accounts highlight their need for
paternal involvement in children’s lives.
Non-custodial fathers are not disinterested fathers
In spite of their non-residential status, some non-custodial fathers in
South Africa are reported to desire active involvement in the daily care
of their children.32 The fathers in this study avidly express their desire
for paternal engagement, too: “I enjoy each and every moment that I
am with him” and “I have to be there, no matter what”.
A limited focus on financial provider role
Normative gender stereotypes are closely related to expectations that
men provide financially for their offspring. The ability of South Africa’s
fathers to provide for their children, however, is related to complex so-
cio-economic and political contexts.33 A focus on the role of the father
as financial provider limits acknowledgement of other ways in which
they meet the physical as well as emotional needs of their children,
35
36
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
particularly poor and unemployed fathers.34 This discourse predominantly affects Black fathers’
ability to provide as most of them often rely on irregular sources of income.
In the current study, six Black fathers and one Coloured father speak of their ability to provide
in the context of the socio-economic realities of poverty and intermittent employment. As a self-
employed carpenter, one father talks of being unable to consistently provide for his child: “At
times you would sit for six months without getting any job. It becomes hard. Although I don’t
work full time, at least [when] I get some money, I buy him some things.”
In many cases, fathers’ inability to provide financial support towards childcare contributes to
parental conflict and maternal perceptions of non-residential fathers as lacking commitment
to the welfare of their children. Defaulting on child maintenance has been found to result in
mothers preventing father–child contact.35 One of five such fathers explains: “I cannot pay the
money, so the mother will not let me see him.” Another father’s account reflects how conversely
maintenance represents transactional power in negotiating control of paternal presence: “I could
not see him so I stopped paying for a couple of years. I then started paying again and was
allowed to see him.”
Not all fathers are unable to meet the financial needs of their children: two fathers speak of
contributing to school fees but are unwilling to pay maintenance despite their ability to do so.
The importance of other forms of paternal care
Research on fatherhood in South Africa highlights problematic father presence that is often
associated with disciplinary roles and violent behaviour.36 The importance of nurturing paternal
care beyond financial maintenance, therefore, has become increasingly visible and valued.37 As
was illustrated in other studies38 these fathers describe their roles to their children as advisors: “I
want to guide him”; as protectors: “I am protecting her”; and also as disciplinary authority and
non-violent role models.
Young fathers are reported to challenge ideas of fatherhood as disengaged provision by
sharing in household chores and participating in the daily care of children.39 This was echoed by
a 28-year-old father who works as a freelance artist: “When he is with me I take care of him, I
wash him, I feed him, you know, that is what a parent does.” This illustrates that the nurturance
of children is not confined to the domains of motherhood alone40 and so challenges normative
stereotypes of parenting and fatherhood.
Non-resident father involvement is often linked to kin support to engage with the child.41 A
non-residential father living in the informal settlement of Kwa-Thema in eastern Johannesburg
explains: “Her family they understand the situation. They will call me and I’ll go. That’s what I
do.”
One father has secured regular contact with the child through a court order. Others rely on
school teachers to stay informed and involved in the educational development of their children.
They report that they value the mother’s provision of school reports and their, the fathers’,
inclusion in sport-related extracurricular activities. Cooperative co-parenting is strongly associ-
ated with the engaged presence of non-residential fathers in their children’s lives, and positive
developmental outcomes for children.42
Supporting non-residential fathers benefits the child
Non-residential fathers’ way of adapting to living without their children is important for their
involvement in childcare. Depression associated with exclusion from childcare highlights the
need to support fathers in active and positive involvement in the lives of their children. 43
In this study, fathers speak of not living with their children as undesirable and emotionally
distressing: “It pains me when every time I think of him. Some of us are absent. Not by choice.
Whether you are present, or you are absent, the fact remains you are a father.”
36
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
37
of the same communities. The forced migration
of Black men under past economic and labour
policies of oppressive governments meant that
Black men had to leave their home to work in
the mines and towns and cities under economic
colonialism and apartheid.
A consequence of these social and economic
forces has been the almost irreparable weaken-
ing and often total breakdown of Coloured and
Black families and communities as well as men’s
identities and relationship to women and chil-
dren. The legacy of these socio-economic histo-
ries is still evident in the data on households and
families today. Policy instruments on fatherhood
should take these into account. Advocacy for
fathers should consider these historical socio-
economic forces in the messaging on fatherhood.
It is necessary to note that White and Indian/
Asian families and men’s journey into fatherhood
may also have been affected by apartheid and
colonialism. The legacy of apartheid and coloni-
alism has affected all men, women and children.
It may be a mistake to consider history as having
been only positive for White men and families.
But the picture of fathers and fatherhood prac-
tices is at present not very clear and we do not
have a firm grasp of the effects of history and
contemporary socio-economic systems on father
involvement and caregiving among White males
who have been privileged by colonialism and
apartheid. The deleterious effect, such as child
abuse and violence against women on White
people, as a result of these authoritarian and de-
humanising historical systems on White families
and fathers is worthy of in-depth investigation.
One example is the entrenchment of corporal
punishment – which was connected to Christian
national education and its precursors – in White
families.
We understand even less about the causes
and dynamics of why Indian/Asian males have
such high levels of co-residency with their bio-
logical children, as well as whether and how
Indian/Asian co-residency is associated to in-
creased caregiving. The way Indian/Asian males
as fathers differ from White, Black and Coloured
fathers, and the ways in which caregiving across
the groups is understood and performed must be
an informative line for research.
Teenage, unplanned, unwanted
and out-of-wedlock pregnancy
The age at which individuals become parents is
important in considering the state of fatherhood.
Research suggests that teenage, unplanned, un-
wanted or out-of-wedlock pregnancy has some
impact on paternal preparedness, responsibil-
ity and involvement. Teenage, unplanned or
unwanted pregnancy is associated with several
other variables, including the need for support
from extended family and the lack of financial
support of the child by the father.
A number of reports give information about
teenage pregnancy, taken as one category of
early, unplanned, unwanted or out-of-wedlock
pregnancy.44 The General Household Survey
201645 indicates that just over 5% of females
aged 14 to 19 years were pregnant during the
12 months before the survey and the prevalence
of pregnancies increased with age, rising from
under 1% for females aged 14 years to just over
10% for 19-year-old females.
Pregnancy at schools, which mainly occurs
among teenagers (although small numbers of
pre-teen pregnancies are also seen in the data),
is a type of early or unplanned pregnancies that
has received relatively more empirical atten-
tion. In 2015, 3.3% of schoolgirls (or 85,349 in
absolute numbers) aged 14 years and older re-
ported being pregnant.46 This is a reduction in the
number of reported pregnancies among school-
girls from 2010 (3.6%, or 92,199).
The Basic Education Department has ob-
served that pregnancy among learners is a barri-
er for girls to attending educational institutions.
It notes that information on pregnancy among
schoolgirls helps in developing interventions
and strategies to address pregnancy in schools,
as well as knowing the prevalence of pregnancy
in the schooling system. However the effects of
schoolgirl pregnancy have repercussions for chil-
dren of these young mothers as such pregnancy
is more likely unplanned or unwanted. Biological
fathers are more likely not to live in the house-
hold of their children in cases of unplanned
pregnancies.
Whilst the government policy encourages
students who fall pregnant to continue with edu-
CHAPTER 3 OVERVIEW
38
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
cation, it is the pregnant schoolgirl who tends to
be stigmatised. As data on the partners of the
learners or fathers of the children born to school-
girls are not always available, men may be out-of-
school peers or older males. Schoolgirl pregnancy
could therefore be the result of statutory rape or
coerced sex where older men are involved. Where
the father is a schoolboy older than 16 and the
sex was consensual with a girl not younger than
14 or older than 18, the boy is seemingly allowed
to continue with his schooling as usual.
Lack of attention on schoolboy fathers and
fathers of children of schoolgirls, coupled with
stigmatisation of schoolgirl pregnancy, inhibits
our understanding of early fatherhood. Whilst
some schoolboys want to and do take respon-
sibility for the pregnancy, and child once born,
much needs to be done to encourage young men
so that they consistently take responsibility for
their sexuality and offspring.
Since many young fathers tend to be unem-
ployed, they may not be able to provide for their
children and thus hindered from being involved
in their children’s lives (illustrated in the case on
non-residential fathers and father–child contact
on page 35). Such young fathers need their own
parents to support them and to be involved in
their children’s lives; they need parenting-related
support, skills, knowledge and education.47 Re-
search and interventions that focus on under-
standing schoolboy fathers and fathers of chil-
dren of schoolgirls are needed. An encouraging
example is the Mmoho campaigniv that speaks to
adolescent girls and boys about sexual and re-
productive health and rights, including teenage
pregnancy.
Although there is a worry about teenage
pregnancies, it is striking that the average age
at which males are reported to become fathers is
well beyond the teenage years, at approximately
28 years of age.48 In contrast, the average transi-
tion to motherhood is at a younger age at ap-
proximately 21 years. For both men and women,
the age of transition to parenthood has been
fairly stable since the 1970s. It is also worth add-
ing that analyses of longitudinal data indicate
that teen child-bearing has shown a downward
trend in the past decades.49
Inhlawulo
Fatherhood can involve complex negotiations of
acknowledgement and access. Cultural processes,
ideas and rules are sometimes the main bridge
to be crossed by fathers and the paternal fam-
ily to gain access to their biological offspring.
Inhlawulo (Nguni) (or hlahollo in Sesotho) is a
cultural process through which many Black com-
munities have regulated and mediated a father’s
involvement in a child’s live50. Inhlawulo, usually
offered in the form of cattle or money, is ten-
dered by the father to the girl’s or woman’s fam-
ily for impregnating her outside of marriage.
Inhlawulo is essentially about acknowledg-
ing paternity as much as granting permission to
a man to be involved in his child’s life. Inhlawulo
can be a barrier to men’s involvement in their chil-
dren’s lives, but it has been observed that some
maternal families may allow a father full access
even when inhlawulo has not been made.51
Maintenance
As the case on the opposite page illustrates,
maintenance is a key legal mechanism in pa-
ternity and a major influence on father involve-
ment. Alongside – and sometimes contradicting
cultural process – the maintenance system is also
an important consideration in negotiation of pa-
rental access. Whilst the maintenance law is gen-
der neutral, the lived reality is of children who
don’t live with their biological fathers, and thus
most alimony defaulters are fathers. Although
intended to facilitate support by biological fa-
thers, the maintenance system is divorced from
the broader imperatives embedded in the cul-
tural process of inhlawulo which were meant to
facilitate recognition, belonging, access and cus-
tody in the broader context of both the maternal
and paternal families and their shared provision.
iv Mmoho is a teen pregnancy prevention campaign
that was developed to change the national discourse
on unintended teen pregnancy and advocate for
comprehensive and accessible sexual and reproductive
health and rights services and information for teens
and adolescents. The campaign was developed by the
National Teenage Pregnancy Partnership (a coalition
of experts from the government, civil society and
academic sectors) to share strategies to catalyse new
approaches to understand and address unintended
teen pregnancy better. (See www.mmoho.co.za.)
39
FATHERS AND CHILD
MAINTENANCE IN SOUTH AFRICA
Child support and provision are significant in how fathers think about
their involvement in children’s lives.52 This continues to be so in con-
temporary South Africa even though men, including fathers, are experi-
encing increasing unemployment. At the same time, a public discourse
of encouraging more care-related forms of fatherhood is emerging.
The state, through the Child Support Grant, provides economic re-
lief for children affected by poverty and unemployment generally (see
the case study on fathers accessing this grant, on page 57). This social
security provision is assumed, however, in a context where the econom-
ic provision by fathers is not only encouraged but also used to sustain
the economic definition of fatherhood – and so maintains the notion
of a financial provider masculinity.53 The responsibility to provide child
support is upheld through the maintenance system, which is operation-
alised through the Maintenance Act.54
Maintenance cases are heard in magistrates’ courts. The judicial
maintenance system is based on the legal duty to provide for one’s
dependents and it rightfully intends to hold parents accountable. The
system, however, fails to provide sufficiently for the rights of some
fathers as its processes are disconnected from questions of access and
custody that play an important role in facilitating father involvement.
Uncritical conceptions of fatherhood
The first contestation of the maintenance system results from how
fathers are stereotyped, and homogenised. The maintenance system
is implemented in ways that reinforce the stereotype of fathers as
financial providers only55 and this conception centres on traditional
patriarchal and capitalistic models of fatherhood which have
monetised provision. What this narrow definition excludes is the fact
that fatherhood is dynamic and multilayered in terms of race, class,
ethnicity, and culture.
The gap between fathers’ responsibilities and their rights artificially
separates financial provision from other important involvement
aspects of fatherhood – and thus creates an unintended consequence
where defaulting fathers who are able to support children in other ways
are easily excluded from their children’s lives. Such fathers are usually
poor, unemployed and cannot afford to pay maintenance.56
The Maintenance Act does not provide for socio-emotional
maintenance as it is silent on involvement; yet monetary provision
prioritised over emotional and psychosocial support, engagement and
availability limits how we think about fathers and their role in their
children’s lives. Although monetary provision is important, it needs to
be complemented with other ways of being a father.
The limited conception of fatherhood in terms of financial
provision undermines men’s involvement in families, both practically
GRACE KHUNOU
Department of
Sociology, University
of Johannesburg
CHAPTER 3 CASE
39
40
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
and psychologically.57 Poor men may try to avoid criticism by distancing
themselves from their children.58 On the other hand, the Maintenance
Act also does not consider the power of the extended family in terms
of support, either during a period when the biological father may
not be able to provide financially for his child(ren) or when he has
absconded from the responsibility. In this case, usually other family
members, including paternal and maternal uncles (see the case study
on bomalome, on page 19), step in to give the needed support so that
the children can grow up in a healthy environment.
Maintenance defaulting
The contestation that arises due to limited conceptions of fatherhood
in the maintenance system is illustrated in the growing challenge of
defaulting. The 2011 Census indicates that 90% of people who default
are fathers.59 Defaulting is deliberate in many cases. This is a challenge
given the patriarchal privilege that men accrue in terms of access to
better pay; opportunities in consistent, secure and mostly better paying
work; and more possibilities for promotion. Deliberate defaulting has
negative consequences for women and children60 and sustains gender
inequality.
Fathers who default are often portrayed as uninterested or dead-
beat in an attempt to shame them into paying maintenance.61 How-
ever, whilst some fathers who are able to support their children do
not want to do so, not all fathers default because they do not want
to – many unemployed, poor fathers are unable to provide financial
support to their children and families. The point raised here is that a
high rate of defaulting illustrates misalignment between how fathers
define themselves and how the state defines them.62 In such cases, fa-
thers default in an attempt to challenge the system; however, default-
ing means that mothers are forced to frequent the courts many times,
which affects their use of time for other responsibilities. Defaulting
also has a negative consequence for children who need financial
resources.
Another challenge with high rates of defaulting is that the state
attempts to resolve the non-payment of maintenance in punitive ways.
Before the Maintenance Act amendment in 201563, the measures used
to deal with defaulting fathers failed largely due to administrative issues
such as delays in capturing maintenance forms, and lost maintenance
application forms at magistrates’ courts. These administrative failures
had resulted in men who can afford to pay maintenance escaping this
responsibility. The administrative challenges in the system reflect the
state’s failure to fully protect the welfare of children.
The amended Act now provides that maintenance defaulters will
be blacklisted and not afforded financial credit until they have
settled money owed for maintenance. Although this amendment
might work in forcing deliberately defaulting fathers to pay, research
shows that such policing is punitive and shaming and contributes to
animosity between fathers, their partners or ex-partners, extended family
(borakgadi – paternal or maternal aunts [Sepedi]; borrangwane –
40
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
41
paternal uncles [Setswana] and bogogo – grandfathers [Swati]) and chil-
dren, and may lead to low father involvement.64
A disconnection between rights and responsibilities
Issues of custody and access are not accommodated in the provisions
of maintenance, which results in little attention being paid to other
forms of father involvement in the lives of children. Provision and care,
therefore, are disconnected and unlinked. Administrative processes for
child maintenance, access and custody for unmarried and poor fathers
are limited by this disconnection. Analyses of court cases for custody
and access illustrate that most fathers who use court processes to access
their rights as fathers are fathers who are able to pay maintenance.65
One father who had gone through this process argued that, “although
changes to the [amended Children’s] Act [of 2007] have made it easier
to be recognized as a father and have rights, in practice it is still a time-
consuming, emotional and financially draining experience”.66 Cases for
fathers’ rights to access and custody are not open for discussion in the
maintenance courts; they are usually heard mainly in the high courts,
which is expensive. The administrative separation between maintenance
and the rights of fathers to access and custody violently disconnects
the identity that they get from providing as men and fathers. These
disconnections lead to further contestation of the maintenance system
and to the gendering of parenting.
Conclusion
What is problematic in the implementation of the Maintenance Act
– other than its failure to facilitate amicable parenting processes – is
the effect of the state’s gendered discourse that assumes that men are
unable to take on the caring role and thus ascribes it solely to women.
This stance undermines gender equality and fails to acknowledge the
caring roles of men, the interdependence in parenting and the links
between maintenance, access and custody.
What is also clearly missing in discourse in the maintenance system
is what is clearly visible in research findings: that many men want to
father in more ways than allowed for by the current focus on financial
provision; and they still desire to provide – even in situations where
they cannot afford to do so financially.
CHAPTER 3 CASE
41
42
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
In the context of inhlawulo, the challenge
with the maintenance system is not that provision
is not an important aspect of fatherhood among
some cultural groups. The problem is that the
maintenance system limits fatherhood to pro-
vision only when research clearly indicates that
recognition, acknowledged biological fatherhood
and paternal involvement are as important67
Counting fathers
An unfortunate omission in national surveys on
reproductive health, children, families and the
general population is the relative lack of data
on fathers. Some surveys and reports provide a
useful picture in including some characteristics
of fathers.68 However, most lack data on fathers.
An explanation of this missing data could be that
the fathers were unavailable during the survey
or information on the fathers was not available.
It is necessary for government departments
and other parastatal agencies such as Statistics
South Africa to routinely include questions about
men and fathers with a view to informing labour,
education, child, and family related policies,
socio-economic programmes, and services.
Responsive policymaking on fathers and
fatherhood
The narrative of father absence and non-involve-
ment needs to be treated with care. The physi-
cal absence of biological fathers from the lives
of their children is less concerning than their
emotional, psychological and cultural availabil-
ity, as well as the economic responsibility they
are required to bear. Distinguishing between bio-
logical, social and economic views of fatherhood
is necessary. Instead of a dominant narrative of
fatherhood as limited to biology, it is imperative
in reflecting on father non-involvement and the
need to bolster nurturing fatherhood to incul-
cate the message that fatherhood is a social
practice.
A positively involved father is someone who
thinks about, cares and does the work of parent-
ing as they go along with their everyday lives,
whether they are physically present in the same
household as their children or live away from
them. Where biological fathers are not in the
picture, the social practice of fatherhood is often
by other men in children’s lives, including boma-
lome and borrangwane (maternal and paternal
uncles), grandparents, older brothers, and friends
of the mothers, teachers, stepfathers, and other
kinds of fathers and father figures. This reality
needs emphatic acknowledgment.
The concern about fathers and fatherhood
is seemingly because of the lack of consistent,
positive presence and involvement of men in
their biological children’s lives. Father absence
is best not taken as physical absence of biologi-
cal fathers from the same household in which
their children live, but more crucially the lack
of consistent affective, psychological and fi-
nancial involvement with their children. At the
same time, the impact of poverty as the major
challenge to the financial involvement of some
men in the lives of their children should not be
ignored.
A study69 found that men were positively
involved with their families in a wide range of
often unacknowledged ways by men themselves
and others. The research shows that there is a
“significant difference between how men’s ac-
tivities are talked about and what some men
were observed to be doing for their own or
other households. … The prevailing social norms
did not anticipate men engaging in activities
such as caring for children, domestic chores
or emotional support and thus, although men
were clearly observed performing these roles,
both men and women tended to either neglect
reporting these observations or to dismiss them
as aberrant”.70 It is vital therefore not to overlook
or minimise the positive involvement of men in
children’s lives where this is evident, as high-
lighting such involvement contributes positively
toward shaping discourses of men as fathers and
fatherhood.
Survey data show that the number and pro-
portion of children who co-resided with their
biological fathers between 2002 and 2015 have
gone down71, although not significantly. How-
ever, it is not only the physical absence of men in
the lives of their biological children that should
be of concern. Instead, it is positive, meaningful
presence of men in their children’s lives that we
should care about.
South Africa needs good research, evidence-
43
12
based policymaking, and informed interventions
to understand what living arrangements, in-
cluding father absence and father involvement,
mean across income, race, province, and age.
There is a need for more targeted surveys, ex-
perimental research, and randomised control-
led trials among fathers, mothers and children.
Comprehensive targeted surveys can help in
understanding what contributes to the observed
differences in the presence of Indian/Asian,
Black, Coloured and White fathers in the same
household as their biological children. There is
also a need for a firmer grasp of the ways in
which caregiving is performed across the differ-
ent families and groups of fathers according to
race and economic class.
The question of what type of caregiving is
most likely to lead to positive child, mother and
father-related outcomes needs controlled trials.
There is also a need for varied studies that me-
thodically compare outcomes for children in dif-
ferent households. For instance, there is a need
for examining differences between households
where the biological father is physically absent,
psychologically uninvolved, and does not provide
for the children with households where the bio-
logical father is physically absent, psychological-
ly uninvolved, but does provide for his children.
There is a need for studies comparing the former
with households where the biological father is
physically absent, psychologically involved yet
takes economic responsibility for his children.
And there is a need for research on children
where the biological father co-resides, takes eco-
nomic responsibility, but is punitive, harsh or vio-
lent towards the mother or children compared to
children where the biological father co-resides,
takes economic responsibility, and gives care in
various ways.
A need also exists for life histories, in-depth
interviews, phenomenological, narrative and
discourse analytic studies into father absence
and presence. In addition to economic, health
and social welfare associated interventions, a
powerful form of intervention that needs to
animate responsive policymaking is cultural and
creative work, such as online resources, televi-
sion programmes, films, novels and plays, for
example.
Socio-economic
forces caused the
almost irreparable
weakening and often
total breakdown of
Coloured and Black
families, and of
men’s identities and
relationship to women
and children
CHAPTER 3 OVERVIEW
44
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018 CHAPTER 3
Nduna, M. (2014). Factors that hinder the disclosure
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13 Statistics South Africa. (2018). Men, women and
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14 Statistics South Africa. (2017). General Household
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15 See no. 14.
16 See no. 14.
17 See no. 14.
18 See no. 14.
19 Hall, K. (2017). Demography: Children living with
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21 See no. 14.
22 See no. 14.
23 See no. 14.
24 See no. 14.
25 Statistics South Africa. (2018). Quarterly Labour
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27 See no. 3.
28 Scheepers, C. (2011). The general responsibilities
and rights of an unmarried father in terms of the
Children’s Act 38 of 2005. Mahikeng: University of the
North West.
29 Mazembo, E.M., de-Boor Thomson, H., & Mahaka,
K. (2014). “So we are ATM fathers”: A study of fathers
in Johannesburg. Johannesburg: Centre for Social
Development, University of Johannesburg & Sonke
Gender Justice.
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12 Manyatshe, L. (2016). “Where are we going to
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30 Human, L. (forthcoming). South African fathers’
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31 Amoateng, A.Y., Heaton, T.B., & Kalule-Sabiti, I.
(2007). Living arrangements in South Africa. In A.Y.
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32 Enderstein, A.M., & Boonzaier, F. (2015). Narratives
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33 Clowes, L., Ratele, K., & Shefer, T. (2013). Who
needs a father? South African men reflect on being
fathered. Journal of Gender Studies, 22(3), 255-267.;
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hood in South Africa (pp. 183-193). Cape Town: HSRC
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Madhavan, S., Richter, L., & Norris, S. (2016). Father
contact following union dissolution for low-income
children in urban South Africa. Journal of Family
Issues, 2014:1-23.
34 See no. 29.
35 G’sell, B. (2016). The “maintenance” of family: Me-
diating relationships in the South African maintenance
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36 Morrel, R., Jewkes, R., & Lindegger, G. (2012). He-
gemonic masculinity/masculinities in South Africa:
Culture, power, and gender politics. Men and Mascu-
linities,15(1):11-30.;
Padi, T., Nduna, M., Khunou, G., & Kholophane, P.
(2014). Defining absent, unknown and undisclosed
fathers in South Africa. South African Review of
Sociology, 45(5), 44-59.
37 Gibbs. A., Crankshaw, T., Lewinsohn, R., Chirawu, O.,
& Willan S. (2017). ‘I play with the baby so that people
can see that I’m a man’: Young fathers’ involvement
in the first 1 000 days of a child’s life in South Africa.
South African Review of Sociology, 48(1), 67-84.;
Swartz, S., Bhana, A., Richter, L., & Versfeld, A. (2013).
Promoting young fathers’ positive involvement in their
children’s lives. Cape Town: Human Sciences Research
Council.
38 See no. 32 (Chideya, & Williams, 2013).;
Langa, M. (2017). Boys to men: Narrating life stories of
fatherhood and work life amongst young black men.
PINS, 2017(55), 61-83.
39 Swartz, S., & Bhana, A. (2009). Teenage tata: Voices
of young fathers in South Africa. Cape Town: HSRC Press.;
Van den Berg, W., Hendricks, L., Hatcher, A., Peacock, D.,
Godana, P., & Dworkin, S. (2013). ‘One Man Can’: Shifts
in fatherhood beliefs and parenting practices following
a gender transformative programme in Eastern Cape,
South Africa. Gender and Development, 21(1),111-125.
40 Kedde, H., Rehnse, K., GNobre, G., van den Berg,
W. (2018). MenCare+ in South Africa: Findings from a
gender transformative young men’s group education
on sexual and reproductive health and rights. Sex Edu-
cation, 18(2), 206-218.
41 Clark, S., Cotton, C., Marteleto, L.J. (2015). Family ties
and young fathers’ engagement in Cape Town, South
Africa. Journal of Marriage and Family, 77(2), 575-589.;
Madhavan, S., & Roy, K. (2012). Securing fatherhood
through kin work: A comparison of black low-income
fathers and families in South Africa and the United
States. Journal of Family Issues, 33(6). 801-822.;
Makusha, T., & Richter, L. (2016.) Gatekeeping and its
impact on father-involvement among Black South Af-
ricans in rural KwaZulu-Natal. Culture, Health & Sexu-
ality, 18(3), 308-320.
42 De Jong, M. (2010). A pragmatic look at mediation
as an alternative to divorce litigation. TSAR, 235-275.;
Lachman, J.M., Sherr, L.T., Cluver, L., Ward, C.L., Hutch-
ings, J., & Gardner, F. (2016). Integrating evidence and
context to develop a parenting programme for low-
income families in South Africa. Journal of Child and
Family Studies, 25(7):2337-2352.
43 Viljoen, M., & van Rensburg, E. (2014). Exploring
the lived experiences of psychologists working with
parental alienation syndrome. Journal of Divorce and
Remarriage, 55(4), 253-275.;
Gould, C., & Ward, C.L. (2015). Positive parenting in
South Africa. Pretoria: Institute for Security Studies.
44 E.g., Statistics South Africa. (2017). General
Household Survey: Statistical Release P03182016. Pre-
toria: Stats SA.;
Statistics South Africa. (2018). Grandparenthood in the
context of ageing in South Africa. Pretoria: Stats SA.;
Department of Basic Education. (undated). General
Household Survey: A focus on schooling. Pretoria:
DOBE.
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46
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45 See no. 44 (Statistics South Africa, 2017).
46 See no. 44 (Department of Basic Education, un-
dated).
47 Chili, S., & Maharaj, P. (2017). “I was not planning
to have a child at such a young age”: Experiences of
young fathers in Durban, South Africa. In Mkhwanazi,
N. & Bhana, D. (Eds.), Young families: Gender, sexuality
and care (pp. 119-130). Cape Town: HSRC Press.;
See no. 39 (Swartz & Bhana, 2009).
48 See no. 44 (Statistics South Africa, 2018).
49 Ardington, C., Branson, N., Lam, D., Leibbrandt, M.,
Marteleto, L., Menendez, A., Mutevedzi, T,. & Ranchhod,
V. (2012) Revisiting the ‘crisis’ in teen births: What is
the impact of teen births on young mothers and their
children? A Southern African Labour and Development
Research Unit policy brief: Cape Town: University of
Cape Town.
50 Nkani, N. (2017). Rethinking and mediating fa-
thers’ involvement in families: The negotiation of
inhlawulo. In N. Mkhwanazi & D. Bhana (Eds.), Young
families: Gender, sexuality and care (pp. 109-118).
Cape Town: HSRC Press.;
Mvune, N. (2017). “Ubaba ukhona kodwa angikabi
namandla”: Navigating teenage fatherhood in rural
Kwauzul-Natal. In N. Mkhwanazi, & D. Bhana, D. (Eds.),
Young families: Gender, sexuality and care (pp. 131-
143). Cape Town: HSRC Press.
51 See no. 50 (Mvune, 2017).
52 Gwagwa, N.N. (1998). Money as a source of ten-
sion: An analysis of low income households in Durban.
In M. Mapetla, A. Larsson & A. Schlyter. (Eds.), Changing
gender relations in southern Africa: Issues of urban
life. Lesotho: Institute of Southern African Studies.;
Khunou, G. (2006). Fathers don’t stand a chance: Ex-
periences of custody, access and maintenance. In L.
Richter & R. Morrell (Eds.), Baba: Men and fatherhood
in South Africa. Cape Town: HSRC Press.;
Chauke, P., & Khunou, G. (2015). Child support and
fatherhood in the South African media. Open Family
Studies Journal, 6(12), 18-23.
53 Morrell, R. (2006). Fathers, fatherhood and mas-
culinities in South Africa. in L. Richter & R. Morrell
(Eds.), Baba: Men and fatherhood in South Africa (pp.
13-25). Cape Town: HSRC Press.
54 Maintenance Act, 1998 [Act No. 99 of 1998]
amended by the Maintenance Amendment Act, 2015
[Act No. 9 of 2015].
55 Khunou, G. (2006). Maintenance and changing
masculinities as sources of gender conflict in contem-
porary Johannesburg (Unpublished doctoral disserta-
tion). University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
56 Ramphele, M. (2000). “Teach me how to be a man:
An exploration of the definition of masculinity.”, In V.
Das, A. Kleinman, M. Ramphele & P. Reynolds, P. (Eds.),
Violence and subjectivity (pp. 102-119). Berkeley CA:
University of California Press.;
Hunter, M. (2006). Fathers without amandla: Zulu-
speaking men and fatherhood. In L. Richter & R. Mor-
rell (Eds.), Baba: Men and fatherhood in South Africa
(pp. 99-107). Cape Town: HSRC Press.
57 See no. 53.
58 See no. 56 (Ramphele, 2000; Hunter, 2006).
59 Statistics South Africa. (2011). Census 2011. Preto-
ria: Stats SA.
60 See no. 52 (Khunou, 2006).
61 See no. 52 (Chauke, & Khunou, 2015).
62 See no. 55.
63 Maintenance Amendment Act, 2015 [Act No. 9 of
2015].
64 See no. 56 (Ramphele, 2000).;
See no. 52 (Chauke, & Khunou, 2015).
65 See no. 52 (Khunou, 2006).
66 Louw P. (2013, February 11). Single fathers fight
back. Times Live. Retrieved from: www.timeslive.co.za/
news/south-africa/2013-02-11-single-fathers-fight-
back/.
67 Richter, L. Chikovore, J., & Makhusha, T. (2010). The
status of fatherhood and fathering in South Africa.
Child Education, 86(6), 360-365.
68 See the report South Africa’s young children: Their
family and home environment, 2012, by Statistics
South Africa based on the General Household Survey
2012.
69 Morrell, R., Dunkle, K., Ibragimov, U., & Jewkes, R.
(2016). Fathers who care and those that don’t: Men
and childcare in South Africa. South African Review of
Sociology, 47(4), 80-105.
70 Montgomery, C., Hosegood, V., Busza, J., & Timae-
us, I.M. (2006). Men’s involvement in the South African
family: Engendering change in the AIDS era. Social Sci-
ence and Medicine, 62(10), 2411-2419. P. 2414.
71 See no. 19.
47
“I see him as my father and
not my grandfather”
My father, I wouldn’t know what he would have meant to
me because I lost him at a very young age, though in his
place I had my grandfather to play the role of my father.
He filled that empty space as I grew up; and knowing he
is my biological father I had no reason to doubt him, he
was and still is always there when I need him. I remember
growing up he used to fix his car and I would pass him the
tools he needed. As I reminisce about the old times I came
to realise that is how we bonded. I recently discovered
my real father’s family and I tried to build a relationship
with them, but my father would refuse to let me go and
visit them. I decided to ask him why he was refusing – he
replied he was afraid of losing me.
Knowing how much I meant to my father – that really
touched me. I told him no matter what happens, I will
never forgot where I come from as I know how valuable he
is to me. I admire the fact that he took me in when I was
about six months old; honestly, I never really felt a gap in
my life to question my father’s death. My grandfather is
my hero and one day I would like to build him a big house
to show him my appreciation. My father really rocks my
world. He motivates me to be a confident young woman. I
thank him for giving me a warm, loving home to go to like
everyone else. I know that he did what he did out of love
and I owe him that much. My father means the world to me
– I see him as my father and not my grandfather.
Essay contestant, Free State
VOICES OF CHILDREN
48
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
We liked a photo here - just not the one of the
guy making the smoothie that we originally had
here...
We thought the details you note here, could be
added to the acknowledgement page, at the
bottom. Will collate and send with the other
copy
Breastfeeding Together
Jean Marie Nkurunziza has
been involved in the MenCare
fatherhood campaign at Sonke
since inception. He is now
a senior trainer, supporting
MenCare work across eastern
and southern Africa. Here he
shares a bonding moment with
his wife and daughter.
49
The first 1,000 days of a child’s life refer to the
period from conception (270 days of pregnancy)
and the first two years after birth (365+365
days), depending on children’s individual dif-
ferences. Scientific evidence from a variety of
sources confirms that this is the period of most
rapid brain growth, and that the child develops
in response to the environment, particularly in
the context of affectionate and responsive inter-
actions with adults. The receptivity or plasticity
declines with age, making this period of life most
amenable to positive experiences and most vul-
nerable to stress and adversity.1
Over the past two decades, the South Afri-
can government has demonstrated commitment
to promoting the development of young chil-
dren, including a compulsory pre-school year2;
improving maternal, newborn and child health3;
and adopting the National Integrated Early
Childhood Development Policy (ECD policy)4. In
health, the government has adopted a number of
high-priority, cost-effective, evidence-based ma-
ternal, newborn and child health strategies and
approaches.5 These include scaling up antiretro-
viral therapy and initiating HIV-positive women
and on ART, which have resulted in a massive
reduction in the national rate of mother-to-
child transmission of the virus6; the promotion
of maternal nutrition during pregnancy and after
birth; and child breastfeeding and complemen-
tary feeding7.
The National Development Plan recognises
that the protection and promotion of the devel-
opment of children, including during pregnancy,
must be part of South Africa’s vision for a more
equitable and prosperous society.8 The adoption
of the ECD Policy in 2015 expressed enthusiasm
Father Involvement in
the First 1,000 Days
Tawanda Makusha, Human Sciences Research Council
& Linda Richter, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Human Development,
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
and commitment in South Africa for broad inte-
grated approaches to giving all children a better
chance to start well, especially those who are
likely to face challenges along their way.9 De-
spite these achievements and others, a lot still
needs to be done in recognising and promot-
ing father involvement with mothers and chil-
dren in the first 1,000 days in South Africa – for
example, the Western Cape provincial govern-
ment acknowledges that the role of fathers is
neglected10.
This chapter focuses on father involvement
in the first 1,000 days. It documents the impor-
tance of fathers during this critical developmen-
tal period, identifies barriers to biological father
involvement, and makes recommendations to
promote father involvement in the first 1,000
days.
“Early moments matter”11
Early development is a sensitive and unique
time when the foundations for optimum health,
development, learning, productivity, and har-
monious relationships with others across the life
course are established. It is also a sensitive time
for parenting. While the emotional and physi-
cal changes in women during pregnancy are
well known, men also undergo hormonal and
other changes if they have the opportunity of
being involved with the pregnancy. Their testos-
terone levels decline and synchronise with the
hormonal levels of the mother. These hormonal
changes are thought to underlie the father’s
dedication to the mother and the partnership
during pregnancy.12 The grief and loss of iden-
tity that men experience when the couple has
CHAPTER 4 1,000 DAYS
ELIZABETH UBBE
50
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
a still birth has been recognised only recently.13
Fathers have an important role to play in
decisions about family planning and can influ-
ence contraception use. Their involvement in
reproductive health planning is crucial to reduc-
ing unintended pregnancies, promoting birth
preparedness14, increasing use of birth control
to influence birth spacing positively, and protect
from sexually transmitted infections that can
impact pregnancy outcomes when contracted by
the mother15.
Fathers’ health and preconception risk be-
haviours have a direct impact on foetal and in-
fant health. Paternal abuse of alcohol, smoking
cigarettes and/or marijuana, his diet and envi-
ronmental exposure, among others, have been
shown to modify genetic make-up passed on
through the sperm at conception which, in turn,
can influence the health of the child at birth as
well as future illnesses in adulthood.16
After conception, fathers play important
roles in providing practical and emotional sup-
port; promoting positive maternal wellbeing and
health behaviours that indirectly impact foetal
development, birth weight, and preterm birth;
and moderating stress levels and harmful behav-
iours during pregnancy. Father involvement dur-
ing pregnancy can encourage mothers to seek
prenatal care earlier, eat healthier, exercise more
and avoid harmful behaviours such as using al-
cohol, drugs and cigarettes, which have a dose-
dependent relationship with childhood obesity.
Also, studies on infant–father attachment indi-
cate that it is important for fathers to begin the
bonding process during the prenatal period by
listening to the baby’s heartbeat, reading to the
baby in utero, and being present at the delivery.
Early paternal attachment has been associ-
ated with reduced risk of future child abuse by
the father.17 Another key argument in promoting
fathers’ involvement in the first 1,000 days and
more broadly is that it is a pathway to greater
gender equality.18 Active father involvement
is argued to counter forms of masculinity that
emphasise male control, lack of emotional avail-
ability and limited involvement in the family and
domestic sphere.19
After the child is born, fathers play a vital
role in influencing important decisions such as
Healthy pregnancy
Maternal mental
health and wellbeing
Infant care and
wellbeing
Father and child
bonding
Better relationship
between mother and
father
Mothers access health
services more
Fathers are healthier
and more connected
socially
Long term involvement
between father and
child
Fig. 10 The benefits of fathers’
involvement in the first 1,000 days
1
2
3
7
4
6
5
8
3
51
early birth registration, breastfeeding and the
duration of breastfeeding.20 Involved fatherhood
also has practical and emotional benefits for the
mother after delivery as men provide support
to both the mother and the child. This practi-
cal and emotional support has huge potential to
mitigate against postnatal depression. Women
who do not have positive relationships with their
children’s fathers due to lack of emotional and
practical support, or fathers’ negative attitudes
towards their childrearing style or choices, cou-
pled with domestic violence, are most likely to
suffer from maternal depression.21
On the other hand, women who are sup-
ported in stable partnerships with men experi-
ence lower levels of family stress, are less likely
to suffer mental health problems and derive
greater satisfaction from their roles as mothers.22
Importantly, supportive men not only contribute
to women’s wellbeing and happiness, but men’s
investment in the family has been found to
buffer against the effects of harsh parenting by
a distant, demoralised or overburdened mother.23
Father presence and engagement contribute
significantly to the physical and psychological
wellbeing of pregnant women and women with
young children. A recent systematic review24
found that men’s engagement during and after
pregnancy in low- and middle-income countries
significantly improve women’s use of healthcare
during pregnancy and after the child is born,
and significantly reduce the odds of postpartum
depression. Mothers, especially young mothers,
consistently report greater satisfaction in their
maternal role when the father of the young child
is engaged25, and father attitudes and support
are significant determinants of breastfeeding
initiation and continuation26.
The early years are a vulnerable time for
father–child ties. Involved, engaged, and caring
fathers are important in the lives of children.
The early recognition and acknowledgement of
paternity and involvement in a young child’s life
solidify fathers’ ties to their children. Involving
fathers in their children’s lives during the first
1,000 days of life enables fathers to participate
positively in the decisions to have children; sup-
port women during pregnancy and birth; come
to know, care for and protect the children, and
Fig. 11 The barriers to fathers’
involvement in the first 1,000 days
Fathers and children
not living together
Structural factors
- unemployment,
poverty and migration
Families restrict
access due to
uncompromising
cultural practices
Negative stereotypes
of men and
fatherhood in SA
Mothers restrict
access due to conflict
Gender insensitive
health facilities
Policy gaps
1
2
4
5
6
7
3
CHAPTER 4 1,000 DAYS
52
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
stay involved with their children over the course
of their development. Men’s own health and so-
cial connectivity also improve with involvement
in infant care.27
Barriers to early involvement of
biological fathers
A number of barriers prevent father involvement
in the first 1,000 days at an individual, family, soci-
etal, institutional and policy level. One of the big-
gest barriers to father involvement in South Africa
is the high rate of biological fathers who do not live
with their children. Biological father non-residen-
cy in South Africa has strong implications for the
health, safety and welfare of children and families.
Biological fathers in South Africa are non-resident
in almost half of homes in which children aged
0 – 4 years live.28 (Children’s co-residency with
their biological parents and other adults are dis-
cussed extensively on pages 33 - 35.)
A number of factors attribute to biological
fathers not living with their children. These in-
clude migration29; poverty, unemployment, past
and present incarceration; family factors such
as separation, divorce and re-partnering which
might lead to multiple child support responsibili-
ties, and related changes in social and residential
arrangements; societal factors such as the high
rate of male deaths due to violence and HIV; and
costs related to cultural practices such as pay-
ment of inhlawulo and lobola – these all can pre-
vent poor fathers who want to be involved in their
Early development
is a unique time when
the foundations for
optimum health,
development,
learning, productivity,
and harmonious
relationships with
others are established
children’s lives from doing so.30 Whereas marriage
is a basis for entry into fatherhood in a number of
societies, the marriage rate among Black people
in South Africa is low (around 36%) and is fre-
quently delayed until men have produced one or
more biological children, potentially by different
women31.
Due to economic constraints, poor and
young men face many challenges in taking up
fatherhood roles and responsibilities. They do
not live with their children, are not in a socially
recognised relationship with the child’s mother,
and are not economically capable of providing
for children. The family of the young mother
will often not support the involvement in their
family of a young man whom they may perceive
as being ‘irresponsible’. His own family may con-
sider him neither old enough nor prepared for
such a role. Thus, even where the young man him-
self would like to act as a father to his child, he
may have little ability – financial, social or legal
– to press for access to his child.32 For young and
new fathers, their inexperience, lack of knowledge
of how to be a good father, and their lack of posi-
tive role models may also impact their ability to
be involved fathers. In the face of such hurdles,
many young men become fathers biologically but
never have an opportunity to be involved in their
children’s lives.
Negative perceptions of men in
South Africa
There are various stereotypes of men and mascu-
linity active in South Africa, and these are further
compacted by additional stereotypes specifically
about fatherhood and the reality that men’s use
of violence in South Africa is very prevalent. The
stereotypes are often maintained through popu-
lar opinion, based on the behaviour of some men.
Stereotypes like absent, strong, unfeeling, unin-
volved, violent, disengaged, uncaring and ‘macho’
men, or ‘ATM fathers’ are often related to South Af-
rica’s fathers.33 In this context, children live in fami-
lies where men (not necessarily their fathers) are
generally unacknowledged sources of support for
children. Reproductive healthcare messages, espe-
cially for pregnancy and early childhood develop-
ment, are therefore often targeted to women who
are considered the primary caregivers of children.
53
FATHERS’ INVOLVEMENT IN
MATERNAL HEALTH
Pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum are critical periods for the health
of women and children. Male partners can be important sources of
emotional, material and logistical support during these periods. Ad-
versely, men can also be harmful by exposing their partners to unneces-
sary health risks, including abuse. This is often because of patriarchal
gender attitudes and ignorance about women’s health needs.34 The
goal, then, is to engage men as informed, active and caring participants
in promoting maternal health.
For this case on fathers’ involvement in maternal health, we have
used data from a recent longitudinal cohort study that followed a con-
venience sample of 176 postpartum women, and their infants, from
a single low-income peri-urban community near Cape Town between
2012 and 2013.35 The infants’ fathers were mostly isiXhosa-speaking
Black men; their average age was 30 years old. They most commonly
had an incomplete high school education. Most were employed. At
the time of conception, 29% of fathers and mothers were married,
66% were in an exclusive, non-marital relationship and 5% were in a
casual or non-exclusive relationship. Just over half (57%) were residing
together.36
Father involvement in clinic visits and presence at birth
Mothers in this study reported that 42% of fathers attended one or
more antenatal clinic visit and 47% were at the hospital during deliv-
ery. During informal group discussions at the end of the study, mothers
and fathers described what they perceived to be the barriers to fathers’
attendance at maternity and child health clinics. Some participants de-
scribed clinics as “feminine spaces” that are not welcoming to men,
echoing findings of previous research.37 Attending health clinics was
commonly viewed as being the mother’s responsibility. In addition,
some mothers felt that fathers lacked motivation to wait in long clinic
queues, whereas some fathers cited work responsibilities as the reason
for not being able to accompany the mother to clinics.38
Other ways fathers support mothers during pregnancy
This study found that material, logistical and emotional support by fa-
thers during pregnancy was more common than attendance at health
clinics. The majority (80%) of fathers reportedly gave the mother
money to buy things for the baby, and 51% helped the mother travel
home from the hospital after delivery. Eighty-four percent of fathers
discussed the pregnancy progress with the mother and the same per-
centage felt the baby move in the mother’s belly. Fathers’ encourage-
ment and emotional support during the pregnancy was rated by 60%
of mothers as “very good” or “excellent”.
GARETH D. MERCER
Department of
Ophthalmology
McGill University,
Montréal, Canada
Fathers’ contributions
Gave mother money
to buy things for
baby
Helped mother
travel home after
delivery
Discussed how
pregnancy was
going /felt the baby
move
Rated by mothers as
providing very good
support
CHAPTER 4 CASE
Mercer, G. D. (2015). Do
fathers care? Measuring
mothers’ and fathers’
perceptions of fathers’
involvement in caring for
young children in South
Africa (Thesis). University
of British Columbia,
Vancouver, Canada.
DOI:10.14288/1.0166376.
Fig.12 Men’s
contributions to
maternal health
60%
100%
50%
80%
90%
70%
40%
20%
30%
53
54
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
Fathers in this study who were present at the birth, and who sup-
ported the mother financially during pregnancy, were significantly more
involved in caring for the infant during the first year of life.39
Supporting fathers’ involvement in maternal health
Policymakers and programme planners can help to promote fathers’
attendance at maternity clinics by working with care providers to
make these more welcoming spaces for men. Strategies might
include encouraging female clients to bring their partners to health
consultations, offering clinics outside of typical work hours, integrating
services to address the specific health needs of male clients, and
sensitising care providers to the potential benefits of greater paternal
involvement in maternal and child health.40
Wider strategies to involve men as partners in promoting maternal
health could include implementing programmes like Stepping
Stonesi, which aim to transform harmful gender norms by teaching
communication and relationship skills.41 Involving influential public
figures as role models, and other social marketing strategies, could
be used to shift the perception that maternal and child health is the
responsibility of women, and start normalising men’s involvement.
Enacting labour laws to ensure access to paid paternity leave and
personal days to care for sick children would help to reduce financial
and workplace barriers to fathers’ involvement.
i Stepping Stones is a series of workshops designed to “help promote sexual health,
improve psychological wellbeing and prevent HIV. The workshops address questions
of gender, sexuality, HIV/AIDS, gender violence, communication and relationship
skills”. The original Stepping Stones manual – which was developed in Uganda – has
been adapted by the Medical Research Council for use in South Africa, and the
approach has been evaluated in a randomised controlled trial with young men and
women in the rural Eastern Cape. (See www.mrc.ac.za.)
MASI LOSI
Reunited with Dad
Knowledge is pictured
here at the moment
when he was reunited
with his children. He
was successful in a
court case that found
that his inability to
pay lobola should
not prevent him
from having contact
with his children.
This image has also
become iconic for the
MenCare Fatherhood
campaign.
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
54
55
Restricting men’s access to children
For various reasons, mothers may prevent fa-
thers’ access to children. Maternal, cultural and
circumstantial ‘gatekeeping’ have been identified
as some of the most important factors that may
facilitate or prevent father involvement in both
maternal and child health.42 It should be noted
that father involvement is not regarded in this
report as an a priori or automatic benefit to chil-
dren. Fathers are often involved in problematic
ways, for example when they behave violently.
‘Gatekeeping’, or preventing access to the child,
is therefore often a legitimate and protective ac-
tion taken by the mother.
A study in South Africa indicates that ‘gate-
keeping’ takes different forms. Maternal gate-
keeping among married couples occurs largely
with respect to child-rearing, interaction, care
and housework, with some women seemingly
wishing to validate their traditional maternal
identity.43 As a method of protecting themselves
and/or their children, some mothers may also ex-
ercise greater control and restrict father access
and involvement because of fathers’ use of vio-
lence. Other mothers may limit access because
the child’s father is failing to fulfil certain pa-
rental expectations. Higher non-violent father
involvement with the children correlates with a
more positive couple relationship.44
Cultural and circumstantial ‘gatekeeping’
and the power of extended families in endorsing
socially constructed patriarchal ideals that shape
gender roles (women to provide childcare and do
house chores, while men provide financially for
their families) also prevent father involvement in
the first 1,000 days.45 However, overcoming any
form of ‘gatekeeping’ to non-violent parental in-
volvement for fathers may be extremely benefi-
cial for the children as they gain from a positive
parental couple or co-parenting relationship.
Institutional and policy barriers
At an institutional level, most maternal and child
healthcare programmes that focus on precon-
ception, prenatal, postnatal or inter-conception
care are tailor-made to address only the needs of
mothers and children46, with little or no attention
to the needs of fathers – therefore moving away
from a potentially progressive family model for
early childhood care and development. Also, be-
cause most maternal and childcare programmes
are mother- and child-centred, community
healthcare workers and providers lack awareness
of and training for involving of fathers in such
programmes.
At a policy level, the Basic Conditions of
Employment Act47 provides for a modest three
working days paid family responsibility leave
(that fathers can use as paternity leave) provid-
ed that the person has worked for an employer
for longer than four months and works at least
four days a week. In trying to balance both fa-
ther involvement and meeting the economic
needs of families, the White Paper on Families
in South Africa48 selects the encouragement of
father involvement in their children’s upbringing
as one of the strategic priorities in promoting
healthy family life. The White Paper calls for the
need to elaborate or revise current laws and so-
cial policies that restrict fathers from being in-
volved in their children’s lives and replace them
with those that create an environment where
fathers could care for, engage with, and support
their children.
Promoting father involvement in
the first 1,000 days
One of the most important steps in promo-
ting father involvement is to define the target
male population of fathers and understand that
a one-size-fits-all approach to fatherhood in
South Africa will not work. Different messages,
intervention and delivery mechanisms would
need to be designed for different groups of fa-
thers: be it teenage fathers, first-time fathers,
older fathers, social fathers (father figures), gay
fathers, employed or unemployed fathers; all ac-
cording to their needs. It is important that the
heterogeneity of fathers in the country is appre-
ciated and considered every time when deciding
on programmes, interventions and policies for
fathers.
South African institutions need to provide
a conducive environment for promoting father
involvement in the first 1,000 days, starting with
healthcare facilities and workplace environments
– including policies targeting male employees
CHAPTER 4 1,000 DAYS
56
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
to ensure that fathers are involved in their chil-
dren’s lives from conception. It is important that
mechanisms and policies are put in place, includ-
ing paternity and parental leave, to facilitate the
balancing of work and family responsibilities and
to promote equal parenting care and responsibi-
lity between fathers and mothers, and encour-
age gender equality in parenting.49 Currently, the
Labour Laws Amendment Bill50, if passed, is set to
amend the Basic Conditions of Employment Act51
so that an employee who is a parent of a child is
entitled to at least 10 consecutive days’ parental
leave, and may commence parental leave on the
day the employee’s child is born or day that an
adopted child is placed.
Healthcare, social development and educa-
tion facilities need to be welcoming of fathers and
their staff to be trained and experienced on how
to engage with fathers – by matching mother-
and child-friendly services with focused services
for fathers in support of paternal, maternal and
child health which will provide a holistic family
health model for child development. The institu-
tion and policy environments need to display an
attitude of willingness to learn from and listen to
fathers, without any assumptions that they know
best what fathers need to be involved positively in
maternal, paternal and child health programmes.
An encouragement of men to be employed in car-
ing professions would also role model and popu-
larise men’s involvement in care work.
South Africa needs strategies for reaching
out to fathers more effectively – like multilevel
campaigns such as the MenCare Fatherhood
campaignii, and using father-friendly mobile ap-
plications, such as DadConnect 52; social media
promotion; advertising of positive fatherhood
messages on billboards; and taking fatherhood
messages and services to places and events
where fathers frequent, such as football matches,
and car washes. Messages for fathers need to be
tailor-made for them, particularly acknowledg-
ing their importance in child development and
growth, and maternal health – including mental
and emotional health.
Such messages should also centre on the
positive impact of fatherhood on men themselves
– through avoidance of harmful or risky behav-
iours such as binge drinking; engaging in risky
sexual behaviours; drug abuse; and violent be-
haviour towards children, women and other men.
Mothers and communities also need to be
engaged on the importance of father involve-
ment in the first 1,000 days, with a common
South African view that “it takes a village to
raise a child”. Providing a child with a healthy
ecosystem – encompassing the individual, family,
community, and the institutional environments
– where most, if not all, of their needs are met
– has positive and culturally sensitive outcomes
for child wellbeing, health, care and develop-
ment. The establishment of or the identifica-
tion of community stakeholders and community
resources for fathers (if already in place) needs
to take centre stage in the promotion of father
involvement in the first 1,000 days as these are
crucial resources for fathers to get information,
assistance and support.
Lastly, but equally important for promoting
father involvement in South Africa, is a need for
establishing a proper monitoring, evaluation and
iiMenCare is a global campaign to promote men’s
and boys’ involvement as equitable, non-violent
caregivers. With activities in more than 45 countries,
MenCare partners carry out joint advocacy initiatives,
research and programming to engage men in positive
parenting; in equitable caregiving; in violence
prevention; and in maternal, newborn, and child
health. The campaign is co-coordinated by Sonke
Gender Justice and Promundo, with Save the Children,
Plan International, Oxfam and MenEngage Alliance
serving as steering committee members. For more
information about the campaign and its partners,
visit www.men-care.org.
Messages for
fathers need to be
tailor-made for
them, particularly
acknowledging their
importance in child
development and
growth
57
CHAPTER 4 CASE
MEN AND THE
CHILD SUPPORT GRANT
South Africa’s Child Support Grant (CSG) is one of the largest cash-
transfer programmes to support the care of children in the developing
world. South Africa is unusual in that the CSG is gender-neutral: who-
ever is responsible for the care of a child can receive the CSG provided
they meet the means-test criteria. Nevertheless, over the past 20 years
on average only 2% of the total number of CSG recipients were men.53
Despite the gender-neutral targeting, very few men are taking this op-
portunity. Pervasive gender inequality – in time, income and oppor-
tunity – therefore remains a challenge.54 Female targeting and the de
facto gendered nature of the CSG also reinforce the idea that women’s
primary roles are as carers.55
A policy goal aimed at reducing gender inequality could therefore
be to increase male uptake of the grant. However, the cost of this to
children – given the idea that men have more selfish preferences than
women in the allocation of household resources (an argument backed
by a small body of evidence56) – remains unclear.
This case describes the first study57, in South Africa, of meniii who are
receiving the CSG. The first part of the study analysed National Income
Dynamics Study data58, a nationally representative panel of individuals
from 2008 – 2014, to compare household spending patterns in CSG
households by the gender of the caregiver who receives the CSG on
behalf of the child. Then, prevalence rates of stunting (low height
for age) were compared between children of male CSG caregivers and
children of female CSG caregivers.
Men don’t use the CSG any differently
The statistical analyses show that when men receive the CSG, their
households are not more likely to spend money on alcohol, tobacco
and gambling compared to households where women receive the CSG.
In households where this spending occurs, levels of spending do not
differ between the two groups either. The education level and emo-
tional health of caregivers, as well as the province of residence, are more
influential than the gender of the caregiver in determining household
spending on these items.
There is also no evidence to suggest that child stunting rates dif-
fer significantly between children of male and female caregivers who
receive the CSG. Here, higher per capita household income and having
an employed, more educated or older caregiver are particularly protec-
tive against stunting. These indicators show that the decision to make
targeting gender-neutral was probably justified: giving the money to
men does not appear to leave their children and households worse off.
The qualitative phase of the study used in-depth interviews with
ZOHEB KHAN
Centre for Social
Development in
Africa, University of
Johannesburg
Death of children’s
mother* (5)
Perceived incapacity
of wives* (2)
Unemployment (2)
Temporary absence
of mother* (1)
Separation from
mother* (1);
Mother has no
South African ID
book (1);
Grant transferred
from daughter-in-
law* to care for his
grandson (1)
* Indicates that woman
was former CSG
recipient.
Source: Khan, Z.
(forthcoming, 2018).
Men and the Child
Support Grant: Gender,
care and child well-
being (doctoral thesis).
Johannesburg: University
of Johannesburg.
57
iii These are men who have caregiving responsibilities, and are not necessarily bio-
logical fathers (e.g. uncles, grandfathers).
Fig.13 Men’s reason
for applying for the
CSG
58
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
13 male CSG recipients residing in Greater Johannesburg to understand how they construct
their male and paternal identities, the extent to which this construction aligns with hegemonic
masculinity in South Africa, and how this relates to their reported care work.ii,59
The CSG as a women’s grant
The fact that most men (10 out of 13) only found out about male eligibility after an event
that made the former (female) recipient unable to continue as the primary caregiver (such as
her death or apparent irresponsibility) points to the strength of the CSG’s popular portrayal as
a women’s grant.
A man who explicitly mentioned unemployment as the reason for applying for the grant re-
flected a popular understanding articulated by the interviewees: that the CSG is for those who are
not working. At the time of the interviews, the median wage in South Africa was roughly R3,500
per month60, while the individual income threshold for caregivers was also R3,50061, implying that
many working men could apply for the grant. The image of the CSG as a women’s grant and as a
grant for those who are not working or who have ‘given up’, is doubly damaging to efforts by men
to present a ‘normal’ masculine image and, in turn, to greater rates of male CSG uptake.
Men as carers
Beyond the diversity in the ways in which these men conceive of themselves as men and fa-
thers, almost all engaged in care and household work. This was either in a supporting role to a
co-resident female partner, or they did all the work themselves. Roughly half regarded care and
household work as primarily women’s responsibility, but did it anyway because it needed to be
done: their children’s wellbeing was deemed to depend on their work. This practicality is also
linked with the frequent idealisation of men as those who “take responsibility” – who “take the
bull by the horns” and remain present and engaged. In this way, men reconcile doing ‘feminine’
work with their male and paternal identities.
For these men, being a good father is strongly associated with being able to provide. This ac-
cords with dominant norms and is understandable in a context where income insecurity is very
high, and where this insecurity directly contributes to child malnourishment (discussed earlier).
But, most men placed equal emphasis on being emotionally available: this was reflected in a deep
awareness of their children’s emotional needs and that the norm of male non-demonstrativeness
– where men refrain from displays of affection and/or avoid being open with their children – is
damaging.
Bongani and Sindiso
These two featured in
the HSRC Fatherhood
Project: between
2005 to 2007. This
image was used in
the promotion of
the MenCare Global
Fatherhood campaign.
Sadly, after the
photoshoot, Bongani
separated from his
family, and did not
remain involved in
fatherhood.
58
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
VAL ADAMSON
59
learning component on fatherhood programmes,
interventions and policies. There is need to estab-
lish how well these are serving the needs of fam-
ilies in terms of father involvement. Assessing
fathers’ and mothers’ participation and satisfac-
tion with established programmes and policies
is critical and will measure success. Monitoring,
evaluation and learning provide opportunities
for continuous programme, intervention and/or
policy improvements.
Take-home messages
South Africa has made huge progress in promot-
ing maternal, newborn and child health. In this
context, there is a wealth of evidence to show
that fathers’ involvement in the first 1,000 days
and beyond can lead to a number of benefits
for families’ psychological wellbeing; mater-
nal health behaviours; and children’s wellbeing,
health, growth and development.
Yet, very little is happening at a policy and
programme level to encourage father involve-
ment in the first 1,000 days and across the life
course. For father involvement to be a success
and all-inclusive, practitioners and policymakers
need to establish unity of purpose and design
context-specific, culturally, age- and gender-
sensitive programmes and policies for fathers
that are evidence based.
CHAPTER 4 1,000 DAYS
Implications for positive fathering
policies
While the findings cannot be generalised
for the overall male population, they do
have implications for other policies – such
as paternal leave – that are intended to pro-
mote positive fathering. A recurring theme
in the interviews is that other men 1. often
find what CSG dads do (receiving a CSG;
doing ‘feminine’ care work) to be degrad-
ing; and 2. if not disparaging of CSG dads,
many men are simply curious about doing
work like cooking and changing nappies
themselves. This is probably because most
men are not socialised into caregiving com-
petence.
To ensure paternal leave – just like the
CSG – is used for the intended purposes,
taking time off to care for a child would
need to be portrayed as a ‘masculine’ pur-
suit that is not an excuse to run away from
paid work. Paternal leave (see page 6 for a
discussion of the new policy development)
would also need to be supplemented by fa-
thering classes, run by knowledgeable men
(such as the CSG dads interviewed for this
study) as many men will simply not know
what to do with small babies. But it should
be noted that many of the CSG dads did
not have previous caregiving experience,
and learned how to care for their children
as they went along.
This study did not find evidence that
the CSG fathers viewed the grant as a new
form of power to wield over women. These
men also point to the possibilities of ‘do-
ing’ masculinity and fatherhood in different
ways – ways that are more sensitive to the
needs of their families and that challenge
different forms of father absence. Learn-
ing from and building on their experiences
could go some way toward normalising
this type of fatherhood and could improve
the wellbeing of South Africa’s children –
particularly maternal orphans. In addition,
women’s care burdens could be reduced,
and the power of the CSG to transform un-
equal gender relations could be realised.
60
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
60
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in postapartheid South Africa. WIDER working paper
series 008, World Institute for Development Economic
Research (UNU-WIDER).
30 Eddy, M., Thomson-de Boor, H., & Mphaka, K.
(2013). “So we are ATM fathers”: A study of absent
fathers in Johannesburg, South Africa. Johannesburg:
Centre for Social Development in Africa, University of
Johannesburg, & Sonke Gender Justice.;
Hosegood, V., & Madhavan, S. (2012). Understanding
fatherhood and father involvement in South Africa:
Insights from surveys and population cohorts. Father-
ing: A Journal of Theory, Research, and Practice about
Men as Fathers, 10(3), 257-273.;
Madhavan, S., Richter, L., Norris, S., & Hosegood, V.
(2014). Fathers’ financial support of children in a low
income community in South Africa. Journal of family
and economic issues, 35(4), 452-463.;
Hunter, M. (2006). Fathers without amandla: Zulu-
speaking men and fatherhood. In L. Richter & R. Morell
(Eds.), Baba: Men and fatherhood in South Africa (pp.
99-107). Cape Town: HSRC Press.
31 Posel, D., Rudwick, S., & Casale, D. (2011). Is mar-
riage a dying institution in South Africa? Exploring
changes in marriage in the context of ilobolo pay-
ments. Agenda, 25(1), 102-111.
32 Makusha, T., Richter, L., & Chikovore, J. (2012).
Fatherhood and masculinities in South Africa. Pieter-
maritzburg: Pietermartizburg Agency for Community
Social Action, & Sonke Gender Justice.
33 Richter, L., Manegold, J., Pather, R., & Mason, A.
(2004). Harnessing our manpower. ChildrenFIRST, 8,
16-20.
34 Ganle, J. K., Obeng, B., Segbefia, A. Y., Mwinyuri, V.,
Yeboah, J. Y., & Baatiema, L. (2015). How intra-familial
decision-making affects women’s access to, and use of
maternal healthcare services in Ghana: A qualitative
study. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 15(1), 173-190.
DOI:/10.1186/s12884-015-0590-4.;
Harrington, E. K., Dworkin, S., Withers, M., Onono, M.,
CHAPTER 4 1,000 DAYS
62
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
46 See 15 above.
47 Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 [No. 75
of 1997] as amended by Basic Conditions of Employ-
ment Act, 2002 [No. 11 of 2002].
48 Department of Social Development. (2013). White
paper on families in South Africa. Pretoria: DSD.
49 See no. 48.
50 Labour Laws Amendment Bill [B 29–2017].
51 See no. 47.
52 Makusha, T. (2018). DadConnect: Promoting father
involvement in the first 1000 days in South Africa.
Durban: Human Sciences Research Council.
53 South Africa Social Security Agency. (2016). Total
number of beneficiary grants recipients by age, gender
and region, September 2014 [dataset]. Pretoria: SASSA
[producer].;
Southern Africa Labour and Development Research
Unit. (2016). National Income Dynamics Study 2014 –
2015, Waves 1-4 [datasets]. Cape Town: Southern Afri-
ca Labour and Development Research Unit, University
of Cape Town [producer], 2016. Cape Town: DataFirst
[distributor].;
De Koker, C., De Waal, L., & Vorster, J. (2006). A profile
of social security caregivers in South Africa. Stellen-
bosch: Stellenbosch University.
54 Patel, L., & Hochfeld, T. (2011). It buys food but does
it change gender relations? Child Support Grants in
Soweto, South Africa. Gender & Development, 19(2):
229-240.;
Hassim, S. (2009). Whose utopia? In J.C. Gornick & M.K.
Meyers (Eds.), Gender equality: Transforming family
divisions of labour; The Real Utopias Project, Volume
IV (pp. 93-110). London: Verso.;
Gouws, A., & van Zyl, M. (2014). Feminist ethics of care
through a southern lens. In S. Meyer & T. Shefer (Eds.),
Care in context: Transnational perspectives (pp. 99-
124). Cape Town: HSRC.
55 See no. 54 (Hassim, 2009).
56 Yoong, J., Rabinovich, L., & Diepeveen, S. (2012). The
impact of economic resource transfers to women ver-
sus men: A systematic review. Technical report. Lon-
don: EPPI-Centre, University of London.;
Duflo, E. (2003). Grandmothers and granddaughters:
Old-age pensions and intrahousehold allocation in
South Africa. The World Bank Economic Review, 17(1),
1-25.;
Duflo, E. (2000). Child health and household resources
in South Africa: Evidence from the old age pension
program. American Economic Review, 90(2), 393-398.
57 Khan, Z. (forthcoming, 2018). Men and the Child
Support Grant: Gender, care and child well-being
(doctoral thesis). University of Johannesburg.;
Van der Meer, M. (2016). Being there and taking re-
sponsibility: Male Child Support Grant beneficiaries’
constructions of their masculine and paternal identi-
ties in the light of perceived dominant gender norms
(masters thesis). Utrecht: Utrecht University.
58 See no. 53 (Southern Africa Labour and Develop-
ment Research Unit, 2016).
59 Razavi, S. (2007). The political and social economy
of care in a development context: Conceptual issues,
research questions and policy options. Gender and De-
velopment, Programme Paper 3, June 2007.
60 Isaacs, G. (2016). A national minimum wage for
South Africa. Johannesburg: University of the Witwa-
tersrand.
61 South Africa Social Security Agency. (2016). You
and your grants, 2016/2017. Retrieved from www.sas-
sa.gov.za/index.php/knowledge-centre/grant-booklets/
file/523-you-and-your-grants-2016-2017.
63
12
“To him I am just an
asset”
I do not know my father. I know his name and I see him
every day. But do not know him. I do not know what he
likes or what he hates. I do not know what makes him
happy or what makes him sad.
One would think that after 16 years of living with
someone, you would know the person. But that is not the
case with me and my father. My father never talks to me
or even acknowledges me. To him I am just an asset. A
daughter who will grow up and get married so that he
gets a handsome dowry because she is educated and still
a virgin. My father does not know the name of my school
and he doesn’t even know what I want to become after I’m
done with my education. My father does not care if I’m
struggling with a subject but he expects a perfect report at
the end of each term.
My father never remembers my birthday. He never
attends any of my sport practices. He is never there to
support me at any competition and he is never present at
any prize-giving ceremony. He does not reward me for my
victories but he expects me to keep working hard.
Every morning, my father wakes up at four and he leaves
the house by six. He does not get home until eight in the
evening. He works two jobs and works overtime. Why does
he do this? Because he wants to make sure that we are
always fed. He makes sure that our school fees are paid for
and we lack nothing. I might not know my father but I love
him. I know that he cares for me and that he loves me too.
Essay contestant, Free State
VOICES OF CHILDREN
64
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
Time to Care
Wessel is the father of two
children. Here he is changing
his son’s first diaper of the day,
while his daughter plays along.
This picture was taken during
the month of paid paternity
leave that he took as an
employee of Sonke.
65
The purpose of this report is to provide a pre-
liminary reading of the fatherhood research and
programming landscape in South Africa. The
aim is to provide a rough map of the strengths
in existing research, advocacy and programme
implementation and the current knowledge gaps
in this regard. This chapter thus intends to work
as a catalyst for future research, advocacy, pro-
gramme implementation and policy formulation
by understanding fatherhood in South Africa in
more detail.
Studies of fatherhood in South Africa span
fields such as religion and theology2, masculin-
ity3, families4, health5, and violence6. Some stud-
ies explore the concepts of ‘being a father’ and
‘fathering’ and how these are experientially and
conceptually understood to relate to father-
hood.7 This and other reports allude to the fact
that fathering is not a biologically evident condi-
tion such as pregnancy or lactation, which makes
it difficult to understand the extent to which
men father.8
Population-based surveys attempt to count
the number of fathers by asking respondents
to voluntarily report their experiences of being
fathers or of being fathered. Whilst these sta-
tistics may suffer underreporting, and misattri-
bution, they nonetheless remain useful sources
of information. In 2013, the Department of
Home Affairs introduced the unabridged birth
certificate to increase the official recording of
fathers.9 The success of the implementation of
this policy is yet to be measured and its con-
tribution understood. Even though the role
of the biological father is central, both in real
CHAPTER 5 FUTURE RESEARCH
Future Directions for
Research, Advocacy, Policy
and Implementation
Mzikazi Nduna, Department of Psychology, School of Human and
Community Development, University of the Witwatersrand &
Grace Khunou, Department of Sociology, University of Johannesburg
and idealistic terms, the importance of social
fathers is gaining traction – in both research
and practice.10 However, studies of fatherhood
do not always conceptualise various forms in
which men give care.11
The call for future research
This inaugural “State of South Africa’s Fathers”
report highlights important patterns that
emerge in knowledge production in South Af-
rica and suggests the need to undertake more
research with nationally representative samples
to understand the state of fathers in South Af-
rica better. The overdominance of knowledge
about absence in current research calls for stud-
ies that go beyond the indicator of co-residency
of biological fathers with their children to en-
hance measuring the onset of fatherhood, and
factors that affect fatherhood. How researchers,
policymakers and programme implementers un-
derstand and study fatherhood varies in South
Africa. For example, the concept of ‘father’ in
collective Black cultures could refer to signifi-
cant and related male figures who play the role
of a father. (See the case study on maternal un-
cles – bomalome – on p. 19).
Therefore, the application of the concept
‘father’ needs to be further interrogated so that
research findings, interventions and policies are
not only globally comparable but also locally rel-
evant and contextually meaningful. The lack of
a common understanding of fathers and father-
hood contributes to the lack of information on
men who are fathers.
SARAH ISAACS
66
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
Intersectional research on
fatherhood
The contested understanding of fathers and
fatherhood further indicates epistemological
differences in how we study fatherhood, and
ontological questions about the phenomenon
of fatherhood. Although some research11 on fa-
cets of African fathers begins to centre a broader
context for understanding fatherhood in the
South African context, there remains a knowl-
edge gap in understanding the diversity that
exists amongst South Africa’s fathers by race,
class, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gen-
der identity and other relevant factors. We need
studies and implementation programmes to focus
on questions such as:
• Does the rural or urban location of fathers
matter?
• What are the experiences of adoptive fa-
thers? Which fathers adopt?
• What are the experiences of fathers in po-
lygamous relationships?
• Do fathers in interracial relationships experi-
ence being a father differently?
• What can we learn from the Khoi father?
Fatherhood can only be effectively understood
by asking nuanced and compassionate ques-
tions that link the historical intersectionality of
multiple identities (class, race, gender, sexuality,
experiences of being parented) to the broader
political agenda of a capitalist system. Father
absence could therefore be unpacked from
multiple contextual lenses including migration,
death, the pursuit of the idea of father as pro-
vider, and emotional absence. For example, the
South African prison population is one of the
highest in the global South; yet there is very
little research, advocacy and interventions on
the patterns of absent fathers that are linked
to men’s incarceration. There is, however, some
research that begins to include incarceration in
definitions of absent fathers12 and that high-
lights the effects of biological fathers’ incar-
ceration on adolescents13.
Qualitative research is needed to unpack
and understand the quality of care provided by
known fathers – whether biological or social. For
example, to examine the involvement and care-
giving of men who co-reside with children and
who are not the children’s biological fathers (dis-
cussed on page 7). The gap in evidence on how
fathers care for children both during a customary
marriage and following the dissolution of a cus-
tomary marriage also deserves further investiga-
tion, particularly in relation to care, involvement
and maintenance.
To understand the heterogeneous experi-
ences of fatherhood, it is important to undertake
research on what different socio-economic and
political factors contribute to fatherhood. In this
report, and in fatherhood programming and re-
search generally in South Africa, there tend to be
more focus on fathers in the Black community14
compared to other racial groups such as Col-
oured, Indian and White15. This knowledge gap
suggests a need to problematise what is assumed
about fathers and fatherhood in the context of
these groups, and to expand the research lens to
include explicit questions about Coloured, Indian
and White fathers. An example could be to ex-
plore why Indian men have such high levels of
co-residency with their biological children, and
whether this co-residency among Indian families
is associated with increased caregiving.
Future work could include questions of reli-
gion and fatherhood; class and fatherhood; and
how intersections between race, class, gender,
sexuality and other factors shape experiences of
fathers and those in their lives. This will allow for
informed decisions on policies for families and
fathering in general. Important questions to con-
sider are:
• What factors facilitate particular ways of be-
ing a father differently in different contexts?
• What socio-economic continuities and discon-
tinuities create different ways of fathering?
• Is thinking about racial differences helpful in
the quest to understand fathers and father-
hood in South Africa?
• How do negative conceptions of absence
silently suggest that presence of fathers
should not be critically engaged with?
• What can we learn about involvement by
looking critically at father presence?
• Which and whose positive fathering roles do
we exclude by assuming that father presence
equals active involvement?
67
Research on how maternal-headed households
deal with father absence also will help us un-
derstand fatherhood and fathering in a more
detailed way. Further, we need to understand
non-residential fathers’ active and positive en-
gagement in the lives of their children better
where it occurs. More evidence is needed on
how social workers, counsellors, therapists, and
community and social support networks like
non-governmental organisations facilitate the
involvement of non-resident fathers.
Such studies will have important implica-
tions for policies on fathering, welfare provision
and other social services for children and families.
Moving beyond the father as
financial provider
As noted throughout this report, financial provi-
sion for children by fathers is in itself important
to children’s wellbeing, and a beneficial role for
fathers to take. The inadvertent or intentional
harm that is caused through an overemphasis on
this role is the exclusion of other fathering roles
and activities.
As the historical overview chapter shows,
the ability to provide materially, which is facili-
tated by wage work, has been centred histori-
cally in constructions of successful fatherhood
in South Africa. This economic provider identity
is illustrated in a number of studies.16 The eco-
nomic provider identity is also demonstrated in
studies on the state and conceptions of father-
hood, with evidence from outcomes of the im-
plementation of the private maintenance system
and in divorce proceedings proving that fathers
are often mainly regarded in terms of their ability
to provide financially.17
Although these studies have begun to il-
lustrate how the state is complicit in this over-
emphasis on fathers as financial providers, more
research, advocacy and intervention work needs
to be undertaken to understand the state’s role
in gendering fathers, and in contributing to fa-
ther absence due to structural violence. Such a
broad understanding from the lens of the state
will facilitate the development of policy inter-
ventions that will drive more humane and well-
rounded conceptions of fatherhood. Notions of
fathers as financial providers in a context of high
unemployment and poverty need to be explored
further and new meanings of fatherhood beyond
material provision need to be encouraged. Future
research, advocacy and programming should en-
hance knowledge and understanding of notions
and experiences of fathers as caregivers towards
the normalisation of a diversity of ways of being
a father.
Fathers, HIV and AIDS, and
violence
South Africa reports dual epidemics that are linked
to the state and role of fathers: the HIV and AIDS
epidemic and the gender-based violence epide-
mic.18 Despite the huge advocacy and programme
implementation drive to fight these epidemics,
there are no evidence-based intervention studies
yet in South Africa that focus on the relationship
between fatherhood and gender-based violence
as a key element.19 Despite the relevance of inter-
sectional work in understanding the state and the
role of fathers, there is very little research in South
Africa that explores multiple variables and ad-
vanced modelling. Qualitatively, some of this work
has begun and needs to be supported further.20
Young fathers
On a similar note, the research, advocacy and
programme implementation focus on young
fatherhood is limited. Some studies21, however,
raise important questions on what it means to
be a young father. Although this work begins to
highlight links between teenage pregnancy and
the hopes and challenges of young fathers, more
research needs to be undertaken to understand
the challenges young fathers experience and
how these challenge hegemonic and/or domi-
nant notions of masculinity.
Importantly, we need to start probing the
following:
• What can we learn about new ways of fa-
thering from young fathers?
• Are young fathers dealing with unemploy-
ment, poverty and inequality differently
(from older fathers) in terms of how they
engage in fatherhood?
CHAPTER 5 FUTURE RESEARCH
68
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
Early parenthood and Africa’s youth bulge afford
researchers opportunities to undertake longitu-
dinal studies of the protective role of fathers.
The work on young fathers also raises important
questions about the fathering of older children
(adults). What are the experiences of the fathers
of adults? This question is also important as it
might begin to provide knowledge on grandfa-
thers as well as on great-grandfathers.
Research approaches
The majority of studies on fatherhood coming
from South Africa seem to be qualitative and
adopt narrative study designs.22 Although these
have been beneficial in unpacking the meanings
attached to fatherhood and fathering, future re-
search and programming could benefit from a va-
riety of research designs such as grounded theory,
community case studies, extended case method
and ethnography to answer the complexity of re-
search questions that are raised in this report.
Also lacking are advanced quantitative
study designs that would help unpack the com-
plexities reported in descriptive population stud-
ies. It would be useful if more quantitative survey
questions on fatherhood could be included in the
General Household Survey, and in future waves
of the National Income Dynamics Study. A few
examples of these could be on bomalome, social
fathers, barriers to fatherhood and opportunities
for active involvement. For example:
• Do you act as a father to any children who
are not biologically related to you? If yes, do
you live with them/they live elsewhere?
• Do you have a significant father figure in your
life who is not biologically related to you?
• Are you a biological father of children who
live elsewhere? If yes, how many are they?
Advanced analysis would aid in answering com-
plex research questions on relationships and
these would be useful for prediction, planning
and for continued advocacy work on fathers.
Also, critical to future research is the ac-
knowledgement that there are very few compar-
ative studies in the southern African region de-
spite evidence of similar patterns in experiences
of fatherhood and fathering. Whilst it has been
illustrated that migration plays a significant role
in father absence23, lack of comparative studies
between southern African countries creates a
gap in our knowledge on fathers and migration
generally. Comparative studies in the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) region
would add value to understanding the state of
fathers in South Africa given the high levels of
father absence in African families as a result of
internal and regional migration.
An evidence base for
policymaking
We conclude by emphasising the importance of
policy relevant research on fathers. Tracking fa-
thers’ use of the Child Support Grant (CSG) and
the new parental leave provisions (see the discus-
sion on policy developments on page 6); and re-
search on the implementation of the White Paper
on Families and the National Fatherhood Strat-
egy of the Department of Social Development
are necessary. The current policy development
process to define the right to know one’s own
biological origins is another important process to
inform with empirical evidence about fatherhood.i
Such studies will be useful in continuing to
help us understand how the state contributes to
our understanding of fatherhood. Some exam-
ples are the continuation and expansion of the
fathers and CSG research (such as the study de-
scribed in the case on page 57); and studies of
fathers and the private maintenance system, di-
i The Law Reform Commission began a process, in
2017, to develop a policy framework to guide chil-
dren’s right to know their biological origins.
Also lacking
are advanced
quantitative study
designs that would
help unpack the
complexities reported
in descriptive
population studies
69
1 Meyer, J. (2018). Restructuring the Christian fa-
therhood model: A practical theological investigation
into the ‘male problematic’ of father absence. HTS Te-
ologiese Studies/Theological Studies, 74( 1), 11.
2 Langa, M. (2017). Boys to men: Narrating life sto-
ries of fatherhood and work life amongst young black
men. Psychoogy In Society, 55, 61-83.
3 Masilo, D.T. (2018). Prevention of child sexual
abuse within the family system: Guidelines for an edu-
cational social group work program. Journal of Child
Sexual Abuse, 1-12.
4 Meyer, M., & Struthers, H. (Eds.). (2012). (Un)cover-
ing men with HIV & AIDS: Jacana Media.
5 Sikweyiya, Y., Nduna, M., Khuzwayo, N., Mthomb-
eni, A., & Mashamba-Thompson, T.P. (2016). Gen-
der-based violence and absent fathers: A scoping
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pen-2015-010154.
6 See no. 1.
7 Posel, D., & Devey, R. (2006). The demographics
of fathers in South Africa: An analysis of survey data,
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Men and fatherhood in South Africa (pp. 38-52). Cape
Town: HSRC Press.;
Montgomery, C.M., Hosegood, V., Busza, J., & Timaeus,
I.M. (2006). Men’s involvement in the South African
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ence & Medicine, 62(10), 2411-2419.
8 Department of Home Affairs. (2013). Minister
Naledi Pandor ends the practice of the issuance of
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9 Clowes, L., Ratele, K., & Shefer, T. (2013). Who needs
a father? South African men reflect on being fathered.
Journal of Gender Studies, 22(3), 255-267.
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10 See no. 7 (Posel & Devey, 2006).;
See no. 7 (Montgomery, et al., 2006).
11 Mkhize, N. (2006). African traditions and the so-
cial, economic and moral dimensions of fatherhood. In
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hood in South Africa (pp. 183-198). Cape Town, South
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12 Padi, T., Nduna, M., Khunou, G., & Kholopane, P.
(2014). Defining absent, unknown and undisclosed fa-
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13 Londt, M. P., Kock, M., & John-Langba, J. (2017).
The effects of biological fathers’ incarceration on ado-
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logical fathers. Acta Criminologica: Southern African
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14 See no. 2.
15 Helman, R., Malherbe, N., & Kaminer, D. (2018).
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16 Khunou, G. (2006). Fathers don’t stand a chance:
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References
vorce, custody and access to health. These policy
evaluation studies could focus on how the state
can include and address the questions of fathers
and fatherhood better. Such policy research
should aim to be interdepartmental, and should
focus more on the links between policy and im-
plementation and how to improve interventions.
CHAPTER 5 FUTURE RESEARCH
70
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
e
“I wanted to know that
I mattered”
I wrote a note to my father for fathers’ day. I was six years
old. “Daddy’s happy. Daddy loves me.” It’s what I told
myself every day. It’s what I believed.
I never knew my mother; she died a few months after I
was born. And my dad, well, he left when I was four years
old. All through my childhood and into adolescence I had
this image of him being just too heartbroken, too grief-
stricken to carry on. It seemed more acceptable than the
truth, which was that he abandoned me. He never made
any contact for almost 14 years. I, all the while, internally
repeating, “Daddy’s happy. Daddy loves me.”
I was excited to meet him, I had so many expectations.
I wanted him to tell me how sorry he was, how beautiful
I was, how he had missed out on a lifetime with me. I
wanted him to bring out all the birthday and Christmas
presents he had bought over the years, and had never had
the opportunity to give me, no matter that I would long
have outgrown them. I wanted to know that I mattered.
And when I met him, I wanted him to throw his arms
around me, and stroke my hair whispering endearments
that one does to a little child.
There he was, a grown man who it seemed had never grown
up. He looked me over, as if somehow, I missed the mark. When
he spoke, it wasn’t endearments or apologies, or plans for our
future. He gave me reasons and tried to justify why he wasn’t
there. To me, they were just excuses. My visions of him were
my fantasy. I didn’t show him the note. He wouldn’t care any-
way. I threw that note away today. Essay contestant, Gauteng
VOICES OF CHILDREN
71
This “State of South Africa’s Fathers” report dem-
onstrates that fathers and fatherhood are re-
sources for children. Evidence from South Africa
clearly indicates that children need their biologi-
cal and social fathers to be proactive caregivers.
In the context of low father involvement, and
with most biological fathers not living with their
children, steps must be taken to strengthen and
promote fathers’ involvement in their children’s
lives regardless of residential, marital, relation-
ship or employment status.
If fathers cannot provide financially, they
can still be involved emotionally and practically.
In the same way that women who assume the
role of the mother support children holistically
by providing financial and emotional support
and engagement, so must fathers, whoever they
may be. And as the report shows, they may need
policy, programmatic and public encouragement
to do so.
Complexities in determining
fatherhood
Critical to this agenda is the acknowledgement
that determining father involvement in South
Africa is complex due to the multidimensional
family systems in the country which seldom
leave financial support, caregiving, protection
and socialisation to one or both biological par-
ents. While most biological fathers live elsewhere,
the involvement of extended family and broader
kin network in the support and protection of
children is also well known. The non-resident
status of most biological fathers in South Africa
has also resulted in a simplistic overemphasis in
research and the media on concepts of physical
presence and/or absence as the key signals of the
state of fatherhood.
The previous chapter on future research
explored key questions on the deeper meanings
CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION
Conclusions
Tawanda Makusha, Human Sciences Research Council;
Wessel van den Berg & Andre Lewaks, Sonke Gender Justice
of biological father presence and absence, and a
parallel set of surrounding research questions.
The exploration of these deeper, and broader,
meanings of what constitutes fatherhood has
the potential to shape and guide family policies
in South Africa. The reasons for biological fathers
living separately from their children are also vital
to this discourse. Given the burden of the com-
plex structural, familial, material and cultural
forces that influence this separation, particular
attention should be paid to these dynamics into
policy and programmes to promote involved fa-
therhood for non-resident biological fathers.
The role of the state in
promoting fatherhood
The role of the state is central to fatherhood
in South Africa, particularly with regard to
1. parental leave for formally employed fathers;
2. access to the Child Support Grant (CSG) for
poor, unemployed fathers and; 3. as a mediator
between mothers and fathers who are navigating
child maintenance and support, disagreements,
separation and/or divorce. The Labour Laws
Amendment Bill, which provides for 10 days of
paid leave to employed fathers, is a move in a
positive direction from the current modest three
working days for paid family responsibility leave
(often used as paternity leave).
While government has made a valiant ef-
fort to fight poverty and inequality through the
introduction of cash-transfer programmes like
the gender-neutral CSG, there is not enough
awareness amongst parents of who is eligible
to access the grant. Advocacy, awareness raising
and information dissemination inclusive of poor,
unemployed fathers are critical to ensuring that
everyone is aware of what is required to access
the CSG. Fathers need to be made aware that
whoever is the primary caregiver of a child can
e
72
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
receive the CSG, provided they meet the means
test criteria.
Imperative to encouraging fathers to apply
for the CSG is the avoidance of painting all men
– fathers included – with the same brush. While
some fathers may be irresponsible and misuse
economic resources meant for their children and
families, most fathers (like most mothers) who
sacrifice their time to prepare for the required
documentation to apply for the CSG are respon-
sible parents who are in need of the money to
provide for their children and families.
Parenting, and fatherhood, are a child’s
right. During mediation between the parents, the
state’s role should always be in the best inter-
ests of the child and ensure that parents address
their differences in amicable ways. However,
the Maintenance Act of 1998 and consequent
amendments have been criticised for defining
involvement in financial terms only. It does not
take into account the other forms of support
fathers may be or need to be providing such as
psychosocial and emotional support, being avail-
able, accessible and engaged. The Act also does
not factor in the role of the paternal extended
family in providing financially for a child at times
when the biological father is incapable or unwill-
ing to provide. If the legal system is to promote
positive fatherhood in the context of high levels
of poverty and unemployment, it should con-
tinue to focus on financial provision in its judge-
ments, but also seek to promote other forms of
involvement.
Cultural practices and customary
laws sensitive to fatherhood
Along with state mechanisms, the roles of cul-
tural practices and customary laws are very sig-
nificant to fatherhood. However, while cultural
norms are essential in maintaining family and
societal values, they must also be flexible and
accommodating to other factors such as socio-
economic contexts. Cultural expectations such
as the payment of inhlawulo and lobola should
accommodate poor, unemployed, unmarried,
non-resident fathers who want to be involved
positively in their children’s lives. Encouraging
and supporting fatherhood in difficult circum-
stances enable fathers to be more involved in
their children’s lives which in turn ensures bet-
ter life outcomes for children, mothers, fathers,
communities and the country as a whole. On
the other hand, it is important to advocate for
and inspire biological fathers who do not live
with their children to take active roles in their
children’s wellbeing. Men can be encouraged by
the knowledge that children have expressed that
fathers’ love, care, presence, and affection are as
important to them as financial support.
Concluding remarks
Fatherhood starts from conception and contin-
ues throughout the life course of the child and
therefore goes beyond impregnation. In this
complex context, fatherhood is a social practice
which transcends biology. This understanding of
fatherhood enables fathers – either biological or
social – to be accorded opportunities structurally,
socially and culturally to be involved in their chil-
dren’s lives from conception to adulthood.
Fathers, mothers, families, communities,
civil society and the state must come together
to promote father involvement. This should be
done throughout the life course by advocating
for policy changes; the reinforcement of positive
cultural norms; and changes to maternal, new-
born and child health services to support greater
male involvement in caregiving and gender
equality. Understanding the importance of this
synergy and taking action on multiple levels is
the only way of ensuring that children’s right to
the resource of fatherhood is realised
Parenting, and
fatherhood, are
a child’s right
SARAH ISAACS
73
Morning Smoothie
Andre works to
institutionalise MenCare
within social work and
social development
institutions. A favourite
weekend activity with
his children is to start
the day with making a
smoothie together.
74
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
Glossary
Absent Fathers
The term ‘absent father’ is used in this report to
refer to a father that is neither physically living in
the same household as his child, nor involved in
the child’s life. While it is often used in writings
about fatherhood to refer to the absence of a bio-
logical father from the household where the child
lives, it can also refer to a non-biological or social
father being absent.
Care
The word ‘care’ is used in several ways in this
report: ‘caring about’ refers to paying attention
to feelings affection and concern about another,
‘caring for’ refers to taking responsibility for the
wellbeing of another, and ‘caregiving’ refers to the
competent engagement in physical care work such
as feeding or washing.1
Child-rearing
The ‘bringing up’ of children by parents or caregiv-
ers. It includes the type of control over children,
the extent of caregiving and the emotional tone of
the home.3
Co-residency
Co-residency is acknowledged in household
surveys by Statistics South Africa when a person
sleeps in the same household for four or more
days per week as the person/s they co-reside with.
Families
The definition of ‘families’, from the White Paper
on Families 2012, refers in this report as: “a
societal group that is related by blood (kinship),
adoption, foster care or the ties of marriage (civil,
customary or religious), civil union or cohabitation,
and go beyond a particular physical residence”.4
Father and Fatherhood
Generally, a man who is the biological parent and/
or caregiver of a child. Globally, the definition of a
father is very much contested on conceptual, prag-
matic and cultural grounds. Some North American
and European scholarship on fatherhood tends to
focus on individual and biological determinants,
asserting that a man becomes a father when he has
his first child. However, in South Africa, as in most
African countries and some African-American com-
munities, being a father and fatherhood go beyond
conception and extends to a network of other close
social relationships between adult males and chil-
dren who may or may not be biologically their own.
Fathering
In this report fathering refers to the care given
by fathers to children. It has been used elsewhere
to mean procreating children, as in ‘the man has
fathered several children’ meaning that the man
has ‘produced several children’; but, in this report,
the term is not used in this manner.5
Father Involvement
Refers to the practical, financial or emotional
engagement of a father in the life of his children.
Parents may be involved in positive ways such as
providing care, or negative ways such as harsh
parenting.
Heteronormativity
The expectation that all people and families are
heterosexual in nature, and the enforcement of
heterosexuality on non-conforming people and
families.
Hegemonic masculinity
We use the term in the way Ratele describes as “as
a shifting pattern of things men do as men that
grants men dominance over women and some
men over other men. Hegemonic masculinity is
thus distinguished from other marginalized or
subordinate masculinities in terms of cultural cur-
rency. As a ruling form of being a man or boy on
a schoolyard, neighbourhood, workplace, or larger
society, the culturally exalted masculinity will tend
to silence, marginalize and oppress other ways of
being a man or boy.”6
Household
Statistics South Africa defines a household as
a person or persons that stay in one or more
housing unit and they may or may not be related,
characterised by shared resources. Some Time Use
Surveys consider people that are physically present
for most of the time as a resident of the household
if they stay for four nights per week within a four-
week cycle.7
75
Inhlawulo
A cultural practice whereby payment, usually of-
fered in the form of cattle or money, is tendered
by the father to the girl’s or woman’s family for
impregnating her outside of marriage. Inhlawulo is
essentially about acknowledging paternity as much
as granting permission to a man to be involved in
his child’s life. It is often referred to as payment of
‘damages’.
Kinship Care
A form of alternative care that is family based,
within the child’s extended family or with close
friends of the family known to the child. Kinship
carers therefore may include relatives, members
of their tribes or clans, godparents, stepparents,
or any adult who has a kinship bond with a child.
Kinship care may be formal or informal in nature.8
Lobola
Lobola, sometimes referred to as ‘bride price’ or
‘bride wealth’, is property in cash or kind, which
a prospective husband or head of his family un-
dertakes to give the head of the prospective wife’s
family in consideration of a customary marriage.
Non-resident Fathers
Non-residency is noted by Statistics South Africa
when a parent is away from the home for four or
more days per week. Non-resident fathers may still
be involved in a child’s life. Some authors distin-
guish between non-resident fathers by regarding
them as active and contributing members to a
household, but who do not live in the household,
and absent fathers who are neither physically
present nor emotionally or practically involved. In
this report we focus on residency and involvement
of fathers as the two key aspects to consider, and
we do not attach the status of ‘household member’
to non-resident fathers.
Parenting
The promotion and support of the physical,
emotional, social and intellectual development of
a child from infancy to adulthood. Parenting is an
activity of raising a child rather than a biological
relationship.9
Residency
Residency status of fathers refers to whether the
child and father live in the same household or not.
Social Fatherhood
A social father is a person that takes on the
responsibility and role of being a father to a child,
but who is not the biological male parent of the
child. The status of fatherhood is therefore a social
status rather than a biological one, and may be
actively sought by and/or ascribed to the person
by their family or community. One person could be
a biological father to one child and a social father
to another. These include maternal and paternal
uncles, grandfathers, older brothers and mothers’
partners who singly or collectively provide for
children’s livelihood and education, and give them
paternal love and guidance. 10
Unpaid Care Work
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme
poverty and human rights defined unpaid care
work as including “domestic work (meal prepara-
tion, cleaning, washing clothes, water and fuel
collection) and direct care of persons (including
children, older persons, persons with disabilities,
as well as able-bodied adults) carried out in homes
and communities”.2
References
1 Tronto, J.B. (1993). Moral boundaries. A political argu-
ment for an ethic of care. New York, London: Routledge.
2 Sepúlveda, C.M. (2013). Report of the special rap-
porteur on extreme poverty and human rights: New
York: United Nations General Assembly.
3 Saramma, P.P., & Thomas, S.V. (2010). Child rearing
knowledge and practice scales for women with epi-
lepsy. Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology, 13(3),
171-179, DOI.10.4103/0972-2327.70877./31.
4 Department of Social Development. (2012). White
paper on families in South Africa. Pretoria: DSD.
5 Richter, L., Chikovore, J., & Makusha, T. (2010). The
status of fatherhood and fathering in South Africa.
Childhood Education, 86, 360-365.
6 Kopano, R. (2013). Subordinate black South Afri-
can men without fear. African Studies Papers [Online],
209-210, posted on 6 June 2015.
7 Statistics South Africa. (2018). Grandparenthood
in the context of ageing in South Africa. Statistics
South Africa report 03-00-12. Pretoria: Stats SA.
8 Save the Children UK. (2007). Kinship care pro-
viding positive and safe care for children living away
from home. Save the Children UK.
9 Department of Social Development. (no date).
Draft integrated parenting framework. Pretoria: DSD.
10 Richter, L., Chikovore, J., & Makusha, T. (2010). The
status of fatherhood and fathering in South Africa.
Childhood Education, 86, 360-365.
76
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
Mbuyiselo Botha is a Commissioner of the
Commission for Gender Equality, and a well-
known commentator and columnist who regularly
features in commercial and community-based
media. He has worked for Sonke Gender Justice as
Media and Government Liaison Manager for eight
years, and was a founder member and Secretary-
General of the South African Men’s Forum where
he dealt with issues of advocacy, training and
community-based structure building.
Leonie Human is a member of the Department
of Psychology, University of the Witwatersrand.
She is currently conducting her PhD research on
the experiences of non-residential fatherhood
amongst South African men living in Johannes-
burg. She is part of the Father Connections Team
at Wits. Her research interests include fathering
practices, parental alienation as well as the role
of traditional healing and mental health in local
communities.
Grace Khunou is a Professor in the Sociology
Department, University of Johannesburg. She is
C-rated by the National Research Foundation.
She writes creatively and academically and has
published peer-reviewed journals, book chapters
and research reports. These include her edited
book “The Emergent Middle Class” (2015), and
a special issue on father absence in the Open
Family Studies Journal (2015). Grace is pas-
sionate about mentorship and has successfully
supervised over 20 research projects.
Zoheb Khan is a Mixed Methods Researcher at
the Centre for Social Development in Africa, Uni-
versity of Johannesburg. His research interests in-
clude social protection, labour relations and youth
development in the global South, and how gender
intersects with these areas. He is currently in the
final stages of his PhD research which focuses on
men who receive the Child Support Grant.
Andre Lewaks is a manager for the Children’s
Rights and Positive Parenting Programme at Sonke
Gender Justice. A social worker by profession, he
About the authors
worked for the Department of Social Development
in various positions, including as a Social Work
Policy Developer responsible for coordinating the
department’s fatherhood programme in the West-
ern Cape. Andre holds a BDIAC degree in social
work, a Masters in Child and Family Studies and
is currently enrolled for a PHD in Child and Family
Studies at the University of the Western Cape.
Tawanda Makusha is a Senior Research Spe-
cialist at the Human Sciences Research Council.
He holds a PhD and a Masters degree, with his
research focusing on men, masculinities, father-
hood, and male involvement in maternal and child
health in the first 1,000 days; and the impact of
poverty and HIV/AIDS on children and families.
Tawanda has published peer-reviewed journal
articles and book chapters on fatherhood, child
wellbeing, men and masculinities and how they
are impacted on by poverty, and HIV and AIDS in
South Africa.
Gareth Mercer is a Resident Physician in
ophthalmology at McGill University, in Montréal,
Canada. He has a PhD in Population and Public
Health from the University of British Columbia.
His PhD research focused on better understanding
South African fathers’ involvement in caring for
young children, and how this might influence child
health. He is committed to improving health eq-
uity through his work and is currently researching
interventions to reduce social inequities in access
to eye healthcare services.
Elena Moore is an Associate Professor in the
Department of Sociology and the Director of the
Families and Societies Research Unit, Centre for
Social Science Research, University of Cape Town.
She also currently acts as the DST-NRF Chair in
Customary Law, Human Rights and Indigenous
Values. Among her many publications are the book
“Divorce, Families and Emotion Work” (2017) and
“The Reform of Customary Marriage, Divorce and
Intestate Succession” (co-authored, 2015). Her
main research interests are personal life, kinship,
gender, intergenerational relations, customary
77
law, family law and policy, feminist theories, bio-
graphical methods and mixed methods.
Robert Morrell works in the Office of the Vice-
Chancellor at the University of Cape Town. He is
author of “From Boys to Gentlemen” (2001) and
co-authored “Towards Gender Equality. South Af-
rican schools during the HIV and AIDS pandemic”
(2009). Amongst his edited works are “Changing
Men in Southern Africa” (2001); “African Mascu-
linities” (co-authored, 2005); “Baba: Men and Fa-
therhood in South Africa” (co-authored, 2006) and
“Books and Babies: Pregnancy and Parenthood in
South African Schools” (co-authored, 2012).
Motlalepule Nathane is a qualified Social
Worker and a Lecturer in the Department of So-
cial Work, University of the Witwatersrand. She
is involved in several research collaborations on
fatherhood. Tlale has special interests in the field
of child protection, youth development, social
justice, gender, poverty, race and fatherhood. She
is in the final stages of her PhD in the School of
Human and Community Development, Wits. Her
research topic is female-headed households’ ex-
periences of father absence.
Mzikazi Nduna, PhD, is a National Research
Foundation Y-rated scientist, an Associate Profes-
sor in the Department of Psychology and the Head
of the School of Human and Community Develop-
ment, University of the Witwatersrand. She has
research interests in father connections and sexual
and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). She is
well published, including 52 peer-reviewed journal
articles, and has co-edited four journal special is-
sues on SRHR, father connections, and sexual ori-
entation and gender identity in higher education.
Marlize Rabe is a Professor in the Department
of Sociology, University of South Africa. She main-
ly does qualitative research on family issues relat-
ing to gender and intergenerational relationships.
More recently, she has published on how family
policies can be more inclusive in South Africa,
especially as it relates to caregiving. She is cur-
rently involved in a multi-site research project on
the role of faith-based organisations in the lives of
marginalised youth.
Kopano Ratele is a Professor in the Institute
of Social and Health Science, University of South
Africa and researcher in the Medical Research
Council–UNISA Violence, Injury & Peace Research
Unit where he runs the Men & Masculinities and
Transdisciplinary African Psychology Programme.
His research focuses on masculinities and psy-
chology in intersection with fatherhood, violence,
race, income, sexuality, and culture. His books
include “Liberating Masculinities” (2016) and the
co-edited “Engaging Youth in Activism, Research
and Pedagogical Praxis: Transnational and Inter-
sectional Perspectives on Gender, Sex, and Race”
(2018). He co-hosts “Cape Talk Dads” with Koketso
Sachane on The Koketso Sachane Show.
Linda Richter is a Distinguished Professor and
Director of the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence at
the University of the Witwatersrand, having also
held honorary positions at the Universities of
Harvard, Melbourne and Oxford. A developmental
psychologist, she focuses on the impact of adver-
sity on children, adolescents and families, as well
as policy and programme interventions to pro-
tect and support human development across the
lifespan and inter-generationally. She started the
Fatherhood Project at the Human Sciences Re-
search Council and edited “Baba: Men and Father-
hood in South Africa” with Robert Morrell.
Wessel van den Berg is the Children’s Rights
and Positive Parenting Unit Manager at Sonke
Gender Justice which includes co-coordinating
the MenCare Global Fatherhood Campaign, ad-
vocacy for the prohibition of corporal punishment
in all settings, and the promotion of gender equal
parental leave. He is passionate about gender
transformation, resilience, and sustainable devel-
opment, and especially about men’s involvement
in care. He holds a Masters degree in Sustainable
Development and is currently enrolled for a PhD in
Sociology at Stellenbosch University.
78
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
THE STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS REPORT 2018
TREVOR DAVIES
This is the fi rst issue of an evolving
report, planned for publication every
three years. It can be used in the
development of policy and legislation
for families, labour market regulations,
educational curricula and other training
materials. It can be referenced as
a source of expert information for
advocacy and community groups,
individual families and legislative
committees. It contains specifi c
recommendations for shifting norms
towards gender-equitable parenting,
and highlights men’s caregiving as an
institutional and social priority. The
report promotes a nuanced approach
to fatherhood for improved support for
families in South Africa.
ISBN: 978-0-620-80417-2
THE STATE OF
SOUTH
AFRICA’S
FATHERS
REPORT: 2018
SONKE GENDER JUSTICE
HUMAN SCIENCES
RESEARCH COUNCIL
MENCARE
STATE OF
SOUTH
AFRICA’S
FATHERS
2018
STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FATHERS 2018
SONKE GENDER
JUSTICE
HUMAN SCIENCES
RESEARCH COUNCIL
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