Exploring the experiences of female child marriage survivors: A case study of Epworth in Harare Metropolitan, Zimbabwe
- Authors: Muchawaya, Ropafadzo D
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Teenage marriage Forced marriage
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSW
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/18199 , vital:42241
- Description: Child marriage is a marriage is a formal or informal marriage where one or both parties are under 18 years of age. The practice has an undesirable impact especially on the wellbeing of girls; it affects them physically, intellectually, psychologically and emotionally. Besides having an undesirable impact on young girls, child marriages also have negative impact on their children and families as a whole. The experiences of survivors of child marriage have been ignored in previous research. The literature largely focused on the causes and effects of child marriage. The aim of the study was to explore the experiences of survivors of child marriage. The objectives of the study were to examine causes of child marriage in Epworth Harare, finding out challenges faced by survivors of child marriage, exploring the different coping mechanisms employed by survivors of child marriage and investigating the social services provided to survivors of child marriage by different stakeholders in Epworth Harare. The qualitative research method was adopted in the study and it informed its data collection and analysis process. In-depth and focus group discussions were therefore used to gain insight into the experiences of participants. Through the use of purposive sampling, 36 participants comprising of survivors of child marriage, parents, community leaders, and social workers in Epworth were selected. The study was guided by family systems theory and resilience theory. The findings revealed that drivers of child marriage are many and affected survivors of child marriage. However, it was found out that each cause of child marriage affected survivors of child marriage differently. Survivors of child marriage in Epworth encounter many challenges including relationship, emotional and psychological, social and economic and financial challenges that affect their livelihoods. An analysis of in-depth interviews and focus group discussions shows that survivors of child marriage face various challenges because of the economic situation in Zimbabwe, negative societal views and negative impact of child marriage on their mental health. It was, therefore concluded that for survivors of child marriage to have an improved life, there is a need for partnership and collaboration of different stakeholders in their social service delivery. It is recommended that more income-generating community-based v projects are provided to survivors of child marriage with basic opportunities they often lack and social support networks that promote change in attitudes and behavior. Lastly, there is a need to increase the number of social workers working with survivors of child marriage in Epworth
- Full Text:
- Authors: Muchawaya, Ropafadzo D
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Teenage marriage Forced marriage
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSW
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/18199 , vital:42241
- Description: Child marriage is a marriage is a formal or informal marriage where one or both parties are under 18 years of age. The practice has an undesirable impact especially on the wellbeing of girls; it affects them physically, intellectually, psychologically and emotionally. Besides having an undesirable impact on young girls, child marriages also have negative impact on their children and families as a whole. The experiences of survivors of child marriage have been ignored in previous research. The literature largely focused on the causes and effects of child marriage. The aim of the study was to explore the experiences of survivors of child marriage. The objectives of the study were to examine causes of child marriage in Epworth Harare, finding out challenges faced by survivors of child marriage, exploring the different coping mechanisms employed by survivors of child marriage and investigating the social services provided to survivors of child marriage by different stakeholders in Epworth Harare. The qualitative research method was adopted in the study and it informed its data collection and analysis process. In-depth and focus group discussions were therefore used to gain insight into the experiences of participants. Through the use of purposive sampling, 36 participants comprising of survivors of child marriage, parents, community leaders, and social workers in Epworth were selected. The study was guided by family systems theory and resilience theory. The findings revealed that drivers of child marriage are many and affected survivors of child marriage. However, it was found out that each cause of child marriage affected survivors of child marriage differently. Survivors of child marriage in Epworth encounter many challenges including relationship, emotional and psychological, social and economic and financial challenges that affect their livelihoods. An analysis of in-depth interviews and focus group discussions shows that survivors of child marriage face various challenges because of the economic situation in Zimbabwe, negative societal views and negative impact of child marriage on their mental health. It was, therefore concluded that for survivors of child marriage to have an improved life, there is a need for partnership and collaboration of different stakeholders in their social service delivery. It is recommended that more income-generating community-based v projects are provided to survivors of child marriage with basic opportunities they often lack and social support networks that promote change in attitudes and behavior. Lastly, there is a need to increase the number of social workers working with survivors of child marriage in Epworth
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The experiences of youth after exiting the foster care system in South Africa: A case study of Kou-kamma Municipality, Eastern Cape Province
- Authors: Phillip, Malusi
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Foster home care Social work with teenagers
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSW
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/18164 , vital:42238
- Description: There is a high number of children placed in foster care in the Eastern Cape compared to other provinces as of 2017, this proves that foster care is the most preferred form of substitute care in South Africa. Despite the revelations that foster care is the mostly practiced form of substitute care in South Africa, children do not remain forever in the foster care system. Every year, hundreds of young adults age out of the foster care system in South Africa when they officially become adults at or around their 18th birthday. The aim of the study was to investigate the experiences of youth who have exited the foster care system in Kou-kamma Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape province. A qualitative research method was employed. The study made use of 26 participants, 21 youth who exited the foster care system were purposively selected from all six wards of Kou-kamma Municipality and six social workers were also purposively selected from three child welfare organizations in Kou-kamma Municipality. An interview guide was developed for both sets of participants and they were individually interviewed. The findings show that youth who have been exited from the foster care system experience a series of challenges after they have exited, including experimenting with drugs and alcohol as a negative coping mechanism, unplanned pregnancy, lack of support to enter tertiary education institutions, and financial challenges., Furthermore, the findings indicate that the youth developed coping strategies including working as seasonal workers on fruit farms of the langkloof and in the tourism and forestry of the Tsitsikamma. The youth also reported receiving support from their partners and former foster parents. Support services after the exit from the social service organizations was found to be non-existent and also the fact that social workers were facing a vii number of challenges in their quest to fulfil their roles. Some of these challenges include lack of resources, heavy caseloads, poor remuneration and inadequate office space which led to sharing. It is evident from the study that former foster youth in Koukamma are not exempted, they too encounter a lot of challenges after exiting the foster care system, more especially at the early stage of the exit with no form of support at all from child welfare organizations, they are made to find their own way in life as they are regarded as adults. It is recommended that a multi- stakeholder approach inclusive of different stakeholders needs to be adopted.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Phillip, Malusi
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Foster home care Social work with teenagers
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSW
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/18164 , vital:42238
- Description: There is a high number of children placed in foster care in the Eastern Cape compared to other provinces as of 2017, this proves that foster care is the most preferred form of substitute care in South Africa. Despite the revelations that foster care is the mostly practiced form of substitute care in South Africa, children do not remain forever in the foster care system. Every year, hundreds of young adults age out of the foster care system in South Africa when they officially become adults at or around their 18th birthday. The aim of the study was to investigate the experiences of youth who have exited the foster care system in Kou-kamma Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape province. A qualitative research method was employed. The study made use of 26 participants, 21 youth who exited the foster care system were purposively selected from all six wards of Kou-kamma Municipality and six social workers were also purposively selected from three child welfare organizations in Kou-kamma Municipality. An interview guide was developed for both sets of participants and they were individually interviewed. The findings show that youth who have been exited from the foster care system experience a series of challenges after they have exited, including experimenting with drugs and alcohol as a negative coping mechanism, unplanned pregnancy, lack of support to enter tertiary education institutions, and financial challenges., Furthermore, the findings indicate that the youth developed coping strategies including working as seasonal workers on fruit farms of the langkloof and in the tourism and forestry of the Tsitsikamma. The youth also reported receiving support from their partners and former foster parents. Support services after the exit from the social service organizations was found to be non-existent and also the fact that social workers were facing a vii number of challenges in their quest to fulfil their roles. Some of these challenges include lack of resources, heavy caseloads, poor remuneration and inadequate office space which led to sharing. It is evident from the study that former foster youth in Koukamma are not exempted, they too encounter a lot of challenges after exiting the foster care system, more especially at the early stage of the exit with no form of support at all from child welfare organizations, they are made to find their own way in life as they are regarded as adults. It is recommended that a multi- stakeholder approach inclusive of different stakeholders needs to be adopted.
- Full Text:
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