Research suggests that younger women who care for children are less likely than other caregivers to access the Child Support Grant (CSG), yet few studies in South Africa explore barriers to accessing the CSG.
This brief presents the findings of an exploratory descriptive study that explored young women’s (18-25) access and use of social grants in urban informal settlements in Durban, South Africa, on behalf of their children, and the impact this has on their lives. A total of 30 young women whose children were eligible for the Child Support Grant were recruited for in-depth interviews.
Results indicate that young women who were receiving the CSG for their children found that this significantly improved their lives, allowing unemployed young women to support their families and take care of their children. Analysis suggests that the factors limiting access to the CSG included: the inaccessibility of relevant documents; the inaccessibility of, and lack of resources in SASSA offices; the verbal and emotional abuse directed to young mothers by SASSA and other government officials; and finally, bureaucratic arbitrariness.
However, despite the challenges described by young women in applying for accessing the CSG, they also described how support from their families was crucial. These findings provide a better understanding of the barriers and facilitators to accessing CSG for young women.