With the reopening of schools last week, and as debates about the safety and concerns of teachers and pupils continue, we reflect on how caregiving during the pandemic has deepened inequalities for low-income employed mothers and essential workers who care for children.
Author: rob
Co-Editor of Families, Relationships and Societies
I am very excited to announce that I have just become a co-editor of Families, Relationships and Societies. The vibrant social science journal which focuses on scholarship and debates in the field of families and personal relationships was one of the first journals I published in and I am delighted to be part of the team.
Plenary Talk at Virtual Conference on Healthy Ageing
In this plenary talk at the UCT-hosted, IARU Healthy Ageing: Research, Strategies and Actions, Annual Graduate Student Conference, 30 Sept – 2 Oct 2020, I…
COPSAN hosts first workshop
Last week at the end of January, COPSAN held it’s first workshop exploring the question of Who cares for older persons in Southern Africa. With academic scholars and government officials from Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa and the UK, the network aims to support scholars to understand region-specific issues and will assist leaders, donors, and technical experts in the process of policy-making for elderly care provision.
Single Marriage Statute – Media Release and Discussion Paper
The SA Law Reform Commission’s discussion paper no.152 on the Single Marriage Statute was released recently . The government is developing a new marriage policy for the country with a view to creating one single consolidated marriages act. Currently, marriages in South Africa are regulated through three pieces of legislation – Marriage Act 25 of 1961 (for monogamous marriage for opposite sex couples), Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998 (polygamous marriages for opposite sex couples) and Civil Unions Act 17 of 2006 (monogamous partnerships for both same and opposite sex couples).
Symposium on Childcare at Transforming Care Conference
I will be hosting a symposium at the upcoming Transforming Care Virtual Conference. This symposium examines the state’s response to the care for young children during the pandemic and the implications for challenging ‘gendered’ assumptions and responsibilities around paid and unpaid care work. It looks at case studies across the Globe (UK, South Africa, Brazil and Italy) to explore the ways in which the pandemic changes or reinscribes traditional patterns of care for young children.
Government pushes Early Childhood Development centres to the brink
This is a terrifying article on the fragility of the early child development sector and the state’s neglect and financial abuse towards this sector. Whilst the Covid-19 era has put childcare issues under the spotlight, the author highlights the longstanding neglect of this vital sector.
Global Challenges Research Fund
I am excited to announce that I have been awarded a Global Challenges Research Fund to develop a research network on the Care of Older Persons in Southern Africa for 2021. The grant supports the development of a network by bringing together researchers, NGOs and government officials from South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana and Zimbabwe, and gerontologistss from the UK… for more see this project.
Elderly residents won’t be left on the streets, says CPOA
This is a revealing article on GroundUp on the cost of care provision for older persons and the provision of support from NGOs and the state. The article reveals the financial support offered by the state in providing for care for older persons
Adding insult to injury: When you’re a womxn and a caregiver, you’re not a citizen
By denying womxn access to the Covid-19 social relief grant when they are also receiving child support grants for the children in their care, the state is making its position clear: Womxn’s roles are firmly located in the family and it’s acceptable for their rights to go there to die.