What is “a family”? In South African law, the answer – or rather, answers– are broad. For example, it’s not considered unusual or unacceptable for children to move between kin and to be raised at different stages by grandparents, parents and other relatives. Kinship care is a widespread and customary practice in South Africa, as it is elsewhere in southern Africa.

On 29 November 2018, the Constitutional Court will consider the constitutionality of the use of corporal punishment in the home. The Constitutional Court has prohibited corporal punishment in detention settings in 1995 and in schools in 2000, and this case presents the opportunity to prohibit its use in the home.

Very few mothers in South Africa exclusively breastfeed for the first 6 months of life as recommended by the World Health Organisation – with only 1 in 4 babies exclusively breastfed by the time they are 4 – 5 months old.  And these low exclusive breastfeeding rates contribute to the high prevalence of malnutrition, diarrhoea, pneumonia and under-five mortality in South Africa. 

Many South African children have experienced sexual, physical or emotional abuse before they turn 18. While reports of child sexual abuse usually engender moral outrage, physical abuse of children goes largely unnoticed, particularly when such abuse occurs in the home and is seen as ‘discipline’. As we approach this year’s Child Protection Week, it is critical to recognise the mounting social and economic costs of physical abuse of children to the country.

This review presents research evidence on child poverty in South Africa. It includes discussions on key concepts used in child poverty research, quantitative studies about child poverty in South Africa, and some of the keys issues around children and inequality. It also highlights some of the key studies that have focused on the Child Support Grant, an important poverty alleviation tool.