M.A. University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities (Forced Migration Studies), 2012 / Background:
This research investigates the psychosocial needs of cross-border unaccompanied
minors (UAMs) within urban Johannesburg, a city that attracts nearly half of all the
cross-border migrant population in South Africa (Landau and Gindrey, 2008). The
focus of the research is dual; firstly, it explores what the prime psychosocial needs of
UAMs are by eliciting them from the UAMs themselves via participatory research
workshops. South Africa, by law, has an obligation to all UAMs to provide for them.
By ascertaining these needs, this study reveals discrepancies between existing
psychosocial programmes designed and provided by the government or service
providers and the needs of the UAM. Secondly, the research examines how UAMs are
trying to satisfy their psychosocial needs. Identifying the psychosocial needs of
UAMs and their coping mechanisms gives us a better understanding of the nature of
the issues UAMs face, as well as their subjective perception of and priority they place
on those issues. This can consequently contribute (a) to providing constructive
suggestions on designing psychosocial programmes by governmental, nongovernmental
organisations (NGOs), and non-profit organisations (NPOs) and (b)
valuable input to further research on livelihood-seeking UAMs, a group that is
currently under-represented in cross-border UAM studies, unlike asylum seeking or
refugee UAMs.
Aims: The aim of this study is to understand the psychosocial needs of UAMs and how they
are meeting those needs in Johannesburg. This will provide insights on the nature of
the psychosocial needs of UAMs that will ultimately be helpful both to government
agencies as well as NGOs and NPOs responsible for programme planning, legislation,
and execution of policies regarding cross-border UAMs. Finally, the study aims to
draw attention to livelihood-seeking UAMs and to encourage further research on this
particular group of UAMs. Therefore my research question is: what are the
psychosocial needs of cross-border UAMs in Johannesburg?
Methods:
In this study, a qualitative research approach is used with the aim of uncovering the
psychosocial needs of cross-border UAMs. This was done by using participatory
action research and a visual methodology. The data was elicited via two participatory
workshops, the first with 36 cross-border minors participants and the second with 12
cross-border UAM participants. This was followed by a series of group discussions
after the workshops. Afterwards, a comparison between the participants’ visual inputs
with their narratives and responses allowed me to extrapolate their psychosocial needs
and ways in which they meet those needs. Adding to the study, 11 semi-structured
interviews were conducted with service providers from various organisations, both
non-governmental and governmental. Finally, the data was compiled from both the
cross-border UAM s and service providers to answer the research question and objectives. Conclusion:
This research identifies and discusses the following psychosocial needs of crossborder
UAMs: family, a care-giver, documentation, fitting-in with their South
African peers, security, schooling, better life quality (economic and social
advancement), counselling, and playing. The four themes in bold text represent
psychosocial needs, which continue to be unmet or unfulfilled by service providers
current responses. Although the basic (ontological) needs of cross-border UAMs seem
to be met (i.e., food, housing, clothing), psychosocial needs - those needed for
emotional well-being - are undermined because service providers do not see them as
fundamental as basic needs.
One conclusion from my study is that NGOs can better cater to UAMs’ psychosocial
needs due to their flexible infrastructure that can accommodate personalisation and
prompt redesigning of programmes offered, in contradistinction to the recalcitrant
governmental infrastructure. Currently service providers, such as governmental
departments, NGOs and NPOs use the law (such as the Children’s Act (2008)),
regulations or psychosocial programmes to aid cross-border UAMs, but these laws
and programmes are manufactured for either homogenous groups or very specific
groups such as refugees and asylum seekers. However, there are persisting gaps in the
services available. These gaps are due to the varied nature of psychosocial
needs that each ‘child’ has to meet, which is also contingent on their own background
and personality. Under the Children’s Act (2008), minors are
categorised as a
homogeneous group and therefore individual needs are overlooked. Organisations
both governmental and non-governmental have tried to incorporate child friendly
practices, although in most of the interviews it was mentioned that policy, such as the
Children’s Act (2008), is not necessarily ‘child’ or ‘family’ friendly.
Overall this research indicates that NGOs and NPOs are well-equipped to cater to the
psychosocial needs of UAMs, such as school, family reunification and basic needs.
Certain psychosocial needs, however, such as ‘fitting-in’, are still unmet. In these
cases, UAMs resort to catering to their own needs (lke living on the street in selfappointed
families), relying on service providers for emotional support and/or basic needs.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/11791 |
| Date | 24 August 2012 |
| Creators | Johnston, Libby |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf, application/pdf |
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