key: cord-279401-eehb5yny
authors: Haffejee, Sadiyya; Levine, Diane Thembekile
title: ‘When will I be free’: Lessons of COVID-19 for Child Protection in South Africa
date: 2020-09-04
journal: Child Abuse Negl
DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104715
sha: 
doc_id: 279401
cord_uid: eehb5yny

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has highlighted and amplified structural inequalities; drawing attention to issues of racism, poverty, xenophobia as well as arguably ineffective government policies and procedures. In South Africa, the pandemic and the resultant national lockdown has highlighted the shortcomings in the protection and care of children. Children in alternative care are particularly at risk as a result of disrupted and uncoordinated service delivery. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the experiences and impact of the pandemic and the resulting social isolation on the wellbeing and protection of children living in a residential care facility. Methods and participants: We used qualitative, participatory approaches – specifically draw-and-write methods – to engage with 32 children (average age = 13.5 years) living in a residential care facility in Gauteng. FINDINGS: Children in care demonstrated an awareness of the socio-economic difficulties facing communities in South Africa, and shared deep concerns about the safety, well-being and welfare of parents and siblings. Although they expressed frustration at the lack of contact with family members, they acknowledged the resources they had access to in a residential care facility, which enabled them to cope and which ensured their safety. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: We focus our discussion on the necessity of a systemic response to child welfare, including a coordinated approach by policy makers, government departments and child welfare systems to address the structural factors at the root of inequality and inadequate, unacceptable care. This is essential not only during COVID-19 but also in pre- and post-pandemic context.

with care facilities either shutting down and releasing children prematurely or keeping children in-care, without access to family and friends. Emerging reports from South Africa confirm this, showing that key government departments responsible for vulnerable children in residential care have been severely hampered by the crisis (Wolfson-Vorster, 2020a). Continuity of care as well as coordination of services between all essential service providers; key activities in ensuring the safety and protection of children, has been constrained (Fallon et al, 2020) .

In this exploratory study, we consider the impacts of COVID-19 for children in one non-governmental organisation in Johannesburg, South Africa, which aimed to provide continuous and consistent care for children living in residential care. We ask 'What can the experiences and perspectives of South African children in care during lockdown tell us about the themes we should focus on to improve care moving forward? We focus on children's experience of the lockdown as well as COVID-19; their concerns as well as the protective resources that enables them to cope. We frame the experiences of these children in care against a background of a crippled social system and reflect critically on what systemic changes are needed to support children. This study offers a way forward and contributes to an emerging body of research on the impact of pandemics on child well-being and protection. 

To address a global pandemic such as COVID-19 requires inspired, informed leadership and co-ordination between all sectors of government and civil society. This has occurred to a limited extent in South Africa.

In comparison to the hesitancy that characterised some of the global responses to the pandemic, South Africa's initial response was decisive. The complete national lockdown which began on the 26 th March 2020, saw trade, places of worship, and recreational activities shut down. A national curfew was mandated and movement between provinces prohibited. These stringent measures were considered necessary to flatten the curve and to ready the health system for a potential influx of cases. Some rights groups and commentators however raised concerns about the impact and feasibility of such measures in a context with gross pre-existing and historic socio-economic inequalities (World Bank, 2018) and a struggling economy (Marais, 2020) . Acknowledging these challenges and to mitigate against the worst impacts of the pandemic, the South African government introduced a number of temporary social and economic relief measures, which included increasing the health budget, economic support through the unemployment insurance fund, support for small business and tax relief measures.

Social relief support measures included the establishment of the special COVID-19 Social Relief Distress (SRD) grant of R350 per month (£16/$20) as well as increases to existing social welfare grants, for example, the basic child support grant was increased by an additional R440 per month (£20/$26). The government, through the Department of Social Development, also pledged to distribute food packages to communities most in need.

As predicted however in a country with such disparate, intense needs these resources have simply not been enough, failing to buffer the majority of South Africans from worsening J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f social and economic conditions (Van Bruwaene, et al., 2020) . Findings from the National Income Dynamics Study-Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-CRAM), found that almost 3 million people lost their jobs during the most intensive lockdown period and during this time 1 in 7 children reported that they had gone hungry in the week before they were interviewed during May or June (NIDS-CRAM, 2020) . Compounding, what is rapidly being seen as a humanitarian crisis, is the constrained leadership at national and provincial level and lack of co-ordination between government departments (Thebus, 2020) . The Department of Social Development (DSD), a key department in the care and protection of children and its Minister, have been severely criticised for providing little leadership during this period (Weiner, 2020) . For example, DSD's delivery of the much needed and promised food parcels have been hampered by reports of corruption and theft, cumbersome processes, lack of capacity to distribute food packages, lack of data on who needs this assistance and insufficient funds to meet the needs of the population (Wolfson-Vorster, 2020a).

Similarly, distribution of the COVID SRD grant has been challenged by complicated processes making it difficult to access. Activists report that as at July 2020, approximately four months into lockdown, 74% of individuals eligible to receive the grant have not received it (Thebus, 2020) .

The Department of Basic Education (DBE), another crucial department, took a decision, at the beginning of the lockdown period to also stop the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP), as a result, the 9.6 million children who are dependent on this one meal a day have had to go without food. A number of child's rights groups instituted legal action against the Minister of Basic Education as well as the provincial MEC's, arguing that the failure of government to recommence this nutrition programme was a regression of the rights to education and to basic nutrition (See www.centreforchildlaw.co.za). On the 17 July 2020, DBE was ordered to reopen the NSNP, with the Judge asserting that in closing the programme, the J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f

Minister, and her MECs were in breach of their constitutional and statutory duties (Wolfson-Vorster, 2020b).

To understand the impact that COVID-19 has on the individual child we reference a multi-systemic framework; this framework situates the individual within broader systems and contextual factors, acknowledging the interconnectedness between physical, individual, relationships, community, and society. Masten and Motti-Stefanidi (2020) note that risks to individuals span across all of these levels and as the pandemic unfolds, the challenges to these systems also change. Similarly, factors that enable and support resilience are situated across levels. Here we draw on a COVID-19 specific explanation of systemic risks shared by the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (2019) as well as that used by UNICEF (2020). From this perspective, individual level risks during a pandemic, include increased risks of child abuse, neglect, violence, exploitation as well as potential psychological distress and a negative impact on development. Challenges also include adjusting to the changed circumstances, with school closures, disrupted routines, isolation from friends and peers and fear of the unknown and losing loved ones (Ghosh, Dubey, Chatterjee & Dubey, 2020; Orgiles, Morales, Delvecchio, Mazzeschi & Espada, 2020 , Zhou, 2020 . These changes may result in increased feelings of anxiety and distress or may exacerbate existing mental health issues and enhance the risk of developing psychological disorders (Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, 2019; Wang, Xiao, Sun, Wang & Xu, 2020) . At the level of the family, risks may include family separation, reduced access to social supports, caregiver distress, heightened risk of violence/domestic abuse, disruption to family earnings as well as disrupted family connections and support and fear of the disease (Spinelli, Lionetti, Pastore & Fasolo, 2020) . Community level risks may include distrust within communities, competition over J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f limited resources, inadequate access to support services including educational resources and support (Fischer et al., 2020; Sekyere, Bohler-Muller, Hongoro & Makoae, 2020) . Lastly societal level risks include corrosion of social capital and disrupted and inadequate access to basic services (Fischer et al., 2020; Scott, 2020; Sekyere et al., 2020) .

As discussed, within the South African context, these systemic risks are amplified by pre-existing challenges. Present day South Africa continues to be characterized by deeply embedded inequalities and structural violence, a legacy of colonialism and apartheid (Loffell, 2008; Tshishonga, 2019) . This inequality manifests in high levels of poverty, discrimination, poor access to education, health and social services, poor service delivery and exposure to high rates of communal and interpersonal violence (Zizzami, Schotte & Leibbrandt al, 2019) .

Children in South Africa are particularly vulnerable as a result of these structural challenges;

for example, poverty creates food insecurity which impacts on a child's physical, mental and cognitive development (Hall & Sambu, 2014) . Research suggests that prior to the pandemic a quarter of children in South Africa were stunted, 12.5 million children were dependent on child support grants, 59% of children lived below the upper-bound poverty line, 30% of children were without access to water and 8% of children lived in overcrowded households (Hall & Sambu, 2014 , 2019 Lake et al., 2020; Van der Berg & Spaull, 2020) .

Poverty is recognized as a significant barrier to children's well-being, impacting on health and educational opportunities and increasing vulnerability to child maltreatment (Fernandez, Delfabbro, Ramiac & Kovacs, 2019; Loffell, 2008; Manyema & Richter, 2019; Meinck, Cluver & Boyes, 2015) . Artz et al (2016) found that approximately 40% of young people in South Africa have had direct experiences of abuse. Fear and additional stressors caused by the pandemic provides an enabling environment that may exacerbate or trigger diverse forms of violence against children and women (Peterman et al, 2020) . Given the J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f existing high levels of gender-based violence, sexual abuse and child abuse in South Africa, of significant concern, during these exceptional times, is the safety of children, especially as many are in close, constant proximity to potential abusers. Lack of income and employment opportunities and food insecurity are likely to increase conflict within families, thereby increasing risk to children (Mathews, Jamieson & Makola, 2020 Similarly, disruptions in education risks the wellbeing of children both in the short-term and may have significant long-term consequences. While some children have been able to access online learning, for the majority of children living in conditions of poverty, with no access to a phone, television or computer this has not been possible, further deepening the digital divide (Fore, 2020) . Van der Berg and Spaull (2020) report that by the beginning of August 2020, at least 4 million children will have missed more than half (57%) of the number of school days and they note that the education system in South Africa is unlikely to make up this time. This has significant long-term consequences in a country with staggeringly high rates of illiteracy (Howie et al., 2017) .

J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f (Mamelani, 2013) .

Children identified as vulnerable includes a child who i) has been abandoned or orphaned and is without any visible means of support;

ii) displays behaviour which cannot be controlled by the parent or care-giver;

iii) lives or works on the streets or begs for a living; iv) is addicted to a dependence-producing substance and is without any support to obtain treatment for such dependency; v) has been or is at risk of serious physical or mental harm; or vi) has been abused, neglected, or exploited (Mahery, Jamieson & Scott, 2011) .

Given the wide range of needs of children entering care, CYCCs are mandated to not only provide for the basic needs of children in terms of food and shelter and access to education, but are required to make therapeutic programmes available. Section 191 of the Children's Act provides a comprehensive list of programmes that should be offered.

Jamieson (2017) Schmid & Patel, 2014).

Historically, poor coordination between social and health systems in South Africa during periods of health crises has meant that services to child and youth care centres have been inadequate (Allende & Khota, 2020) . The lockdown has intensified these. Many children living in residential care come from disadvantaged communities and have been exposed to one or multiple traumas within the home or the community and some have pre-existing health problems (Meintjies et al, 2007) . In this context, children may be safer in care where they have access to regular meals, shelter, protection and access to educational resources.

The aim of this rapid exploratory, qualitative study was to understand how children residing in a care facility in South Africa understood and experienced the lockdown measures imposed as a result of COVID-19. We focus on the concerns that children in care experienced during this period as well as what helped them to cope.

Our decision to speak with children was informed by an acknowledgement that children are experts in their lives and capable of speaking on their own behalf. Titi and Jamieson (2020) found that only 10% of stories focus on children and less than half this number includes the voices of children, noting that such exclusion is in fact a violation of their rights.

Children residing at a child and youth care centre in Gauteng, South Africa (herewith referred to as CYCC X) were invited to participate in the study. A CYCC is defined as a facility that provides residential care for more than six children who are not living with their biological families (Children's Act, 2005) . CYCC X is situated in Gauteng (South Africa) and was established by a social worker in 1992, in response to a growing number of mainly black South African children living on the streets. During this period, South Africa was slowly transitioning out of apartheid and the country was characterised by uncertainty and ongoing hostility between various racial groups. The needs of disadvantaged, black children were often not acknowledged and services for this group was lacking or non-existent (Loffell, 2008 for over 5000 children and is an active member in the child and youth care sector (Newsletter,

August 2020).

The majority of children at CYCC X have been exposed to one or more risk factors, including poverty, neglect, physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse and streetism. Reasons for admission noted in the CYCC's most recent progress report show that; 18% of children were admitted because of familial poverty, 5% of children were exposed to domestic violence, 23%

reported parental neglect, 17% reported some form of abuse, 1% were placed in care for substance use, 8% were not attending school, 8% were street connected and 20% displayed uncontrollable behaviour prompting parents to request placement (Progress report, 2020).

As mandated in the Children's Act (Children's Act, 2005) , CYCC X offers extensive programs to meet the physical, psychosocial, and trauma needs of these vulnerable children.

This is delivered to children primarily through the in-care, residential programme and through a pre-care, prevention and early intervention programme and an after-care, transitory support programme. Children in therapy consulted therapists online. Although many of the schools that the children attended did not have an online teaching programme, educational activities continued throughout the period at the Centre, with lessons delivered by teaching staff and online learning forums.

Information regarding the study was shared with children, who were then invited to participate in the study. Participation was voluntary. A total of 32 children and youth chose to participate. The average age of participants was 13.5 years, 18 children identified as girls and 14 identified as boys. At the time of the study, all the participants were legally placed at the CYCC. Informed assent was obtained from the younger children and consent from the older children.

To generate data, participants met in small groups, which were facilitated by a counsellor and a social worker, who both work at the centre. The decision to engage staff in J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f facilitating groups was necessary during the initial, stricter levels of lockdown (when the data were generated) as non-essential staff were not allowed entry onto the premises. The first author has a working relationship with both the facilitators and provided information on the study aims and the methods.

To guide the process, each participant was given a booklet with six open-ended questions related to COVID-19 and the lockdown; each question had space allocated for participants to draw and/or write a response. The first question prompted participants to share something about themselves. The questions that followed included:

- -What are some of the things that are helping me cope?

Participants were then invited to share verbally in the groups what they had written, and what the drawing meant to them (Angell et al., 2015) . This qualitative method, referred to as the draw, write and tell method of data generation, foregrounds the voice of the participants and is flexible and sensitive to the context and of the content (Mitchell et al., 2011) . This method is particularly useful for use with children as it fun and non-threatening; it also gives children time to think through and structure thoughts before sharing and may also address linguistic difficulties (Backett-Milburn & McKie, 1999) . The method is, however, not without criticism with suggestions that it may undermine children's ability to adequately communicate their experiences, may be superficial and assumes that drawing is a fun activity for all children (Angell et al., 2015; Backet-Milburn et al., 1999) . In our research, we gave children the option 

Data comprised of the textual information generated by participants and was analysed following the six steps to inductive, thematic analysis described by Braun and Clarke (2006) .

This method of analysis is used to identify, analyse and report themes within data (Braun & Clarke, 2006) . Author 1 reviewed the data, becoming familiar with it and generated the initial codes and possible themes. These were then reviewed and refined by both authors and through a joint process, final themes were then defined and named.

Ethics approval for the study was granted by the University of Leicester (9 April 2020).

The Director at CYCC X, acting as legal guardian, granted consent and as mentioned above, informed assent was obtained for children younger than 12 and consent from those over 12.

As well as delivering these fundamental ethical tasks, and aware of our positionality as researchers (both South Africa, by birth, one Indian and one white born during the Apartheid era), our approach to ethics also accounted for four key dimensions accepted as important when delivering research in low resource settings experiencing chronic structural disadvantage J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f association with CYCC X and brought this experience to bear in ensuring a respectful approach was maintained throughout the data gathering process. Author 2 visited the CYCC X in 2019 and spent time with the staff team, with the intention of beginning to build a trusted working relationship.

-risk-benefit ratioour exploratory project aimed to surface the key worries experienced by the participants, and had existing mechanisms in place to ensure they had adequate counselling and other support should significant issues arise.

To ensure trustworthiness of the data, author 1 shared findings from the study with childcare staff and social workers based at CYCC X; this group were in close contact with the children during the lockdown period and had engaged the children in similar conversations throughout the lockdown period. They were able to confirm the consistency of the findings.

Time constraints, for both children (including a demanding school schedule), staff (supporting online learning together with regular care duties) and ourselves, meant that, at the time of writing this, we were not able to share findings with the children.

We used thick descriptions to describe the context and shared excerpts and images from the participants, ensuring we could begin to interpret the characteristics of each participant's contribution (Schwandt, 2001) .

Findings from the study draws attention both to how the experiences and ways of coping for children in residential care are similar to that reported by children living in family contexts as well as how they differ. Consistent with emerging literature on the impact of Covid-19 on children's mental health, children in care reported experiencing a range of emotions ranging from frustration, anger and happiness and reported drawing on a host of resources to J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f enable them to cope (Ghosh et al, 2020) . Children in care however differed with regards to their concerns, which centred primarily on worry for parents and siblings well-being.

COVID-19 as well as the variations in containment measures have raised concerns about the mental health and well-being of both adults and children (Panchal et al., 2020) . For children in care, these feelings are exacerbated, as they are unable to have the normal contact visits with parents or extended family and tend to be under strict supervision, often grouped together with children with a variety of emotional and/or behavioural difficulties (Lazzaro, 2020).

Children at CYCC X similarly appeared to be experiencing a wide range of emotions in response to being under lockdown. Fear, sadness and worry because of the virus, anger and frustration at having to be under lockdown away from family and school, as well as feelings of hopelessness and discomfort were mentioned. One of the participants aptly summarises the range of emotions she is experienced during this period, many of which were echoed by other The image (Image 3) below by Child 2 and her explanation reflects the complex relationship that children in care have with parents. For Child 2, her concern for and attachment

to her mum appears to override her mother's absence or potential parental neglect. Speaking of her concern for her mum, [INSERT Image 3: Child 2 articulates her concern about her mother]

In their concern, children and youth in care demonstrated an awareness of the 'I also think about school, when I will go back to school also if I will repeat a grade because I don't want to repeat.' These concerns are not unfounded, with child protection agencies asserting that many of the 1.5 billion children currently out of school worldwide will never return to school and will have limited future prospects (Wolfson-Vorster, 2020a).

Referring to the strict regulations that were of necessity imposed by the CYCC, Child 3 and Child 32 both express frustration at not being able to leave the centre and go to school, In the image below (see image 4), Child 3 draws attention to people that don't have homes.

[INSERT Image 4: Child 3 expresses concern about those without homes.]

The majority of children drew on internal, self-regulatory mechanisms to help them cope, this included exercise, reading, listening to music and watching television. This was accompanied by engaging with others through play and group sports. Some of these resources, like television and radio, were easily accessible for children while in residential care.

Engaging with others through play was especially important for the younger participants, while for some of the older children helping staff with chores and younger children with homework appeared to give them a sense of purpose and stopped them from feeling bored.

complaining. Going to home work class and helping the staff with whatever they need help with.' Sense of purpose has previously been identified as a potential protective factor in psychological resilience during adolescence (e.g. Wang et al, 2017) .

In addition to these internal mechanisms, structural resources provided by the CYCC enabled children to cope. The ability to access education, through access to the online learning programme, 'doing my homework online' (Child 4), alleviated some of the children's fears of falling behind and also kept them occupied, facilitating coping. It is important to note here that for the majority of children in South Africa accessing education through online forums was not possible (Van der Berg and Spaull, 2020).

The awareness of being safe also helped children cope; 'We are very safe, we are in our homes and in our shelters because if we were outside we should have been dead or killed'

(Child 9). Child 10 echoes this saying, 'By knowing I am safe.' As above, these statements suggest that participants in care are fully aware of the dangers present in communities; as mentioned above, approximately 45% have had exposure to some form of violence. The structure and support offered by the CYCC enables them to feel safe.

This sense of safety also enabled some children to focus 'on the positive side of life'

(Child 18). The following images (Images 5 and 6) from participants captures this range of protective, resilience-enabling resources.

[INSERT: Image 5 and 6: Participants share their protective, resilience-enabling factors]

COVID-19 has been referred to as an unprecedented event, unparalleled in its impact.

In this global reach, it highlights more than any other event in recent times, our global inter-J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f communities and societies are differentially impacted. In South Africa, the social and economic disruptions caused by the pandemic and associated lockdown, combined with long-term structural social, economic and political inequality, and failures within government has impacted on service delivery, access to resources and availability of supportive networks, the absence of which increases vulnerability and heightens levels of anxiety and stress in children.

In this exploratory study we aimed to address the research question 'What can the experiences and perspectives of South African children in care during lockdown tell us about the themes we should focus on to improve care moving forward?' As the findings emerged, we noted that there were a number of domains of concern that reflect the social ecologies in which our participants operated. In spite of being 'out' of community contexts, our findings show that children in care situate themselves firmly within their social-ecologies. They continue to express concern for families and for communities (some who may have rejected them). They acknowledged the resources that they have access to while at the CYCC and through their concern for parents, siblings and wider society also acknowledged the prevalence of hunger, violence and food insecurity in South Africa.

For many South African children, pre-existing structural challenges heightens exposure to a multitude of risks. Covid-19 has increased these risks factors. The majority of children admitted into care at CYCC X have been exposed to poverty and child maltreatment. (Jamieson, 2017) .

CYCC X, as many others, tries to provide an environment that is consistent, stable, and built on supportive relationships; studies show that access to this sort of environment provides a measure of protection in the face of multiple adversities (Collishaw et al, 2016; Mosavel et al, 2015) . Many of the children acknowledged the protection and support offered to them and which helped them to cope. Thus, even while in careoften thought of as the last possible resort for vulnerable children -in this protective context, they were also able to access their own internal resources and reach out to support others.

Research shows that child-level resources are most easily accessed within the context of a responsive, accessible ecology (Ungar, 2011) , the absence of which may negatively impact on the child's well-being. The importance of self-regulation in mediating resilience pathways Our findings showed that participants drew on a range of internal resources to help them cope, which was facilitated by caregivers that were available, access to therapeutic support as well as access to resources, like television, sports, books and online learning forums.

Of significant concern for the participants in our study, was the closure of schools. This experience is consistent with findings emerging from other studies, across diverse contexts. Ghosh et al. (2020) note that being quarantined in homes and institutions presents a bigger psychological burden than that of the actual pandemic; adding that school closures, lack of physical activity and aberrant eating and sleeping habits may potentially promote monotony, distress, impatience, annoyance and varied neuropsychiatric manifestations. Isolation and the absence of routines imposed by schools may also lead to psychological distress as schools provide stability and may be a coping mechanism for some children (Lee, 2020). In the context of the residential care facility, the psychosocial support offered by schools, takes on further importance in that it represents an additional, external space away from the confines of the facility.

In addition to the supportive role that schools play, for children at CYCC X, absence from school was seen as a significant obstacle, potentially jeopardising future plans. South

African research with youth exposed to structural adversity show that access to education and the presence of future oriented plans enable positive adaptation in contexts of risk and is regarded as a means to securing a better more economically stable future (Lundgen & Schekle, 2019; Theron & Van Rensburg, 2018; Walker & Mkwanazi, 2015) .

In the context of an emergency, such as this one, protecting the rights of children in residential care requires collaboration across multiple sectors, including government ministries (Better Care Network, 2020). Masten and Motti-Stefanidi (2020) suggest that every disaster brings with it lessons for future resilience planning at multiple levels. As such, learnings from this experience may be leveraged to repair and transform the child protection sector, strengthening system responses and building resilience.

The findings of our study suggest that it is only through co-ordinated, holistic, and strategically sound collaboration that we will be able to protect children in care in South Africa. Some of the challenges experienced by children during lockdown particularly with regarding concern for family members, suggests a need for creative problem solving by care facilities to ensure that children have continued contact with families. Digital technologies may J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f offer new solutions using 'free at the point of use' services for families to stay in touch with CYCCs, if not children themselves if access to technology is not universal. Regional or national policy programmes facilitating solar chargers for communication devices in CYCCs, and devices themselves in limited numbers, would overcome this barrier at a relatively low cost.

Beyond this emergency response planning, the pandemic has reinforced the need for broad scale systemic changes, necessary to protect and assist the most vulnerable communities in South Africa. Strengthening economic support for families is essential given the increasing levels of poverty, food insecurity and growing rates of unemployment. Current calls for a universal, unemployment or basic income grant and general increase in child support grants are positive developments in the right direction.

Our findings on the significant role that parents play, even in their absence, suggest a need for positive parenting skills and family strengthening interventions that will ensure that children are cared for in family environments. Combining social support grants that provides a measure of protection against the impacts of poverty with family strengthening interventions promotes greater child and youth development and well-being (Cluver et al, 2016).

Families and communities should be safe spaces for children; the appallingly high prevalence of gender based violence and child abuse demands greater accountability from government and co-ordinated action from all departments, including justice, social development and health. The promotion of social norms that protect against adversity and violence through public education campaigns, legislative approaches that acknowledge and prioritise gender based violations and that develop and implement gender sensitive solutions is necessary (CDC, 2019).

Participants concerns regarding the interruption of their schooling highlighted the centrality of education in nurturing hope for children exposed to adversity. The importance of J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f the schooling system has also been the subject of much discussion in the country throughout the pandemic. The role that education and educational systems have on youth development suggests a need for increased efforts in ensuring that these spaces are fully resourced and accessible. Efforts must be to ensure that digital poverty is addressed, and that all children have equal access to adequate schooling.

This study took place under unusual circumstances demanded by a global pandemic.

As a result, there are limitations to the conclusions we can reasonably draw that could be mitigated by future research. Our intention was to capture, in the most systematic way we could, the immediate experiences of our participants during the most intense period of South Africa's lockdown, and our design reflects these priorities. The study has four key limitations to which we draw attention.

1. The size of the sample and length of the data-gathering period invite further investigation, in other alternative care settings in South Africa and beyond.

2. Qualitative research is dependent in part on the skill and experience of the person gathering the data. We mitigated the risk of poor data quality by ensuring the approach was closely structured and supported by Author 1, and that a common prompt tool was used across the sample.

3. The qualitative nature of the study facilitates a rich and trustworthy understanding of the perspectives and experiences of our participants, but should not be read to imply causality.

4. In order to increase trustworthiness, our study relied on a well-tested method; arguably future research of this type should seek to take a more Africa(n)-aligned approach to gathering data, which will bring with it additional strengths and some risks. 

Our study with vulnerable children in care has provided a living example of the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic exposes and exacerbates the inherent structural inequalities that characterise South Africa. This exacerbation of existing inequalities lies at the interface between public health, and societal and systemic structures. COVID-19, devastating in its impact, urges accountability and provides multiple opportunities to learn from and build the capacity and resilience of individual, family, community and societal systems.

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Educational resilience among African survivors of child sexual abuse in South Africa

Pandemics and Violence Against Women and Children

The burden of disaster: Part II. Applying interventions across the child's social ecology

Dictionary of qualitative inquiry

The interaction of local and international child welfare agendas: A South African case

What risks does COVID-19 pose to society in the long-term?

The Impact of COVID-19 in South Africa

Children's Act 38 of

Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (CRAM) Overview and Findings: NIDS-CRAM Synthesis Report Wave

Parents' Stress and Children's Psychological Problems in Families Facing the COVID-19 Outbreak in Italy

Giving voice to African thought in medical research ethics

Almost 80% of citizens eligible for Social Relief of Distress Grants kept waiting'. Cape Argus

Resilience over time: Learning from schoolattending adolescents living in conditions of structural inequality

Include children's voice's on issues that concern them

The Legacy of Apartheid on Democracy and Citizenship in Post-Apartheid South Africa: An Inclusionary and Exclusionary binary?

The social ecology of resilience: Addressing contextual and cultural ambiguity of a nascent construct

Policy Brief: The Impact of COVID-19 on Children

A critical review of South African child and youth resilience studies

What are we doing to the children of South Africa under the guise of COVID-19 lockdown

Counting the Cost: COVID-19 school closures in South Africa & its impacts on children

Positive academic emotions and psychological resilience among rural-to-urban migrant adolescents in China

Challenges in accessing higher education: A case study of marginalised young people in one South African informal settlement

This study was made possible through seed funding from the Leicester Institute of Advanced Studies (LIAS), University of Leicester. We wish thank our child and youth participants for sharing their knowledge with us as well the Director at CYCC X for granting us permission to conduct the study and staff CYCC X for their assistance with data generation.