Formative Research: Understanding Fatherhood in South Africa

"[P]ositive father involvement and participation is associated with improved outcomes for all family members."

Heartlines, a social change organisation promoting positive behaviour change through stories and values-based media, undertook formative research as the first stage of the development of an edutainment initiative called Fathers Matter. The purpose of this initiative, slated to run through the end of 2022, is to support the positive and active role of fathers or men in the lives of children in South Africa in order to mitigate the risks associated with their absence. This report details the findings of the formative research process. It provides insight into what it means to be a father in the South African context, unpacking barriers to change and possible intervention points on a personal, relational, and community level, as well as key socio-political and environmental influences. (This focus reflects Heartlines' belief, per the Social Ecological model, that the influences on behaviour are multifactorial, and that behaviours both shape and are shaped by the social environment.)

The report opens by outlining major findings from the literature review, whose scope was global, regional, and South African. In short, the review found that positive father involvement can: act as a protective factor and promote child well-being; positively impact children's social competence, later IQ, and other learning outcomes; and decrease boys' negative social behaviour (such as delinquency) and girls' psychological problems in early adulthood. The literature highlights that the impact of a positively participating father is not only an issue for children in the developed world; South African children and adults are positively affected by their fathers' presence and negatively impacted by their absence.

Based on the review (and further refined based on the qualitative research process described below), South African fathers can be grouped into the following categories:

• Absent father: biological father who is neither physically nor emotionally nor financially present in a child's life
• Present-absent father: biological father who is physically present but not emotionally or financially present in a child's life
• Co-resident father: biological father who lives in the same home as their children at least 4 days per week
• Non-resident father: father who is actively involved in their child's life but who does not live in the same household
• Social father: father figure, assigned by either the individual (who may or may not be related to a child), extended family, or the community
• (It was also found that, in the absence of fathers, it was often mothers and their kinship networks - including grandmothers, aunties, uncles - who stepped in and filled the missing gap. This created a fifth category of fathers. However, due to the fluidity of the constituents in this group, it is difficult to define or name.)

Data from Statistics South Africa show that: 36% of children live with their biological fathers in the same household; 34% live with both biological parents; and only 2% live only with their biological fathers. The South African context includes labour migration, the residue of Apartheid, high poverty, and rising unemployment rates. As the report explores, the damage some men suffer to their identity, masculinity, self-esteem, and confidence due to such contextual features plays a significant role in how they father.

In addition to the literature review, a purposeful sampling methodology was applied to key informant interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) that took place across 4 provinces: Gauteng, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Mpumalanga. To ensure that FGD participants (N=20) could express themselves freely, groups were comprised of a single gender, aside from one mixed-gender group of grandparents. Key informant interviews (N=18) were conducted with community leaders and influencers, religious leaders, teachers, and individuals identified through the focus groups who had personal experiences or stories that could lead to an in-depth understanding of fatherhood in South Africa.

The report captures the voices of the research participants themselves and those of the communities studied, and it provides insights into their reflections, beliefs, behaviours, and attitudes. For example, the fathers understood that having the ability to provide financially was both the primary entry point and sustained access point to fatherhood, with one male FGD participant saying, "You are not a father without money. That is why we stay away." It is evident, according to the report, that "stereotypical gender roles of women as caregivers and men as breadwinners/providers are predominant in South Africa", leading fathers who are unable to provide for their children to feel ashamed, worthless, and inadequate, to lack self-respect, and to believe that their families and communities don't respect them.

To that end, the research identified being unemployed and not having the ability to provide financially for basic needs as a key barrier to active participation by fathers. Other barriers discussed in the report include:

• Systems and institutional barriers, such as the health system, government, the legal system, and religious sector;
• Interpersonal relationships between fathers and mothers, as well as the relationship between the father and the mother's extended family;
• Cultural and stereotypical definitions of masculinity - e.g., the way gender and gender roles are enacted;
• Migrancy and having to work far from home;
• Substance abuse, particularly alcohol; and
• Cultural factors such as lobola (wife price); paying ihlawulo (payment of money for having a child out of wedlock); and cultural practices surrounding birth that require mothers to return to their family home with their newborns and remain separated from the father of the child.

Research participants described the pain caused by the absence of a father or situations in which fathers did not participate actively: "they were acutely aware that they were missing out on something important and meaningful in their lives." The participants communicated a yearning for connection and attachment with their fathers. "Whilst they wanted their fathers to be responsible and to provide for their basic needs, they wanted them to fulfil more of an emotional and available role. Provision, while important, was less important than being engaged and available."

As Heartlines found, a few individuals who were at risk of becoming absent fathers became "positive deviants" in that they followed uncommon, beneficial practices and consequently experienced better outcomes than their peers who shared similar risks. These men pointed to their own internal reflection of their lived experiences of fatherhood on the birth of their own children as the force that catapulted them to become fully engaged, available, and responsible for their own children. For many men, this was the pivotal moment when they consciously decided to be different types of fathers than the fathers they themselves had.

Based on the formative research, Heartlines concludes that interventions and messages designed to address fatherhood - i.e., in Fathers Matter - are "more likely to be effective if they consider the unique circumstances and needs of fathers and specifically target creating awareness around barriers and enablers for engagement, availability and responsibility...While culture plays a role in fathering, interventions should reflect that over time culture and the way in which we interact with cultural practices can change, thus giving way to more culturally specific fathering practices that are beneficial to children, families and fathers."

As the report outlines, Heartlines conducted a message design workshop in October 2019 in order to: present the formative research to a group of field experts, researchers, and implementers; further synthesise the findings within the broader South African context; and develop a message brief for the Fathers Matter campaign. Using the themes identified in the message design workshop, together with the formative research findings, Heartlines identified 3 values that will underpin the project interventions:

• Positive presence: promote the positive presence of fathers as important for the wellbeing of children, the father, and the mother;
• Responsibility: promote father responsibility as more than financial provision - shifting the definition of fatherhood to one that embodies love, reliability, availability, and emotional support; and
• Empathy: address the legacy of apartheid and migrant labour in South Africa, which has played a significant role in fracturing family life.

Eight key messages, grounded in these values, also emerged from the design workshop and formative research, such as: Shared decision-making and good communication between parents is essential for the wellbeing of their children. Also, based on the message that supportive social networks such as the church can promote healing, Fathers Matter will be working to elevate the status and debate on father/men presence with key stakeholders such as faith-based organisations (FBOs) and to create a supportive environment and resources for use by these stakeholders. These resources/outputs are expected to include: TV scripts (for 6 films), radio scripts (for a radio drama), written/printed materials, and a digital/online component, as well as training and advocacy.

Funded by the Oak Foundation, Fathers Matter is being carried out in partnership with: the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) South Africa; University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Human Development; Columbia University School of Public Health; Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC); and the Department of Correctional Services. Visit the Heartlines website for updates on the project as it unfolds.