“You are nothing and you have nothing”: Exploring social justice for youth leaving care in African contexts

Kelly, Berni, Van Breda, Adrian and Frimpong-manso, Kwabena (2025) “You are nothing and you have nothing”: Exploring social justice for youth leaving care in African contexts. Children and Youth Review Services, 172. ISSN 0190-7409

[thumbnail of 1-s2.0-S0190740925001744-main (1).pdf]
Preview
Text
1-s2.0-S0190740925001744-main (1).pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

Download (636kB) | Preview

Abstract

Youth leaving care face much adversity and oppression, including stigma, discrimination and unequal opportunities in young adult life, though there is a limited body of care-leaver research grounded in a social justice
perspective. This article, therefore, makes an important contribution to the field by applying Nancy Fraser’s work on social justice to interpret the experiences of youth leaving care in African countries and to explore how
leaving and aftercare care support could help to counteract the disadvantages and social inequalities they face. The paper draws on a study that involved qualitative interviews with 45 care-leavers across four African
countries: Ghana, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Interviews were led by care-experienced peer researchers
and sought to explore young people’s experiences of transition from care to young adulthood. The findings show
how youth leaving care in African contexts can experience intersectional and mutually reinforcing social injustices as they transition to adult life. The narratives of these young people provide rich insights into their
experiences of Fraser’s notions of cultural misrecognition, maldistribution of resources and misrepresentation.
Economic and social subordination, due to intersecting experiences of alternative care, gender, disability and
cultural exclusion, stigmatises and marginalises youth leaving care, impeding their transition from care and
participation in society. Study implications include redistributing resources to improve leaving and aftercare
services, decentring oppressive social norms, recognising and valuing the intersectional identities of care-leavers
and encouraging care-leaver participation and political voice.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: social justice, transition, leaving care, Africa, ageing out of care
Subjects: H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Divisions: Faculty of Arts, Business & Applied Social Science > School of Social Sciences & Humanities
Depositing User: Kwabena Frimpong-manso
Date Deposited: 07 Aug 2025 09:53
Last Modified: 07 Aug 2025 09:53
URI: https://oars.uos.ac.uk/id/eprint/5032

Actions (login required)

View Item
View Item