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

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.