Chapter 10: Development of multi-disciplinary model for OVC
4.2 CONCEPTUALISING VULNERABILITY OF CHILDREN
Vulnerability is not an easy concept to define or conceptualise. Literature stated that defining vulnerability can be complex and difficult, as it differs from region to region and country to country (Mwoma & Pillay, 2015; Mutiso & Mutie, 2018). It further varies from individual to individual, and therefore, there seemed to be no clear consensus on what constitutes vulnerability of children and what exactly vulnerable children are. Bright (2017), Potter and Brotherten (2013), Chereni and Mahati (2012), Tsiliso (2011), and Datta (2009) cited this dilemma and commonly asserted that “It is easier to talk about vulnerability than to define it”. This difficulty in conceptualising vulnerability of children made it difficult for policies and policymakers to respond effectively to this problem.
To mitigate this dilemma, several authors attempted to generate clearer definitions of vulnerability, which in their view, referred to a physical and psychological state of being susceptible to vulnerable conditions (Chereni & Mahati, 2012; Mutiso & Mutie, 2018). The South African Institute of Distance Education [SAIDE] (2012) defined vulnerability as a person having no access or limited access to basic needs, such as sufficient and nutritious food, and lacking shelter, adequate clothing, a safe and community-involved environment that are free from abuse and exploitation. This view was shared by the World Bank (2004) that cited vulnerability as a state, where the child’s survival, care, protection and development may be compromised because of a particular condition, situation or circumstance. SADC (2011) and Datta (2009) defined vulnerability as a state of the high risk of deprivation.
In this study, the researcher adopted the definition of vulnerability as involuntarily- occuring situations and conditions that place a child at a higher risk of deprivation of their basic survival and development needs, caused by a lack of care and support, while vulnerable children are children exposed to risks that may negatively affect their optimum social functioning (Phillips, 2015). This includes children who are orphaned, children exposed to domestic violence, or to various forms of abuse and extreme poverty, learners from child-headed homes, children who are living with people who are not their biological parents and those who are bullied. It can also include children suffering from one or more disabilities.
Studies indicate different types of vulnerabilities facing children (United Nations Development Programme [UNDP], 2013, UNICEF, 2018). These include social, economic, physical, material as well emotional vulnerability. Some authors (Skinner &
Tsheko, Mtero-Munyati, Segwabe, Chibatamoto, Mfecane, & Chitiyo, 2006) reiterated that children’s vulnerability focuses on three core areas, which are material, emotional and social problems. Children are not the same and therefore, they do not experience vulnerability in the same manner (Visser, Zungu, & Ndala- Magoro, 2015).
A child can experience one more challenging type of vulnerability, while coping with other
types of vulnerabilities. In some cases, the child can be faced with multiple risks when considering the interconnectedness of other systems in the child’s environment (Lethale
& Pillay, 2013). The degree and types of vulnerability vary in each context and overtime (Visser et al., 2015). The full discussion of the different types of vulnerabilities therefore follows:
4.2.1 Social vulnerability
Brofenbrenner (2005) argued that no child exists in isolation. All children are the product of the social environment in which they find themselves. Social vulnerability is interconnected with the risks that are associated with the social environment of the child.
In their social environment, there are peers and the immediate family, and if there are threats within these social groupings, then the child may be exposed to social vulnerability. Any child needs a supportive peer group and family, positive role models to follow and guidance in difficult situations to become a socially functioning person (Mohale, 2019). For example, if a child experiences stigma or marginalisation, these pose risks in their immediate environment (Skinner, Sharp, Jooste, Mfecane, & Simbayi, 2013).
Therefore, social vulnerability centres on conditions that may lead to potential harm or have negative effect on the total functioning of the child as well as the lack of the child’s ability to cope with multiple stressors that are threatening their life (UNDP, 2013). These multiple stressors may evoke adverse effects that totally disrupt the life of the child permanently (UNDP, 2013). To add to that, social vulnerability may create a combination of factors that determine the degree to which the child’s life and livelihood are put at risk by an identifiable event in a society (Fatemi, Ardalan, Aguirre, Mansouri, &
Mohammadfam, 2017). Thus, exposure to one level of vulnerability may expose the child to other types of vulnerabilities. For example, if children grow up in a poor household, they may be subjected to other forms of vulnerabilities, such as economic and material vulnerability. This view is shared by Skinner et al. (2013) and the UNDP (2013), who posit that children are exposed to multiple vulnerabilities.
4.2.2 Material vulnerability
Children need the basic necessities to enable them to have a meaningful life and function optimally. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs that is depicted below; necessities such as food and clothing are placed in the lower rank of immediate needs (Macleod, 2020). Therefore, such basic necessities should be easily accessible if the child is to become a fully functioning person. Any lack of basic necessities such as food and clothing poses risks to the child’s well-being and exposes a child to vulnerability.
Figure 2: Maslow hierarchy of needs Extracted from Macleod (2020)
Vulnerable children tend to experience a number of material problems, which include that they often have trouble in accessing money, food, clothing, shelter, healthcare and education. In the school context, vulnerable children face deficiencies in material needs,
where they often struggle to buy school uniforms, stationery and other basic necessities.
Lacking basic necessities, as indicated above, has serious consequences in the psycho- social development of children. Without necessary intervention, the child may have a distorted self-image (Macleod, 2020). Also, lacking access to material items the other children in school have reinforces their perception of being less worthy, poor and not part of the class community.
4.2.3 Emotional vulnerability
Emotional vulnerability is when the child experiences a lack of caring, love and support, a space to grieve, or containment. In the researcher’s practical experience, she established that vulnerable children tend to bottle up their emotions, because they do not feel they have the space to communicate (Mwoma & Pillay, 2015). They develop negative coping mechanisms, which severely affect their emotional maturity. This view is shared by Arora, Shah, Chaturvedi, and Gupta (2015), who state that emotional problems in childhood are likely to create problems in adolescence and adulthood. These problems may include poor academic performance, relationship problems and involvement in crime in some cases (Arora et al., 2015; Mutiso & Mutie, 2018).
4.2.4 Physical vulnerability
Literature defines physical vulnerability as a function of the population’s location and the built environment relative to the hazard (Masterson, Stedman, Enqvist, & Tengo, 2014;
Fuchs, Frazier, & Siebeneck, 2018). In the context of this study, physical vulnerability will refer to a situation, where the child has no proper place to stay or to experience any privacy. The level of physical vulnerability is increased when the housing in which the child resides is hazardous and unsafe.
The lack of proper housing and basic services such as water and electricity affect them negatively and expose them to more vulnerability. In inadequate housing, privacy can be a big issue when children must study and do their academic work. The lack of private
space thus becomes a barrier to educational success. Research evidence has shown the relationship between vulnerability and poor academic performance (Mutiso & Mutie, 2018).
4.2.5 Economic vulnerability
In Maleboho East Circuit, there is observational evidence indicating that many children in the schools are coming from economically-challenged, vulnerable households. The latest statistics have shown that about 85% of the children are living on social security (SSA, 2019). Literature clearly states that in poor households, any disruption such as a sudden job loss, life threatening illness or disability will lead to the family experiencing economic disaster (International Labour Organisation [ILO], 2020).
There are income-poor families, which are families that receive an income, but the income is so little that it cannot cater for the needs of all the children in that household (Pizzigati, 2018). In the area under investigation, more that 85% of households can be classified as income poor (Blouberg Municipality, IDP 2020-21). The remaining 15% households can be classified as asset poor (Pizzigati, 2018). These are the households that although they a have a living income, do not have enough to maintain themselves if their income were to stop for three months (Blouberg Municipality, IDP 2020-21; Pizzigati, 2018). In fact, all children in this area are economically vulnerable.
Vulnerability of children is neither static nor linear. It presents itself in different dimensions, which will be discussed in the next discussion: