Exploring child participation in parental divorce matters in African ind[i]genous communities of KwaZulu-Natal.
Date
2021
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Abstract
This descriptive, Afrocentric study was aimed at exploring child participation in parental
divorce matters in indigenous African communities of KwaZulu-Natal. The research paradigm,
methodology, principles, values, and processes underpinning this study were framed within the
context of the Afrocentric philosophical and theoretical perspective. Since the study focused
on African knowledge and value systems, it thus placed the African people, their culture, and
experiences at the centre. The data were generated from the perspectives of indigenous Black
African people.
This study adopted a qualitative research approach and utilised a descriptive Afrocentric
research design. Semi-structured interviews were used as data collection tools. The participants
were selected using the purposive and snowball sampling techniques. The total sample was
fourteen, of whom nine were senior community members and five were indigenous leaders
who have facilitated divorce mediation in indigenous African communities. The data collected
were then analysed using thematic analysis.
The findings have revealed that mediation is an ancient practice and a system that has been
addressing the needs of children in indigenous African communities. The indigenous African
people cherish mediation not as a single incidence but as a way of life that is embedded in the
indigenous African family systems. The study further revealed that in the indigenous setting
child participation occurs in various forms both direct and indirect forms and occurs in different
stages of a couple’s marital life. In indigenous African communities, child participation begins
from the period of pregnancy. Thus, the concept of child participation is better understood
through an understanding of the role children play in indigenous African marriages and family
system. The child’s role in mediation is culturally defined and relates to their phase of
development and the sequence of childbirth from the firstborn to the last-born child. In this
study, mediation has therefore been discussed as an accessible, appropriate communication
platform, a unit of psychosocial support, and a costless emotional support system embedded in
African indigenous settings.
Description
Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.