Mothers talk about the struggle to get fathers to pay in a system rigged against women

Child support – the obligation to support a child – is more than a right. It ensures that children’s basic needs are met. It also means that single mothers do not have to shoulder the responsibility of parenting alone, which can exacerbate their poverty.

Despite the persistent gender pay gap, 42.3% of South African households were headed by women in 2023, with the highest prevalence in rural areas (47.6%) and particularly in the Eastern Cape Province (48.8%). This disproportionate burden often pushes single mothers into financial difficulties.

In South Africa, child maintenance is governed by the Maintenance Act 1998. If a custodial parent, often the mother, asks the other parent for support, they can submit an application to the local court in their area. The process involves submitting an application with financial details such as income and expenses. The court will then schedule a hearing to review the case. A subpoena is sent to the other parent (usually the father), who can agree to or challenge the child support agreement.

If the defendant agrees to the requested maintenance amount, a judge can order the payment of the maintenance amount. However, if disagreement arises, a formal hearing will be held to decide the amount of support and responsibility.

I have been working on gender, issues of social development and structural violence for over a decade. Structural violence is a form of violence caused by unjust political, sociocultural and economic systems that prevents people from achieving a good quality of life.

Recently I was involved in a project dealing with child support issues in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. This theme is closely intertwined with the pervasive influence of patriarchy and patriarchal institutions. Inefficient government systems and gender insensitivity on the part of state officials contribute to the problems that severely affect women and children.

Our recent research goal was to understand how structural violence contributes to women’s poverty in child support cases. Using an exploratory qualitative design, we interviewed 45 women who faced the challenge of obtaining maintenance payments from the fathers of their children in Mdantsane, Parkside and the East London CBD in the Eastern Cape. The field research took place between 2022 and 2023.

The women were between 20 and 40 years old and were experiencing financial difficulties, including failure to pay child support. We also interviewed nine key informants from government, civil society and academia working in this area.

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We interviewed the women about, among other things, their experiences in claiming child support, their views on the role of child support in alleviating poverty, and their socioeconomic conditions and survival strategies.

The study shows that women who already face structural inequalities (such as economic, educational, socio-cultural and legal inequalities) are most affected by lack of child support. This forces them to rely on their limited income to raise their children, driving them further into poverty.

Economic burden

A key theme that emerged from respondents was the severe economic burden they faced. Many of the women were in precarious employment and relied heavily on the government’s monthly maintenance allowance of R530 (approximately US$29.27) per child. Their financial hardship was exacerbated by the lack of financial support from their children’s fathers.

A significant number of women expressed deep frustration and disappointment with the justice system, claiming it was patriarchal and biased against men. They reported a lack of thorough investigations by court officials, who generally did not request proof of income or bank statements from fathers who disputed child support payments.

This resulted in women feeling that the system readily accepted men’s claims of financial hardship, resulting in minimal or no child support. As a result, these women bore more than their share of the financial burden.

One woman shared her experience:

The guy works for the government… and makes a lot of money, but he only paid R1,000 for the child and that wasn’t enough. So we took him to the maintenance court and the court officials asked him how much he could pay and he said he could only pay R400. They didn’t check anything; They simply believed his word and reduced the money from R1,000 to R400. This is one of the reasons why people stay away from the court, it seems like they are siding with the man and making the women suffer…

Women reported that the experience of applying for child support was traumatic and support officers demonstrated a lack of gender sensitivity. Some court officials showed little awareness or understanding of the emotional and financial burden the trial placed on the women. This institutional insensitivity not only reinforces existing gender inequalities such as economic dependency, the unequal distribution of caring responsibilities and unpaid care, but can actually worsen women’s poverty.

A key informant said:

Frankly the courts in East London are really ineffective, inefficient and not women friendly. The staff… do not care about the needs of women and children. Women struggle and come to court for help, but the system really beats them down and sometimes makes them look worse.

Although child support is a fundamental right for children, women expressed frustration at the justice system’s inability to impose fair financial obligations on fathers.

One of the women said:

… What saddened me was that when I approached the courts, I expected justice and thought that they would also look at my side, but the maintenance officer said that he did not want to oppress the child’s father by forcing him asked to pay more. I forgot that I was no longer employed. I have been taking care of the child alone for 16 years… The justice system sided with the man and not with me and the child… The man offered to pay a very small amount of money, but the official did not ask for any proof of this, nor a bank statement , a payslip or something similar.

In summary, a significant number of women reported extremely negative experiences with the court system. While individual experiences varied, a common theme emerged: the perception of a patriarchal justice system that is unfriendly, ineffectively supports women, and does not prioritize the needs of children.

Systemic reforms

The findings of this study highlight the need for reforms in South Africa’s child support system, which is influenced by patriarchal and gendered practices that hinder effective child support enforcement.

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Deeply rooted prejudices create barriers for single mothers and limit their ability to receive consistent and fair support for their children.

Addressing these institutional challenges requires not only policy reforms but also a cultural shift that recognizes the shared financial responsibility of both parents.