The constructive power of informality? Relationships, emotion, and empathy in the administration of social assistance for childhood disability in South Africa
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4595251 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Zara Trafford (0000-0001-8192-0797, Stellenbosch University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 380 |
| Pages | 118211 |
| Publication date | 2025-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Science & Medicine (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0277-9536 • E-ISSN: 1873-5347 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.118211 |
| PMID | 40440741 |
| OpenAlex | W4410633159 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 27 |
Social assistance cash transfers, known locally as grants, are the only regular financial support available to low-income families in South Africa. There are two broad categories: poverty alleviation and disability-related grants. All disability-related grants are linked with the public sector health system, because only medical doctors are permitted to conduct the required assessments. This article reflects on a three-year qualitative study of the perspectives of stakeholders around the central focus of the Care Dependency Grant for primary caregivers of disabled children. In this article, various framings of disability-related grants are unpacked, with a specific focus on the gatekeeping practices of frontline social security officials in South Africa. I situate their behaviours within local and global conversations about systems for disability benefits assessment and distribution, which increasingly aim to suppress bureaucratic "emotionality" for fear that this produces subjective - and thus, unfair - decision-making. The latter imperative is intensified in South Africa because of justified concerns about corruption. In an under-resourced bureaucracy catering to a large population, however, high levels of informality are likely to persist. Building on Rupert Hodder's concept of positive informality, I share examples of "constructive" informality from the abovementioned study and argue for the importance of closely examining and learning from these instances. I conclude by suggesting that instead of trying to suppress their humanity, public servants' engagement with the populace could be enhanced by investing in their professional development toward increased empathy and relationship-building. This might be an untapped complementary approach to improving social justice in redistributive efforts
Administration (probate law · Constructive · Developmental psychology · Empathy · Political science · Power (physics · Sociology · Computer Science · Healthcare innovation and challenges · Homelessness and Social Issues · Psychology · Social Psychology · Social Work Education and Practice
Street-Level Bureaucracy
Poverty and inequality in South Africa
Extra costs of living with a disability
Handbook on Social Protection Systems
The Care Dependency Grant for children with disabilities in South Africa
Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis
Street-Level Bureaucracy and the Analysis of Urban Reform
People don’t understand what we go through!’
People with disabilities and income-related social protection measures in South Africa
These are not luxuries, it is essential for access to life’
Meeting (or not) at the street level? A literature review on street‐level research in public management, social policy and social work
Evidence, objectivity and welfare reform
When anti-corruption fails
The political economy of disability in South Africa, between social grants and job-creation programmes
Disability, cash transfers and family practices in South Africa
The politics of anti-corruption enforcement in South Africa
State, Society, and Informality in Cities of the Global South
Informality in the Philippine Civil Service
Patient agency and contested notions of disability in social assistance applications in South Africa
We are bitter but we are satisfied
Insecurity in South African Social Security
Emotional Bureaucracies
Introduction
The Magic of the Populace
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |