Media release

TEENAGE TATA: VOICES OF YOUNG FATHERS IN POOR COMMUNITIES IN

SOUTH AFRICA

BY SHARLENE SWARTZ AND ARVIN BHANA and published by the HSRC PRESS

“It’s really hard to be a young father …” – Nhlanhla (18)

Over the past two decades there has been a growing focus on teenage or adolescent
fathers. Some studies have looked at young fathers from the perspective of young
mothers, others have explored young fathers’ own experiences of being fathered. The
majority emphasise the links between early fatherhood and negative life outcomes.

However, there is a lack of literature that deals with the experience of young fatherhood
itself. And most pertinently for this country, there is a shortage of studies that examine
young fatherhood in developing countries, especially in contexts of poverty. Teenage
Tata: Voices of young fathers in South Africa (HSRC Press) is a groundbreaking
publication that begins the conversation of what it means to be poor, young and a father
in a developing world context. It investigates how teenagers living in impoverished
circumstances feel about fatherhood, the conditions and reasons for their situation, and
the ways in which personal, social and environmental circumstances can help or hinder
their participation in parenting. Based on research amongst youth drawn from townships
in the Western Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal, the publication challenges many stereotypes
surrounding young fathers, as well as eliciting preliminary data to help define appropriate
interventions for them.

Teenage Tata follows on the acclaimed collection Baba: Men and Fatherhood in South
Africa, edited by Linda Richter and Robert Morrell (HSRC Press). As such, it is an
extension of the work done within the Fatherhood Project of the Child, Youth, Family and
Social Development (CYFSD) programme at the HSRC. It sets out to answer two
closely-related research questions: How do young men living in poverty experience
fatherhood; and what are the factors that help or hinder young men’s engagement in the
parenting of their children?

A prominent aspect of Teenage Tata is the importance placed on the perspectives of the
teenagers involved in the research. Each chapter voices their views and feelings,
creating an atmosphere of authenticity and credibility. There is also a huge sense of
vulnerability that emerges from the pages of the publication.

The book is divided into three sections. Part 1 describes the reason for the study
(primarily the dearth of data on young fathers in the developing world) as well as
describing the research methods used in the study.

Part 2 records the experiences of the selected group of young fathers, grouped into four
main themes: coming to terms with being a young father; young fathers’ perspectives on
good fathering; young fathers’ influences, practices and relationships; and the meaning
of sexual health for impoverished young men. Included in this section are issues such as
the importance placed on financially providing for children, the relationship between a
young father and the mother of his child, the problem of alcohol and the lack of sexual
knowledge in communities, and the role of culture and traditional practices.
In Part 3 the main findings of the study are distilled into 10 factors that hinder, and 10
factors that encourage young men’s sexual health and their participation in fathering.

Attention is also given to young fathers’ recommendations to other young fathers, as well
as to young men living in impoverished communities, including the need for better sex
education, and improved skills development including dealing with responsibility and
stress. The chapter also discusses the use of social networking interviews as a way of
improving relationships between young fathers, the mothers of their children, and other
members of their circle.

Providing compelling data and well illustrated with the words of its protagonists, Teenage
Tata: Voices of young fathers in South Africa makes a startling and vitally important
contribution to the subject of fatherhood in South Africa. Contrary to mainstream
perceptions, many young fathers do actually want to participate and take responsibility
for their children. Hopefully, data such as this can be used to improve the circumstances
hindering their involvement.

Teenage Tata: Voices of young fathers in South Africa is published by the HSRC Press.

Copies of all of HSRC Press published titles are available from leading booksellers
nationally, and from the online bookshop at www.hsrcpress.ac.za.

For a review copy of the publication, contact:

Karen Bruns
Marketing Manager
HSRC Press
Tel: +27 21 466 8022
Fax: +27 21 461 0836
Mobile: 083 231 8326
e-mail: kbruns@hsrc.ac.za