This dissertation explores the experiences and representations of child abandonment in urban Johannesburg, South Africa. The study collects perspectives from different groups related to the issue, including child protection professionals, abandoning mothers and their children. The dissertation also discusses media representations of child abandonment and the socio-economic characteristics of abandoning mothers. The dissertation also compares the Western biomedical concept of child abandonment and the Indigenous African ancestral beliefs and the role and responsibility of the state to provide adequate policies instead of a punitive approach.
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