State of South Africa’s Fathers 2024 is the third edition of an evolving report on fathers and fatherhood in South Africa. This report confronts the evolving realities of fatherhood in a nation grappling with deep socio-economic challenges. Fewer children are living with their biological fathers than with other men, and caregiving dynamics being reshaped by shifting gender roles and ideas about masculinity.
This report seeks to change the narrative about fatherhood. By examining how care is shared and defined, SOSAF 2024 offers a fuller, more nuanced story of fathers. It sheds light on their contributions, struggles, and potential in a world where economic uncertainty, precarity, shifting gender norms, and systemic inequities shape their realities. While the picture of fathers appears bleak in places, the report wants to highlight some of the work seeking to tell a different and more comprehensive story about fatherhood and fathers.
From exploring the financial and emotional support men provide to their children, to examining policy reforms and caregiving trends, this report is a call to change how we think about fathers and fatherhood – not just as a role but as a transformative force for men, children, families, communities, and society.
Download the State of South Africa’s Fathers 2024 report here.
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