Care leavers’ notions of the ‘ideal’ family in Zimbabwe

There is a growing interest in the study of young people with care experience both globally and more recently, in the Global South. These young people, also known as care leavers, are not well studied particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. The gap lies mostly in our understanding of care leaver’s family relationships, particularly how they make sense of the term family considering their separation experience. A qualitative phenomenological study was conducted with care leavers in Zimbabwe (n = 30) on their notions of the ‘ideal’ family. The ideology of family has traditionally been based on the heteronormative nuclear family, with two parents in a heterosexual relationship. For care leavers with a history of family separation, the study found that this ideal also included characteristics of love, protection and all needs being met. Care leavers drew from their personal experiences, observations in the community and their lived experiences in institutional care as frames of reference for their constructions of the ‘ideal’ family. The study has implications for social service practitioners and future family studies.