Women's experiences of street trading in Cape Town and its impact on their well-being

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dc.contributor.advisorGalvaan, Roshanen_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorDuncan, Madeleineen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorSassen, Sharyn Ruthen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-09-25T07:34:52Z
dc.date.available2015-09-25T07:34:52Z
dc.date.issued2013en_ZA
dc.description.abstractStreet trading forms a large subsection of South Africa's informal economic activity, creating opportunity for self-employment and sustaining livelihoods (Mitullah, 2003; Skinner, 2008). Yet, street traders face various barriers including societal marginalization and pervasive poverty, threatening their well-being. The scarcity of occupational therapy literature around informal economy occupations limits the profession's understanding about what engagement in such occupations entails. While available literature around work in the informal economy emphasises economic contributions to development, there is limited evidence that informal business owners effectively escape vulnerability. From an occupational perspective, little is known about how these occupations are experienced and their implications for well-being. This study will inform contextually relevant conceptions of participation in the informal economy occupation of street trade, providing necessary knowledge for social and political practices of occupational therapy. The study aimed to describe women street traders' experiences of street trading and, how they perceived these related to their well-being. The objectives were to identify personal and external factors that promoted or hindered their well-being whilst engaged in street trading. An ethnographic inquiry was carried out with four women street traders identified through purposive recruitment. It involved semi-structured and photo elicitation interviews, and participant observation. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed for inductive and thematic cross case analysis and field notes were made following interviews and participant observation. One theme and three categories emerged in the findings. The theme, 'Togetherness: steering against the current towards a better life", revealed the impact of interpersonal connectedness as participants attempted to steer towards valued lives against various barriers. The first category, 'Taking the helm', described the women's actions to determine valued livelihoods. 'Facing tough conditions' detailed the personal and external barriers they encountered while attempting to direct their lives towards positive outcomes through street trading. The third category, 'We're in the same boat' demonstrated the significance and the positive and negative impact of interpersonal connectedness for street traders. Conclusively, the study revealed how the contextually situated nature of this occupation translated to nuanced and fluid experiences of wellbeing in street trading, where well-being was deeply tied to valued social connectedness and significance of collective well-being.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationSassen, S. R. (2013). <i>Women's experiences of street trading in Cape Town and its impact on their well-being</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14086en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationSassen, Sharyn Ruth. <i>"Women's experiences of street trading in Cape Town and its impact on their well-being."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14086en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationSassen, S. 2013. Women's experiences of street trading in Cape Town and its impact on their well-being. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Sassen, Sharyn Ruth AB - Street trading forms a large subsection of South Africa's informal economic activity, creating opportunity for self-employment and sustaining livelihoods (Mitullah, 2003; Skinner, 2008). Yet, street traders face various barriers including societal marginalization and pervasive poverty, threatening their well-being. The scarcity of occupational therapy literature around informal economy occupations limits the profession's understanding about what engagement in such occupations entails. While available literature around work in the informal economy emphasises economic contributions to development, there is limited evidence that informal business owners effectively escape vulnerability. From an occupational perspective, little is known about how these occupations are experienced and their implications for well-being. This study will inform contextually relevant conceptions of participation in the informal economy occupation of street trade, providing necessary knowledge for social and political practices of occupational therapy. The study aimed to describe women street traders' experiences of street trading and, how they perceived these related to their well-being. The objectives were to identify personal and external factors that promoted or hindered their well-being whilst engaged in street trading. An ethnographic inquiry was carried out with four women street traders identified through purposive recruitment. It involved semi-structured and photo elicitation interviews, and participant observation. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed for inductive and thematic cross case analysis and field notes were made following interviews and participant observation. One theme and three categories emerged in the findings. The theme, 'Togetherness: steering against the current towards a better life", revealed the impact of interpersonal connectedness as participants attempted to steer towards valued lives against various barriers. The first category, 'Taking the helm', described the women's actions to determine valued livelihoods. 'Facing tough conditions' detailed the personal and external barriers they encountered while attempting to direct their lives towards positive outcomes through street trading. The third category, 'We're in the same boat' demonstrated the significance and the positive and negative impact of interpersonal connectedness for street traders. Conclusively, the study revealed how the contextually situated nature of this occupation translated to nuanced and fluid experiences of wellbeing in street trading, where well-being was deeply tied to valued social connectedness and significance of collective well-being. DA - 2013 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2013 T1 - Women's experiences of street trading in Cape Town and its impact on their well-being TI - Women's experiences of street trading in Cape Town and its impact on their well-being UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14086 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/14086
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationSassen SR. Women's experiences of street trading in Cape Town and its impact on their well-being. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, 2013 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14086en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Health and Rehabilitation Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Health Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherOccupational Therapyen_ZA
dc.titleWomen's experiences of street trading in Cape Town and its impact on their well-beingen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMSc (Occupational Therapy)en_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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