Understanding atypical resilience enablers of street youth in Harare, Zimbabwe

Abstract

There is limited understanding of the circumstances leading street youth to rely on atypical resilience enablers. Atypical resilience enablers are unconventional strategies, often negatively judged by society or the law, which allow street youth to survive on the streets. We respond to this knowledge gap by documenting a 2REST study (Responsibilities for Resilience Embedded in Street Temporalities), exploring atypical resilience enablers of Harare street youth. We draw our findings from a three-year ethnographic study of 229 street youth (ages 14–24) in Harare, Accra and Bukavu, initially conducted for Growing Up on the Streets (GUOTS). We analysed secondary data accounts using a multisystemic resilience framework, a coding framework (created in NVivo) that included psychological resources of atypical informal work and problem solving. Findings showed that street youth navigated their hygiene and safety risks using a combination of atypical livelihoods and safety strategies ranging from theft, sex work, gambling to staying dirty to keep safe from violence. While these atypical resilience enablers supported their resilience, they also perpetuated negative stereotypes and limited positive interactions with their communities. Our findings bring attention to how systemic neglect can be a catalyst for atypical resilience enablers. We use these findings to advance the need for systemic interventions in street contexts so that young people are not compelled to rely on atypical pathways. This would halt assumptions that typically scapegoat street youth. This is particularly important in Zimbabwe, where socioeconomic challenges push young people into the streets of Harare.