THE ILLEGITIMATE AND THE ILLEGAL IN A SOUTH-AFRICAN CITY - THE EFFECTS OF APARTHEID ON BIRTHS OUT-OF-WEDLOCK

After a brief historical introduction, the paper examines the illegiti macy statistics for the disadvantaged population groups in Cape Town i n the apartheid period, where the law was especially directed against Africans. It explores the extent to which various factors, such as urb anization, have contributed to the different patterns of illegitimacy in different sections of the population. The evidence indicates that a partheid legislation above all resulted in the major disruption of fam ily structure, with a consequent unforseen rise in illegitimacy which was particularly steep for Africans. The paper concludes, however, tha t the removal of apartheid is most unlikely to result in a reversal of the trends at least in this century.