One effect of the HIV epidemic in South Africa has been increasing numbers of orphans and of households headed by children. This article from the Centre for Applied Legal Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand argues that laws which currently prevent child headed households from accessing benefits violate the country's Constitution. It provides a background on child headed households and the South African legal approach towards families, and then examines constitutional obligations on the rights to equality and social security, and children's socio-economic rights, in order to analyse how these obligations relate to the provision of child support grants to child headed households.