Browsing by Department "Gender, Health and Justice Unit"

Now showing 1 - 14 of 14
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    All the (tricky) words: a glossary of terms on sex, gender and violence
    (Gender, Health and Justice Research Unit. University of Cape Town, 2014-01-01) Meer, Talia
    This glossary contains various definitions related to sex, gender and gender-based violence, accessible to young people, parents and educators. It also includes key South African laws that relate to sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence. This glossary can be used by itself as a resource for understanding some of the more complex concepts and terms related to sexual health, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender-based violence. It can also be used in conjunction with the Tools for Talking Taboos classroom exercises.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Better safe than sorry: Magistrates' views on the Domestic Violence Act
    (Academy of Science of South Africa, 2004) Artz, Lillian
    As part of an ongoing project to monitor the implementation of the Domestic Violence Act, this article focuses on the role of magistrates. The impression exists that magistrates have a tendency to judge domestic violence matters conservatively. But research shows that most take a 'better safe, than sorry' approach in granting particular conditions in protection orders. The general sentiment is that it makes more sense to have an all inclusive protection order than one that will be subject to variation at a later stage.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    “The care is the best you can give at the time”: Health care professionals’ experiences in providing gender affirming care in South Africa
    (PLoS One, 2017-07-12) Spencer, Sarah; Meer, Talia; Muller, Alex
    While the provision of gender affirming care for transgender people in South Africa is considered legal, ethical, and medically sound, and is—theoretically—available in both the South African private and public health sectors, access remains severely limited and unequal within the country. As there are no national policies or guidelines, little is known about how individual health care professionals providing gender affirming care make clinical decisions about eligibility and treatment options.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Case attrition in rape cases: a comparative analysis
    (2007) Artz, L M; Smythe, D
    The past decade has seen a number of legal, practice and policy-based interventions made in order to ensure that the criminal justice system is more responsive to rape complaints. At their most instrumental, the aim of both shifts in practice and in the laws relating to sexual offences is to increase reporting and conviction rates in rape cases. One of the greatest problems with the criminal justice system's response to rape remains, however, that most reported cases do not in fact make it through the system to trial. This article reflects on two attrition studies conducted by the authors between 2003 and 2006, together examining the disposition of approximately 600 rape cases across six urban police stations. The objective of these studies was to examine the processing, investigation and prosecution of sexual offences cases and to analyse the possible reasons for high attrition. This paper raises the complexities of calculating attrition as well as the extent to which international experiences and perspectives on rape attrition converge and contrast with South African ones. We also set out to develop some of the insights that we have garnered from our own attrition studies and thereby to alert scholars working in this area to the key practical and theoretical issues that arise in conceptualising and conducting an attrition study.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Health for All? Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and the Implementation of the Right to Access to Health Care in South Africa
    (Health and Human Rights Journal, 2016-08-31) Muller, Alex
    The framework of health and human rights provides for a comprehensive theoretical and practical application of general human rights principles in health care contexts that include the well-being of patients, providers, and other individuals within health care. This is particularly important for sexual and gender minority individuals, who experience historical and contemporary systematical marginalization, exclusion, and discrimination in health care contexts. In this paper, I present two case studies from South Africa to (1) highlight the conflicts that arise when sexual and gender minority individuals seek access to a heteronormative health system; (2) discuss the international, regional, and national human rights legal framework as it pertains to sexual orientation, gender identity, and health; and (3) analyze the gap between legislative frameworks that offer protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and their actual implementation in health service provision. These case studies highlight the complex and intersecting discrimination and marginalization that sexual and gender minority individuals face in health care in this particular context. The issues raised in the case studies are not unique to South Africa, however; and the human rights concerns illustrated therein, particularly around the right to health, have wide resonance in other geographical and social contexts.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex human rights in Southern Africa: A contemporary literature review
    (HIVOS, 2017-06-01) Meer, Talia; Lunau, Marie; Oberth, Gemma; Daskilewicz, Kristen; Muller, Alex
    Individuals engaging in same-sex acts, individuals identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/ or intersex (LGBTI), and individuals who do not conform to heteronormative ideals of gender and sexuality experience structural, institutional and individual discrimination and exclusion across the world. This is no different in Southern African countries. While LGBTI individuals are heterogeneous and face very specific challenges based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, race, class, ethnicity and other factors, they share experiences of structural, institutional and individual discrimination and marginalisation based on their sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI). In most Southern African countries, same-sex activity remains criminalised, which further marginalises LGBTI individuals, and acts as an additional barrier to accessing public services and realising full civil and political rights. This contemporary literature review focuses on the state of LGBTI human rights in 10 Southern African countries: Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The purpose of this review is to contribute towards a strong evidence base and scientific foundation for informed programming in the region.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Making the invisible visible: a systematic review of sexual minority women’s health in Southern Africa
    (BioMed Central, 2016) Muller, Alexandra; Hughes, Tonda L
    Background: Over the past two decades research on sexual and gender minority (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender; LGBT) health has highlighted substantial health disparities based on sexual orientation and gender identity in many parts of the world. We systematically reviewed the literature on sexual minority women’s (SMW) health in Southern Africa, with the objective of identifying existing evidence and pointing out knowledge gaps around the health of this vulnerable group in this region. Methods: A systematic review of publications in English, French, Portuguese or German, indexed in PubMed or MEDLINE between the years 2000 and 2015, following PRISMA guidelines. Additional studies were identified by searching bibliographies of identified studies. Search terms included (Lesbian OR bisexual OR “women who have sex with women”), (HIV OR depression OR “substance use” OR “substance abuse” OR “mental health” OR suicide OR anxiety OR cancer), and geographical specification. All empirical studies that used quantitative or qualitative methods, which contributed to evidence for SMW’s health in one, a few or all of the countries, were included. Theoretical and review articles were excluded. Data were extracted independently by 2 researchers using predefined data fields, which included a risk of bias/quality assessment. Results: Of 315 hits, 9 articles were selected for review and a further 6 were identified through bibliography searches. Most studies were conducted with small sample sizes in South Africa and focused on sexual health. SMW included in the studies were racially and socio-economically heterogeneous. Studies focused predominately on young populations, and highlighted substance use and violence as key health issues for SMW in Southern Africa. Conclusions: Although there are large gaps in the literature, the review highlighted substantial sexual-orientationrelated health disparities among women in Southern Africa. The findings have important implications for public health policy and research, highlighting the lack of population-level evidence on the one hand, and the impact of criminalizing laws around homosexuality on the other hand.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Missed opportunities: Confiscation of weapons in domestic violence cases
    (Academy of Science of South Africa, 2004) Smythe, Dee
    Part of a series in the SA Crime Quarterly on the implementation of the Domestic Violence Act, this article focuses on the use of weapons in incidents of domestic violence as reflected in applications for protection orders at three Western Cape jurisdictions. Weapons are often used in domestic violence. If the police and magistrates use the powers available to them to seize weapons, it will go a long way to protecting women and the broader public.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Moving beyond 30 years of Anglo-American rape law reforms: Legal representation for victims of sexual offences
    (2005) Smythe, Dee
    The South African Law Commission has proposed a number of substantive and procedural reforms to South Africa's laws governing sexual offences. This article argues that, while important in principle, these reforms are unlikely to shift police and prosecution practices or to meaningfully increase the numbers of offences prosecuted or perpetrators convicted. Support for this argument is drawn from the experiences of other Anglo-American jurisdictions in implementing similar reforms. The current law reform process does, however, present an important opportunity to consider possible reforms that have the potential to shift institutional norms informing current criminal justice practice, and to provide meaningful protection for victims of sexual offences forced to navigate that system. One such reform, which has met with some success in other jurisdictions, is the introduction of a legal representative to engage with the criminal justice process on behalf of the victim. This article looks at the legal and constitutional rationale for such an innovation and at models used in comparative jurisdictions, concluding that such a reform would go a long way towards ensuring that the existing rights of rape victims are meaningfully enforced.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Privacy, HIV/AIDS and Public Health Interventions
    (2009) Roehrs, Stefanie
    Although HIV / AIDS has claimed centre stage in public and political debates over the last few years, South African scholars largely refrain from examining and discussing the right to privacy and its limitations in the context of HIV / AIDS. Until the Constitutional Court's recent decision in NM and Others v Smith and Others, the lack of literature was accompanied by a scarcity of case law regarding the importance of the protection of privacy of HIV-infected people. This article aims to set the scene for a debate on HIV / AIDS and privacy: the scope of the right, its importance for HIV-infected individuals and the justifiability of limitations in the form of public health interventions. As an introduction to the subject matter, the first part of this article provides a brief overview of academic discussion around the right to privacy. The article examines the scope of the right and its distinction from other human rights, before assessing its importance for people living with HIV / AIDS Although both the common law and the constitutional law protect privacy, concerns are raised as to whether the legal mechanisms are sufficient to truly protect HIV-infected individuals. The second part of the article focuses on public health interventions that limit the right to privacy, and thoroughly analyses their implications. First, current health guidelines on HIV disclosure by health care professionals are reviewed, and, drawing on comparative health policies, it is debated whether partner notification programmes should be introduced in South Africa. Interesting questions around the justifiability of invasions of privacy and health care professional' legal duty to warn patients' partners are discussed. The article then looks at HIV disclosures envisaged by recent legislative developments. The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act makes provision for the compulsory HIV testing of alleged sexual and other offenders. The article undertakes a thorough examination of these statutory provisions and raises serious questions in relation to their justifiability.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Scrambling for access: availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of healthcare for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in South Africa
    (BioMed Central, 2017-05-30) Müller, Alex
    Background: Sexual orientation and gender identity are social determinants of health for people identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT), and health disparities among sexual and gender minority populations are increasingly well understood. Although the South African constitution guarantees sexual and gender minority people the right to non-discrimination and the right to access to healthcare, homo- and transphobia in society abound. Little is known about LGBT people’s healthcare experiences in South Africa, but anecdotal evidence suggests significant barriers to accessing care. Using the framework of the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights General Comment 14, this study analyses the experiences of LGBT health service users using South African public sector healthcare, including access to HIV counselling, testing and treatment. Methods: A qualitative study comprised of 16 semi-structured interviews and two focus group discussions with LGBT health service users, and 14 individual interviews with representatives of LGBT organisations. Data were thematically analysed within the framework of the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights General Comment 14, focusing on availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of care. Results: All interviewees reported experiences of discrimination by healthcare providers based on their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Participants recounted violations of all four elements of the UN General Comment 14: 1) Availability: Lack of public health facilities and services, both for general and LGBT-specific concerns; 2) Accessibility: Healthcare providers' refusal to provide care to LGBT patients; 3) Acceptability: Articulation of moral judgment and disapproval of LGBT patients’ identity, and forced subjection of patients to religious practices; 4) Quality: Lack of knowledge about LGBT identities and health needs, leading to poor-quality care. Participants had delayed or avoided seeking healthcare in the past, and none had sought out accountability or complaint mechanisms within the health system. Conclusion: Sexual orientation and gender identity are important categories of analysis for health equity, and lead to disparities in all four dimensions of healthcare access as defined by General Comment 14. Discriminatory and prejudicial attitudes by healthcare providers, combined with a lack of competency and knowledge are key reasons for these disparities in South Africa.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    The no-go zone: a qualitative study of access to sexual and reproductive health services for sexual and gender minority adolescents in Southern Africa
    (BioMed Central, 2018-01-25) Müller, Alex; Spencer, Sarah; Meer, Talia; Daskilewicz, Kristen
    Abstract Background Adolescents have significant sexual and reproductive health needs. However, complex legal frameworks, and social attitudes about adolescent sexuality, including the values of healthcare providers, govern adolescent access to sexual and reproductive health services. These laws and social attitudes are often antipathetic to sexual and gender minorities. Existing literature assumes that adolescents identify as heterosexual, and exclusively engage in (heteronormative) sexual activity with partners of the opposite sex/gender, so little is known about if and how the needs of sexual and gender minority adolescents are met. Methods In this article, we have analysed data from fifty in-depth qualitative interviews with representatives of organisations working with adolescents, sexual and gender minorities, and/or sexual and reproductive health and rights in Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Results Sexual and gender minority adolescents in these countries experience double-marginalisation in pursuit of sexual and reproductive health services: as adolescents, they experience barriers to accessing LGBT organisations, who fear being painted as “homosexuality recruiters,” whilst they are simultaneously excluded from heteronormative adolescent sexual and reproductive health services. Such barriers to services are equally attributable to the real and perceived criminalisation of consensual sexual behaviours between partners of the same sex/gender, regardless of their age. Discussion/ conclusion The combination of laws which criminalise consensual same sex/gender activity and the social stigma towards sexual and gender minorities work to negate legal sexual and reproductive health services that may be provided. This is further compounded by age-related stigma regarding sexual activity amongst adolescents, effectively leaving sexual and gender minority adolescents without access to necessary information about their sexuality and sexual and reproductive health, and sexual and reproductive health services.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Tools for talking taboos: classroom exercises on sex, gender and violence
    (Gender, Health and Justice Research Unit. University of Cape Town, 2014-01-01) Moult, Kelley; Meer, Talia; Corral, Carmen; Mpofu-Mketwa, Tsitsi
    This book of classroom exercises can be used by high school educators to address foundational concepts around sexuality, gender and gender-based violence in a classroom context. Exercises are grouped into chapters that address the topics: (1) Gender, (2) Gender and Power, (3) Family Relationships, (4) Teen Dating, (5) Sexual Health, (6) Popular Culture and Media, (7) Sexual Orientation, (8) HIV, (9) Domestic Violence and (10) Sexual Offences. Exercises are in a variety of formats and use a variety of methods and each contains a comprehensive activity plan that educators can follow to address these complex issues in a holistic, interactive, accessible and non-judgmental way.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Tough choices: Difficulties facing magistrates in applying protection orders
    (2004) Artz, Lillian
    The second in a series of articles on the Domestic Violence Act considers some of the most difficult issues that magistrates must decide on. These include the temporary removal of the ‘abuser’ from the common home, emergency monetary relief for ‘victims’, and orders specifying the terms of contact with children. Magistrates’ opinions on these controversial issues vary greatly, with the result that victims get uneven assistance from the courts. Magistrates, however, argue that the variation of opinion reflects their independence and discretion, as well as the various capacities of the lower courts to implement the Act.