Assessing the impact of the expanded Global Gag Rule in South Africa
- Authors: du Plessis, Ulandi , Sofika, Dumisa , Macleod, Catriona I , Mthethwa, Thobile
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , report
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/434306 , vital:73047 , ISBN Report , https://www.ru.ac.za/media/rhodesuniversity/content/criticalstudiesinsexualitiesandreproduction/documents/IWHC_Report.pdf
- Description: South Africa has one of the most progressive abortion laws in the world and as the constitution states, South Africans also have “the right to make deci-sions concerning reproduction”(Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996). Alongside being a free service, this should seemingly translate into accessible country-wide abortion services. However, less than one in ten public clinics actually perform abortions (Amnesty International, 2017). One of the main reasons for this has been the failure, on the part of the Depart-ment of Health, to regulate conscientious objection, ie the right of a healthcare worker to refuse to provide a service against which they are mor-ally opposed. Another reason is a lack of resources, in terms of both health professionals and finances, which manifest particularly in rural areas. As a result, women who are considering abortion either turn to illegal providers whose advertisements are scattered around towns, or towards private ser-vice providers such as Marie Stopes. Both options are usually costly, espe-cially to poor women. And illegal backstreet abortions often result in sepsis and infection. Recent data on abortion services in South Africa indicate that between 2016 and 2017, 20% of all abortions performed on women aged between 15-44 years were provided by the public health sector, while 26% and 54% of abortions were performed by illegal providers and the private health sector respectively (Lince-Deroche et al., 2018).
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- Date Issued: 2019
Living in a rural community and researching HIV and AIDS: Positionality and ethics
- Authors: Akhurst, Jacqueline E , Van der Riet, Mary B , Sofika, Dumisa
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/436907 , vital:73315 , ISBN 978-3-319-74721-7 , https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74721-7_14
- Description: The emotional impact of researching sensitive topics is under-reported. This chapter explores researcher positionality in a study of people’s management of risk in sexual activity where there is a high prevalence of HIV infection. Living in a rural community raised insider/outsider issues as the researchers participated in broader social life, adding relational and emo-tional dimensions to the process. Exploring the sensitive topic of HIV and AIDS in a resource-constrained context led to blurred boundaries as researchers also became confidante, counsellor or development worker. They were challenged by the emotional intensity of the research and related responsibili-ties, illustrating the need for enhanced ethical awareness that could not be pre-determined and highlighting the need for on-going risk assessment for both participants and researchers.
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- Date Issued: 2018