Using Social Justice, Public Health, and Human Rights to Prevent Violence in South Africa

Abstract

The University of South Africa's (UNISA) Institute for Social and Health Sciences was formed in mid-1997 following a decision to combine the University's Institute for Behavioral Sciences with its Health Psychology Unit, including its Center for Peace Action. This merger brought together two groups of researcher-practitioners-one from the social sciences and the other from the health sciencesthat had differing but complementary strengths. Several senior researchers possessed expertise in child neuropsychology and social-developmental psychology and were also well-known for technical innovations in research methodology. There were also a significant number of researchers who had been interested in critical social theory and community development and were actively challenging the oppressive conditions and consequences of the apartheid system. In the past, the latter group had focused on the impact of violence as a manifestation of apartheid political policy as well as on the social injustices associated with this, and attempted to programmatically address this manifestation particularly in low-income communities. The group's emphasis on marginalized communities has shaped the ethos of much of the Institute's current work. In addition, this conscious, grassroots focus resulted from mounting