South African Township Research Articles

Complicated femininity: the character of Sonto Molefe in South African telenovela Gomora

ABSTRACT This paper engages issues of complicated femininity and the representation of such in South African telenovela Gomora. Set in South African township Alexandra, Gomora tells the story of contemporary life in post-apartheid South Africa, where people are forced to engage issues of poverty, inequality, racism, and more. In particular, the paper engages one of the main characters in the program, Nomasonto Mildred Molefe. Mam’ Sonto is the matriarch of her family who is also the head of an established hijacking syndicate. Throughout the first season of this show, audiences are able to engage with a complicated woman who is good and bad, kind and cruel. Moving away from a moral reading of the character, this paper unpacks how the character comes to be and how she asserts her own power and agency in engaging a deeply racist and sexist society in order to survive and provide for her family. Engaging works of Pumla Gqola, Sisonke Msimang, Roxanne Gay, and more, the paper presents a reading of this character that enables a clear argument for the need for such depictions of complicated womanhood as part of pushing the reified boundaries of patriarchy that women are forced to exist within.

Mothers on the move: manyanos and the social history of transportation in a South African homeland township, 1963–1990

ABSTRACT Histories of bus boycotts and of the taxi business in apartheid South Africa have been told with male activists and taxi entrepreneurs as the protagonists. Women’s oral histories reframe transportation history to include the experiences of commuters. This article is a history of travel by African Christian women’s organizations (manyanos) in the township of Mdantsane. Township infrastructure presented barriers to these social organizations, but in the 1960s and 1970s manyanos adapted their mobility practices to attract members. The bus boycotts of the 1980s and the growth of the taxi industry were connected to protest against the apartheid order. However, this revolution in transportation had ambiguous consequences for commuters. As dissatisfied commuters in the late-apartheid urban landscape, manyano women continued to innovate travelling strategies to maintain local and long-distance connections. Their experiences show that commuters, as well as governments and transport-owners, shape the possibilities of urban travel in twentieth-century Africa.

Narratives of Xenophobia at a South African University

Many studies have examined xenophobia in South African townships and inner cities, but few have interrogated how xenophobia manifests itself in other South African contexts, such as tertiary education environments. The study presents the results of a qualitative study undertaken to explore the perceptions and experiences of students regarding xenophobia at the University of Johannesburg Auckland Park Kingsway Campus (UJAPK). The results indicate that most students have perceptions or have experienced xenophobia at UJ—although in subtle forms including language discrimination, anti-migrant attitudes, and social and academic exclusion. There are, however, traces of non-perception or experiences of xenophobia observed in the responses of some students. The findings further reveal that African foreign nationals (the so-called makwerekwere) are the primary targets of xenophobia rather than non-nationals from outside the continent. I argue that patterns inherited from South Africa’s colonial and apartheid past persist in post-apartheid South Africa, manifesting through the politics of race, nationalism, and fear of the other. I propose dialogue sessions where students (local and international) can openly communicate their perceptions of xenophobia and its consequences and find potential ways to mitigate the phenomenon.

Perspectives on employers’ expectations on tertiary education graduates’ employability skills in Eastern Cape, South Africa

Given that undergraduates, graduates and tertiary institutions of higher learning are uncertain Given that undergraduates, graduates, and tertiary institutions of higher learning are uncertain regarding the expectations of employers in the work organizations on the skill that graduates possess, the study presented in this paper attempts to provide some meaningful clues in that directions. The study followed a research question that interrogates what employability skills employers expect graduates to possess for an entry-level job. Designed as a descriptive study, a quantitative research approach was chosen, where the survey method of data collection was employed through a closed-ended structured questionnaire. The study targeted employers (managers) of public and private work organizations in the health and education sectors in a South African town Mthatha, from where a sample of 41 participants (representing organizations) was drawn. The study employed a stratified random sampling in selecting the participants, which ensured that the principle of selecting representatives of the target population was met. Data collected from the participants were analyzed by the use of selected descriptive tools. The analyzed data revealed that all employers expect graduates to possess all the 13 skill areas that employees require to function in the workplace. Surprisingly, the employers mostly expect least from the young graduates in terms of quantitative skills and leadership capabilities. While this finding corroborates what exists in the literature, it provides a new dimension with regard to priority skills needed by employers in the South African labor market. The study, therefore, recommends that the work organizations and higher institutions of learning should form a partnership and a close relationship so that they can assist one another in building the employability skills of graduates.

The use of English to offer learner support and enhance perceptual skills development in South African township schools

Research has identified the underdevelopment of perceptual skills as a cause of lifelong learning struggles and the restriction of developmental progress in learners. The literature also indicates that early intervention is one strategy that effectively mitigates the long-term effects thereof through learner support. However, the inadequacy of in-service teachers’ skills to assess perceptual skills development, coupled with the implementation of the teaching and learning language policy, are issues for concern, particularly in South African schools.This article reports on a module-aligned community engagement project conducted with 87 pre-service teachers to assess the perceptual skills development of Foundation Phase learners as part of their work-integrated learning (WIL). The two selected schools used English as their language of teaching and learning. Two lecturers and eight Grade 2 and Grade 3 in-service teachers from Pretoria East schools participated in the project. Play-based pedagogy was used as a resource for assessment as a qualitative approach, thus inspiring in-service teachers’ and learners’ creativity and enjoyment at the schools.Kolb’s cyclic theoretical framework consisting of four cycles underpinned the project. Firstly, the project confirmed literature findings of teachers’ lack of skills to assess perceptual skills development using English in Foundation Phase learners. Secondly, the use of non-mother tongue language as a medium of instruction in early learning centres affected learners’ knowledge acquisition. Thirdly, the use of the foreign medium of instruction affected the learners’ speaking and listening skills, thus impacting language and cognitive development essential for learning.

Digital storytelling with South African youth: a critical reflection

PurposeIn this paper the authors share, and reflect critically on, the experience of using digital storytelling (DS) methods in a South African township. We interrogate the innovations prompted as we operationalized DS in a context that has historically prized collectivist values and that experiences chronic resource constraints.Design/methodology/approachThe authors ask: How can DS be optimally used to understand youth resilience in a collectivist, developing context? The authors worked with 18 older adolescents (aged 18–24) during two day-long events. The authors provide detailed descriptions of the method used, and offer reflections focusing on narrative, visuals and technology-mediation.FindingsThis study concludes by sharing four key lessons learned during the project. First, revisit the definition of “story” for your context, participant group and time. Second, a slower process yields more meaningful product. Third, facilitator competence matters. Finally, advance and deeper thinking about the ways in which technology will be used leads to richer research outcomes.Originality/valueThe paper reflects on the interplay between the transactional nature of contemporary digitally-mediated methods in a low-resource setting and with a seldom-heard population, and it's relationship with the ancient local traditions of story-making and audiencing.

The geographies of sexual violence in education: a photovoice study in and around a South African township secondary school

ABSTRACT This paper centers on the voices of adolescent school children to examine the geographies of sexual violence in a South African township secondary school. In doing so, I analyze data generated through photovoice to show how school children identified and described school-related geographies of sexual violence. Using their visual artifacts, adolescents identified certain spaces as ‘hotspots’ for sexual violence, and these spaces, in turn, shaped the nature and forms of this violence. Drawing on these findings, the article highlights how adolescents conceptualize school-related geographies of sexual violence, and how in these geographies, this violence occurred. Within this context, the paper calls attention to the intersection of childhood sociocultural geographies and children’s experiences of sexual violence.

“I feel scared of being a girl”: Adolescent girls’ conversations about heteropatriarchal sexual violence in South African townships

This paper examines the perspectives of black African adolescent girls about heteropatriarchal sexual violence in their resource-poor townships in South Africa. The study was set in a social geographic area that is burdened by chronic poverty, high levels of crime, and heteropatriarchal violence. Rape culture – the pervasive norms and ideologies that effectively support or excuse heterosexual violence – framed the study, and qualitative group conversations were used to generate data. Findings point to a culture of heteropatriarchal sexual violence used by men to dominate and control girls’ freedom and behavior across township spaces. Adolescent girls faced widespread violence that was a systematic and overlapping feature of their neighborhoods and households. While girls employed several strategies to insulate themselves from violence, they did so in a context in which gender ideologies worked against them. In talking back to their victimization, girls conjured notions of stolen dignity, lost humanity, and diminished existence.

Experiences of violence among female and male grade eight learners: baseline findings from the Girls Achieve Power (GAP Year) trial across three South African townships

Background: South African adolescents experience disproportionally high rates of violence, with lifelong health, social and economic impacts. Few papers present risk factors associated with experiences of adolescent violence. Methods: A baseline cross-sectional survey was done (April 2017 – Sept 2018) with 3432 grade 8 learners in the Girls Achieve Power (GAP Year) trial from 26 high schools in three townships (Soweto and Tembisa, Gauteng and Khayelitsha, Western Cape). Collected data on lifetime experiences of different types of violence, perpetrators, and place of violence. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used to enumerate experiences of, and factors associated with violence. Results: A total of 2383 respondents are included. Most (63.1%) were girls, 81.5% aged 12-14. In total 25.9% had ever experienced violence, higher among boys (p=<0.001). Physical violence was most common (35.7%), then psychological (21.8%), sexual (13.1%), neglect (10.6%), cyberbullying (7.6%), corporal punishment (6.5%) and economic abuse (4.8%). Boys experienced more physical violence (36.0%); girls experienced more psychological violence (22.2%). Gauteng had double the reports of sexual violence (18.4% vs 7.6%, p<0.001). Violence happened most at school (27.4%), followed by the park (19.8%) or their friends’ home (12.9%). Multivariate analysis showed that boys (aOR 1.57; 95% CV 1.27-1.94; p=0.000), those aged 15-17 years (aOR 1.41; 95% CV 1.07-1.84; p=0.013), those who ever used substances (aOR 1.92; 95% CI 1.54-2.37; p=0.000), and those who sometimes feel worthless (aOR 1.35; 95% CI 1.10-1.64, p=0.003) were at higher odds of ever experiencing violence. Those who had never had sex were less likely to have ever experienced violence (aOR 0.66; 95% CI 0.51-0.83; p=0.001). Conclusion: Urgently need wider adoption, scaling, and sustaining of evidence-based primary violence prevention and structural interventions are required to reduce the high burden of adolescent violence. Stakeholders across the ecological model are needed to tackle harmful cultural norms that perpetuate violence.

The inhibitors and enablers of emerging adult COVID-19 mitigation compliance in a township context

Young adults are often scapegoated for not complying with COVID-19 mitigation strategies. While studies have investigated what predicts this population’s compliance and non-compliance, they have largely excluded the insights of African young people living in South African townships. Given this, it is unclear what places young adult South African township dwellers at risk for not complying with physical distancing, face masking and handwashing, or what enables resilience to those risks. To remedy this uncertainty, the current article reports a secondary analysis of transcripts (n=119) that document telephonic interviews in June and October 2020 with 24 emerging adults (average age: 20 years) who participated in the Resilient Youth in Stressed Environments (RYSE) study. The secondary analysis, which was inductively thematic, pointed to compliance being threatened by forgetfulness; preventive measures conflicting with personal/collective style; and structural constraints. Resilience to these compliance risks lay in young people’s capacity to regulate their behaviour and in the immediate social ecology’s capacity to co-regulate young people’s health behaviours. These findings discourage health interventions that are focused on the individual. More optimal public health initiatives will be responsive to the risks and resilience-enablers associated with young people and the social, institutional, and physical ecologies to which young people are connected. Significance: Emerging adult compliance with COVID-19 mitigation strategies is threatened by risks across multiple systems (i.e. young people themselves; the social ecology; the physical ecology). Emerging adult resilience to compliance challenges is co-facilitated by young people and their social ecologies. Responding adaptively to COVID-19 contagion threats will require multisystem mobilisation that is collaborative and transformative in its redress of risk and co-championship of resilience-enablers. Open data set: https://doi.org/10.25392/leicester.data.17129858

Knowledge, uptake and patterns of contraception use among in-school adolescents in three South African townships: Baseline findings from the Girls Achieve Power (GAP Year) Trial

Background: South African adolescents experience barriers to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) knowledge and uptake. This study provides insight into contraceptive and other SRH service knowledge, perceptions, and uptake among adolescents in high HIV prevalence settings. Methods: A baseline cross sectional survey was conducted among 3432 grade 8’s enrolled into the Girls Achieve Power (GAP Year) trial from 26 public high schools across three South African townships (Soweto, Thembisa and Khayelitsha) (2017 - 2018). An interviewer-led survey collected information on SRH knowledge and perceptions; an audio computer-assisted self-interviewing technique gathered SRH service uptake. Descriptive analysis indicates frequency distribution of socio-demographics and knowledge, uptake and perceptions of SRH services. Chi-square test tested for associations between age and sex and selected variables that measure SRH knowledge and uptake. Results: In total, 2383 learners, completed both survey components. Of these, 63.1% (n=1504) were female and 81.4% (n=1938) aged 12-14. Almost a fifth (18.3%, n=436) had ever had sex and less than 1% had accessed SRH services in the last year. Of the 157 females who had ever had sex, 50.9% had ever used contraception. Of those who had sex in the last three months, 59.0% reported using a contraceptive method. Condom use was inconsistent: almost all females said they had not used or could not remember if a condom was used at last sex. Conclusion: This paper contributes to the evidence strengthening learner SRH education, including the national Integrated School Health Programme. Key themes include the need for age-appropriate, differentiated comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) for the range of ages found in the same grade in South African schools. Education on different contraceptive methods, informed decision-making, and emergency contraception is key. School-based interventions should embrace integrated HIV, STI, and pregnancy prevention messages. Closer links with health services need to be constantly fostered and reinforced.

Epidemiology of interpersonal violence at a regional hospital emergency unit in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.

BackgroundThis study describes the profile, mechanism and pattern of injuries, and highlights important gaps in clinicians’ consultations with patients who experienced interpersonal violence (IPV) in the predominantly black South African township of Mdantsane, Eastern Cape.MethodsThis retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at the Cecilia Makiwane Regional Hospital, Mdantsane. Medical records of patients who received emergency care for trauma between 01 December 2017 and 31 March 2018 were reviewed. The records of patients identified with IPV were selected for further analysis. Data were disaggregated by demographics, mechanism of injuries and circumstances of the incidents using simple descriptive statistics.ResultsA total of 1064 patients reported IPV as the mechanism of injury for emergency department (ED) visits, accounting for 42.4% of all trauma-related injuries. The majority of patients with IPV were men (72.0%), unemployed (78.0%) and single (89.0%). Blunt force injury was the most common pattern of injury (53.3%); about half (50.5%) of the incidents took place in the patients’ homes. The majority of the patients (68%) knew their assailants, and a quarter of them were an intimate partner of the assailant (27.6%). The flow of patient with IPV to the ED was skewed towards the weekend (weekend effect). Also, there was an upward trend in the flow of patients with IPV to the ED from 19:00 onwards, reaching a peak at 20:00.ConclusionInterpersonal violence is the most prevalent mechanism of injury reported in this region. It is crucial to engage stakeholders in the design of interventions in order to reduce IPV-related injuries in the region.

Determinants of Perceptions of Poverty; A Case of Townships in Gauteng Province of South Africa

Poverty reduction policies and interventions are only effective if the poor themselves own the process and believe in the process being implemented. The way people perceive poverty is to a greater extent informed by their position and economic circumstances in society. The conservative theorist of poverty argue that the poor are lazy and hence would tend to blame the society and the structures thereof. Assertions in the culture of poverty by Oscar Lewis imply that the poor may become comfortable in their poverty and hence may ignore any efforts that would change their circumstances. The liberal theories on the other hand argue that those in poverty perceive poverty as a result of an evil and an unequal system. However, these are general expectations and yet they are not always the same across countries and regions. This paper examines the perceptions of the causes of poverty as conceived by the people living in selected South African townships. The paper used data that was collected in the Gauteng Province South Africa in 2019-2020. Based on the Feagin scale of perceptions of the causes of poverty, the main categories namely, fatalistic, structural and individualistic, are considered between the different households. The results show that the poor to a greater extend agree with the structural perceptions of causes of poverty whilst those that are above the poverty line assign their position to hard work and hence blame the poor for their own circumstances mostly agreeing with the individualistic perception of causes of poverty.

Sexual and reproductive health and rights knowledge, perceptions, and experiences of adolescent learners from three South African townships: qualitative findings from the Girls Achieve Power (GAP Year) Trial

Background: Adolescence is a time of psycho-social and physiological changes, with increased associated health risks including vulnerability to pregnancy, HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and gender-based violence. Adolescent learners, from three townships in South Africa, participated in a 44 session, after-school asset-building intervention (GAP Year), over 2 years providing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) education. This paper explores adolescent learners’ SRH, sexual risk and rights knowledge; perceptions about transactional sex; and contraceptive method preferences and decision-making practices. Methods: The intervention was conducted in 13 secondary schools across Khayelitsha, Thembisa, and Soweto, South Africa. A baseline survey collected socio-demographic data prior to the intervention. Overall, 26 focus group discussions (FGDs): 13 male and 13 female learner groups, purposively selected from schools, after the intervention (2 years after baseline data collection). Descriptive analyses were conducted on baseline data. Qualitative data were thematically coded, and NVivo was used for data analysis. Results: In total, 194 learners participated in the FGDs. Mean age at baseline was 13.7 years (standard deviation 0.91). Participants acquired SRH and rights knowledge during the GAP Year intervention. Although transactional sex was viewed as risky, some relationships were deemed beneficial and necessary for material gain. Negative healthcare provider attitudes were the main barrier to healthcare service utilisation. There was awareness about the benefits of contraceptives, but some myths about method use. The injectable was the preferred contraceptive method, followed by the implant, with equal preference for condoms and oral pill. Conclusions: An afterschool intervention at school is a viable model for the provision of SRH and rights education to learners. Recommendations include the need for risk reduction strategies in the curriculum, dealing with misconceptions, and the promotion of informed decision making. Endeavours to ensure health services are youth friendly is a priority to limit barriers to accessing these services.

Shifting Social Norms and Adolescent Girls' Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services and Information in a South African Township.

Despite policy on adolescent sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services and education, teen pregnancies remain common in South Africa. Social norms and cultural resistance are a well-documented challenge for SRH program implementation in South Africa, and beyond. To gain insight on the complex picture of adolescents’ access to SRH information and services in a peri-urban township, we explored this topic from a diversity of perspectives, carrying out 86 interviews to capture perceptions of adolescents, their parents, community members, and health professionals. Our research shows that despite the taboo nature of the issue of adolescent SRH, individual positions on adolescent access to SRH services and information are shifting and diverse, and are influenced by factors other than cultural norms. This research serves as a reminder to avoid simplistic reference to “culture” as a way of explaining health-related behaviors and people’s responses to health challenges.

Corporate Power, Human Rights and Urban Governance in South African Cities

This article is concerned with the extent to which corporations involved in governing South African cities and towns are bound to the developmental objectives and socio-economic rights that urban governance efforts are constitutionally required to pursue. It considers the constitutional powers of local government over such non-state actors, evaluates their co-option and accountability in terms of local government legislation and discusses the evolution of their residual "horizontal" constitutional responsibilities.

Corporate Power, Human Rights and Urban Governance in South African Cities

This article is concerned with the extent to which corporations involved in governing South African cities and towns are bound to the developmental objectives and socio-economic rights that urban governance efforts are constitutionally required to pursue. It considers the constitutional powers of local government over such non-state actors, evaluates their co-option and accountability in terms of local government legislation and discusses the evolution of their residual "horizontal" constitutional responsibilities.

The ilobolo Debacle in the Postcolonial Era: A South African Township Context

This article uses historical evidence to track the invention of traditions in particular spheres of South African society since the late 1600s. Presently the ilobolo wedding ritual practice aligns with a colonially defined social transaction based on a monetary value system. This challenges the promise to “heal the divisions” brought about the colonial injustices of the past. The data were collected employing a case study, which enabled the researcher to collect qualitative and quantitative data. Theoretical thematic analysis was used to interpret the findings. The participants’ narrative revealed that prevailing socioeconomic conditions limit prospects for the development of an authentic family structure in the post-apartheid era in South Africa. In particular, it focuses on challenges such as the status of vulnerable men, a lack of access to natural capital (land) and a shift from the traditional establishment of receptive social relationships. It recommends that relevant stakeholders, such as traditional leaders, community members, and government agencies, should formulate strategies and policies to facilitate the restoration of the indigenous cultural values behind the principle of ilobolo and to remove the limits imposed by the consumerist tendencies that hover over the black African family structure.

A Taxi Ride to Critical Literacy: High School Students as Co-Researchers and Text Analysts

This article describes a critical literacy research project undertaken with English Additional Language students at a South African township school. Students were invited to take on the position of researchers in gathering and analysing bumper stickers found in commuter minibuses known as itekisi (taxi). These everyday texts in English and African languages are salient for the students’ discourse communities. Bringing them into English lessons validates the use of languages and discourses that multilingual students inhabit and draws on their ability to move fluidly between languages. Framed by critical discourse analysis theory, this project aimed to facilitate students’ abilities to develop and use critical literacy knowledge and skills in analysing taxi bumper stickers. The findings indicate that the students were able to demonstrate some criticality as they investigated multiple interpretations of the texts by community members and themselves. Inviting students to investigate texts drawn from their own communities was envisaged as enabling their development as critical readers with a social justice orientation to texts. However, their relentless negativity towards taxi drivers made it difficult for them to keep their focus on the texts, suggesting that teachers’ selection of salient texts for lessons with a focus on critical literacy may not always achieve the intended outcomes.

Community-based initiatives in preventing and combatting drug abuse in a South African township

Substance abuse is one of the most pervasive problems facing our nation, especially in the townships. Curbing this problem requires an integrated approach in which community stakeholders and society work together to improve safety by tackling the fundamental causes of criminality through mobilising state and non-state capacities and resources at all levels. This study seeks to assess the strategies and successes of community initiatives and circumstances that bestow on the path towards helping to fulfill the community’s aim to prevent and combat drug abuse. This study made use of a sample of 90 respondents 18 years and older who responded to the survey. A purposive sample of 10 staff members from the community-based organisations participated in oral interviews, while a simple random sample of 80 community members responded to questionnaires. Furthermore, secondary data sources were consulted to back up the claims that emerged from this study. While the study evaluated community strategies and documented some of the successes, including the rehabilitation of drug addicts, it also highlighted the lack of capacity of community organisations to make meaningful contributions in this regard. In particular, the lack of cooperation/collaboration and trust between the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the community stakeholders is a cause for concern that may hinder any efforts to combat drug abuse. This study, therefore, highlights strategies that require a collective effort from government stakeholders.