The past few years have seen a rise in both the number and proportion of incarcerated women in South Africa. Even though the rate of incarceration for women continues to be far lower than for men, the number of women in correctional facilities is growing. Hence the aim of this paper is to critically analyse the living conditions of female offenders who are incarcerated in South African correctional centres. This critical analysis was done by means of qualitative document analysis. This paper traverses, synthesises, and analyses empirical studies as well as other relevant academic and policy literature on women’s incarceration in South Africa to suggest viable strategies and solutions that can be adopted to ensure good practises and address the identified challenges that are associated with the incarceration of women. Furthermore, the paper highlights various adversities that women in correctional facilities face, such as health issues and rehabilitation challenges, as well as the impact that development and care programmes have on them.

Gender-based violence (GBV) includes, but is not limited to, physical, sexual, psychological, and other threats, coercion, economic harm, etc. Because of their gender placement in society, men are frequently associated with being the perpetrators.. Therefore, using the term “gender-based” reflects the unequal power relationships between the genders, which are entrenched in all societies. It portrays the male gender as being the aggressor and the more powerful, endowed, and opportune in society. This article examines and speculates on the notion that men are sometimes the victims of gender-based violence and women are the perpetrators. Mobilising a secondary data methodology through a systematic review approach, the article consulted electronic resources such as EBSCOHOST, JSTOR, and Google Scholar. The articles consulted ranged from 1996 to 2022, were searched from a global perspective, especially the West, and finally narrowed down to South Africa. JSTOR and Google Scholar produced 95% of the search results, though Google Scholar was most dominant. The key words and phrases used for the search were centred on foregrounding the problem of male GBV victims and their reluctance to speak up and seek help. The inclusion criteria focused on males who suffered violence at the hands of female perpetrators. Male to female violence was excluded. The study concluded that there is a need for society, especially the police organisation to recognise violence against men as a social problem that requires urgent help. It also suggests that counsellors be set up for men in remote places who are losing their self-confidence and esteem in relationships, family setting, and society. It also recommended that South African men need to be encouraged by the media and the Civil Society Organisation to speak up and seek help so that they can maintain their sociocultural prestige, and manage social cohesion in the family and society.

Gender Based Violence (GBV) has become a global menace. The prevalence of this violence against women and children in South Africa reveals that the country is plagued by this horror called GBV. According to the South African police crime statistics, with regards to sexual offences, the SAPS reported 64 419 (2012), 66 197 (2014), 62 226 (2013), and 53 617 (2015) cases. A more recent crime report, which covers the period between April 1 2018, and March 31, 2019, reveals an increase of reported GBV cases compared to previous years. The number of reported sexual offences increased to 52,420 in 2018/19 from 50,108 in 2017/18, most of which were cases of rape. The rate of sexual offences increased from 88.3 per 100,000 in 2017/18 to 90.9 per 100,000 in 2018/19. Reported sexual offences in 2019/2020 increased again to 53,293 reported cases. Furthermore, from October to December 2021, 11 315 rape cases were reported, which equates to 123 cases per day on average. These alarming statistics demand the attention of the media. The media is known to be a powerful tool of influence; however, in the process, the media has been criticised for portraying violence in ways that can have a varying effect on the behaviour of those exposed to it. Many studies have been conducted to examine the impact of the media on violent behavior; none or few of them have focused on the impact of the print media on GBV against women, with an emphasis on community perception. This is what this paper intends to focus on.
The purpose of this study was to investigate Uitenhage residents' perceptions of the print media's portrayal of gender-based violence against women and children, and the relationship between people’s exposure to the print media and their violent behaviour. The quantitative research method was employed, and questionnaires were subsequently distributed to collect data from the respondents, who were residents of Uitenhage, in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The findings of this study revealed that respondents are of the opinion that the print media has a varying effect on different individuals and that, in spite of the fact that there is an association between people’s exposure to the print media and their violent behaviour, there are other contributing factors to people’s violent behaviour. This study will contribute to the body of knowledge in the area of print media reporting by bringing the media’s attention to the representation of GBV.

There is a high level of review in African American literature on the sexuality of women, particularly black women, in the context of the oppositional gaze and intersections of body politics. There is a high level of engagement with feminist theorists that enables us, as researchers, to engage with the challenges or difficulties in understanding the dynamics of harassment and the intimidation of African women in the workplace. The research focus is on African women in the workplace and the implications of their being policed by patriarchal structures to ensure that they remain inferior to men. This research is based on an analytical investigation with the aim of holistically assessing intimidation and sexual harassment (SH) in the workplace and the serious issue of women’s development to ensure that women are equal to men in the workplace.

The evidence base on child marriage has grown substantially over the past decade, especially regarding its levels, trends, causes and consequences. The importance of such evidence is that it has been particularly useful in making an urgent case for investing in child marriage prevention initiatives and for doing so with cross-sectoral efforts. However, the rates of child marriage in the West and Central African region remain unacceptably high. An extremely effective but not yet fully explored strategy is to use girls’ education as a mechanism towards ending child marriages. By analysing the correlation between early marriage and school drop-out rates and looking at the advantages of this correlation to the regions Sustainable Development Goals, this article advocates for ending child marriages in a more targeted way. The paper will analyse some country-specific strategies to highlight how investing in girls’ education at more than primary schooling level will lead to the achievement of many of the development goals of the region. This paper aims to fill a knowledge gap by arguing that there currently exists an opportunity to address child marriages and development goals through policies and strategies that are specifically aimed at keeping girls in school for longer.

This article explored the challenges of women leaders in South African schools, in the Gauteng Province. Existing studies on this issue only document the situation but do not specify or suggest frameworks on how the challenges can be dealt with. The article used secondary data sources obtained in both grey and academic literature, using terms such as women leaders, women leader challenges, women empowerment and women emancipation as key terms. It also utilised in-depth interviews conducted with a total of 52 education stakeholders consisting of six male and female principals, six male and female deputy principals, 12 male and female departmental heads, 18 Post Level one teachers, five male and female members of the School Governing Body (SGB) from staff and parent components, three Gauteng Department of Education officials, one representative of South African Principals Association in Gauteng and one labour union representative who were selected purposively. The theoretical framework adopted in the article integrated feminist and socio-cultural theories. The article showed that women leaders faced a variety of social, cultural and structural challenges. It proposed the deployment of transformational leadership across all levels of the department as the best long-lasting solution.

The study sought to investigate whether digital media endorsement influences COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy among Vhembe District-based women in South Africa. As conceptual frameworks, the study relied on digital media endorsement and vaccination hesitancy. A qualitative research method and exploratory research design were employed to better explore women’s views and perceptions on how digital media might influence COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy in the Global South. In this study, fifteen women participants aged between 20 and 45 were purposively selected to give their views and experiences concerning the identified lacuna. Data solicited through an in-depth structured interview schedule with open-ended questions were processed and analysed using a qualitative thematic analysis technique to develop pertinent themes and sub-themes. The study established that access to digital media platforms substantially endorsed COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy and uncertainty among most women in the Vhembe District of South Africa. This study further revealed that most women in the Vhembe District were vaccinated against the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, a few were hesitant and would somehow use digital media endorsements to decide whether to go for vaccination or not. It was further established that digital media endorsements through celebrities, public figures, and influential people played a significant role in most women accepting the COVID-19 vaccine. The results show how digital media endorsement affects women’s perceptions of the COVID-19 vaccination.

The social, economic, and political crises in Zimbabwe have resulted in extreme poverty and the female-headed families are no exception. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated poverty and food insecurity in rural households. This sudden shock was not anticipated, and many governments failed to sustain livelihoods for smallholder farmers who relied solely on farming activities and selling of farm produce. The state has failed to fulfil its basic mandate of social service provision to the most vulnerable sections of society. Consequently, the Basic Agricultural Assistance programme was introduced as a microeconomic stability tool to buffer income risks faced by the poor. The article aimed to discuss the experiences of female-headed households in the Adventist Development and Relief Agency cash transfer Programme in Nganunu Village in Zvishavane. A phenomenological research approach through an exploratory qualitative research design was used to get in-depth insights on the experiences of female-headed households. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect data. Content thematic analysis was used to analyse data. Findings indicated that despite health, political and economic crises, the implementation of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency cash transfer was a success in bridging the gap left by the collapse of the social welfare system. The cash transfer programme empowered female-headed households to access agricultural inputs timeously. Female-headed households were capacitated to make decisions and improve food security in and to initiate social cohesion with other beneficiaries. The study recommended inter-sectoral collaborations between state and non-state actors for more effective programmes that cushion female-headed households from poverty.

Are women just victims in times of war and post-conflict peacebuilding? This question is a manifestation of years of research into the participation and underrepresentation of women in peacebuilding. Women’s underrepresentation in peacebuilding has been ascribed to several factors such as the patriarchal culture of most African societies, the “women-as-victims-only” narrative and the under-reporting of informal contributions women make through their participation in peacebuilding activities. Importantly, the women as-victim-only narrative which features in numerous studies is often cited as why women are not participating in post-conflict peacebuilding, thereby necessitating the opening question. Therefore, this paper used the radical feminist theory as a lens to rethink the agency that women embody during peacebuilding in a bid to argue that women are much more than victims. More specifically, it sought to examine the validity of the women-as-victims-only narrative and how it limits the representation of women in peacebuilding. By using qualitative methodology and radical feminist theoretical framework, this paper argued that women are much more than victims of war as they often participate in peace processes. The study found that women in Sierra Leone were an integral part of the peace processes, which lends credence to the notion that women are both victims of war and agents of peace.

The Zimbabwean government has for a while been reeling under pressure from inadequate resources for waste management mainly due to the expansion of its cities. The study explored household waste management in Hatcliffe Extension, a high-density suburb in Harare, and sought to identify dominant household solid waste management disposal systems by women. The study aim was to explore women’s experiences of solid waste management in the face of poor service delivery in refuse collection. Qualitative research methodology was employed to collect data in the study from conveniently sampled participants. In-depth interviews and observations were the instruments utilised for data collection. The study draws from the Rational Choice Theory to understand human behaviour in relation to people’s choices on suitable and sustainable practices in solid waste management and the environment. The study reveals lack of education and knowledge and poor refuse collection by responsible authorities as driving the disposal of diverse waste materials such as paper, diapers and plastic packages, which have heightened solid waste generation in the area. Dominant household solid waste management disposal systems in Hartcliffe Extension include illegal dumping, open burning, and burying of the waste materials. Overall, Hartcliffe Extension residents practise improper solid waste disposal systems due to lack of collection services from the Harare city council, which is the authority responsible for solid waste management. The study also established various ways in which poorly managed solid waste poses a threat to the environment. The study recommends the education of residents on eco-friendly waste disposal measures that do not pose a threat either to both human beings or the environment.

Coping with COVID-19 has been difficult for humankind globally. While there has been an assessment of the challenges people face concerning COVID-19, there is sparse research on the coping mechanisms used in different spheres. This paper lurched into this gap and looked specifically at selected female students of the Durban University of Technology, exploring their coping processes as they balance the reality of COVID-19 and the challenges of university life. Folkman and Lazarus’ (1988) coping theory and the associated ways of coping (WCQ) factors (confrontive coping, distancing, self-controlling, seeking social support, accepting responsibility, escape-avoidance, planful problem-solving and positive reappraisal) are the foundations of this study’s conceptual framework. This study used the WCQ factors within a qualitative interpretive analysis to interpret reflective pieces of 14 female students enrolled in a university-wide module – Cornerstone. The module aims to induct students into the higher education community with the values and practices that promote self-awareness, social justice and environmental knowledge. Findings revealed the difficulty experienced by the students in balancing life and academic contexts. The study also showed that COVID-19 had worsened their social realities because of the regulations on social distancing and public gatherings, thus inhibiting educational or physical social contact. These made female students vulnerable to mental health issues. Therefore, they used multiple coping mechanisms to deal with challenges during the COVID-19 period.