In this article we report on a South African study conducted with 1,779 learners aged 11 to 18 years from 8 schools in urban areas in and around Johannesburg. These learners' perspectives on school safety confirm that South African learners experience their schools as unsafe. Their primary concerns related to coercion and violence against learners…

Literature on gendered violence in education suggests that the perspectives of those most affected must inform knowledge generation and interventions. However, research with these populations is fraught with methodological and ethical challenges. This article reflects on photovoice as a method which privileges participants' perspectives. Drawing…

The rise of violent incidents in South African schools has sparked widespread concern. Most studies on school violence focus on the experiences of learners; little attention has been paid to educators' experiences. As a result, violence against educators is both underreported and understudied. The research question prompting this study was: What…

Gendered norms construct teaching young children in Early Childhood Education (ECE) as a 'feminine profession' and as 'women's work'. Subsequently, men who teach young children are often scrutinised. One troubling factor confronting men entering the profession is the construction of men as potential paedophiles. Scholars in the Global North have…

The dominant 'heterosexual script' positions men as sexually desiring subjects who initiate sex and use active displays of power to attract women, and women as passive sexual objects who use indirect means to attract men (e.g. physical appearance). While much research has highlighted how this script is deployed in high school settings, less work…

The teaching of young children (aged between 5 and 9) or Foundation Phase (FP) as it is known in South Africa, is highly gendered and is labeled a 'woman's' job. Globally there have been calls to lessen the gender disparity within the profession by increasing the participation of men. However, apprehensions about men teaching young children can…

This qualitative media study, undertaken within an interpretative research paradigm, aims to expand our knowledge of sexual violence perpetrated against learners in South African public and private schools. Due to ethical, normative and methodological barriers surrounding research on sexual violence in schools, South African English language…

Violence occurring in South African schools takes various forms and is a concern for all stakeholders. All forms of violence have negative effects, i.e. physical and psychological, educational damage and societal breakdown. The overall aim of the study reported on here was to explore the nature, causes and consequences of school violence, and then…

The paper seeks to demonstrate how societal constructions and gender policing inform male teachers' identities in the schooling context of Foundation phase teaching in South Africa. This is a phase that has been historically dominated by women and is often regarded as a 'women only' space. The study was conducted using a case study methodology and…

This study examined whether life design counselling can enhance the career resilience of a sexual abuse survivor. One participant was selected through purposive sampling. Five life design sessions occurred over a period of three months. Various (postmodern) qualitative and quantitative techniques were used to gather data while data analysis was…

The prevailing sociopolitical and economic difficulties advance a feeling of hopelessness and helplessness among youth in South Africa. This paper describes a Hope-Infused Future Orientated intervention piloted with a group of juvenile sex offenders. The intervention incorporated activities to bolster the constructs of hope as a unique foundation,…

This article examines the vulnerability of orphans to sexual violence in and around their township secondary school. Using photovoice as a methodology with which to unearth these experiences and narratives, we examine how such an approach might engage the voices of orphans to inform thinking regarding sexual violence. Our analysis was informed by…

This article examines how policies and strategies to address school-related gender-based violence have evolved since 2000, when gender-based violence within education was largely invisible. Through an exploration of policy enactment in three countries--Liberia, South Africa, and Brazil--it traces remarkable progress in policy, programmes, and…

Background: In recent years, there appears to have been more interest than ever in the education of orphaned children, especially in terms of their school attendance. Although some studies have reported on the efforts of caregivers, teachers, government, Non-Governmental Organisations and others in providing the educational needs of orphaned…

Purpose: This study evaluated the benefits of a ''survivor to thriver'' strengths-based group intervention program to facilitate posttraumatic growth in women survivors of child sexual abuse. Method: A quasi-experimental, one group, pretest, posttest, time-delay design was employed using qualitative methods to evaluate the benefits of the…