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…

Gender-based violence (GBV) is one of the greatest social issues affecting South Africa, and universities are no exception. This article reports preliminary results of a pilot study conducted at the University of South Africa (Unisa). The study aimed to ascertain perceptions of GBV among university staff. A range of frequency-seeking questions…

Many challenges exist to conducting participatory research and consultation with young people, especially with those considered vulnerable or at risk. Beyond respecting the safety and wellbeing of young research participants, researchers must be aware of barriers to youth engagement and be attuned to the many forms of youth resistance. As young…

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…

Seamus Heaney talked of poetry's responsibility to represent the "bloody miracle", the "terrible beauty" of atrocity; to create "something adequate". This article asks, what is adequate to the burning and eating of a nun and the murderous gang rape and evisceration of a medical student? It considers Njabulo Ndebele's…

The health and well-being of young people remains a critical issue. For Indigenous girls and young women in Canada and South Africa, the situation is exacerbated by high rates of sexual violence. The article draws on examples of artworks and close readings of several images of resistance produced by Indigenous girls and young women participating…

This article advances the idea that rural youth and teachers are the key in leading community dialogue towards addressing gender-based violence (GBV) in their community through their film making. The youth voices on the realities of GBV in their school and community, in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, captured through the process of…

In this article I offer a defence of cosmopolitanism as an enabling condition for university education in Africa. Recent xenophobic outbursts in South Africa suggests that the enactment of defensible virtues in societies remain distant from the practices of many people. My contention is that university education ought to take seriously the…

South Africa, a country with the highest incidence of rape and child rape in the world, has the fifth highest prevalence of HIV in the world, with 1.1 million AIDS orphans. The UNAIDS Global Report reveals 370,000 AIDS-related deaths in South Africa in 2003. Given the numbers of people infected and dying, South Africa is regarded as having the…

Objective: Our objective was to audit the provision and utilization of HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to child rape survivors in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Methods: A prospective design was used to collect data from a convenience sample of 200 consecutive cases of child rape referred for medico-legal assessment to a state…

In South Africa, females under the age of 18 comprise approximately 40% of the rapes and other forms of sexual assault that occur. However, South African girls face multiple barriers to seeking help in the aftermath of sexual assault. This literature review provides an overview of childhood sexual assault in South African girls and addresses…

In 2004 South Africa embarked on a mission of reforming its higher education system, merging and incorporating small universities into larger institutions, and renaming all higher education institutions university. The democratic country's universities and technikons, which were incorporated with others and thus no longer exist, will be mentioned…

"Summers To Step Down, Ending Tumult at Harvard" kicked off in 2006 as one of the most talked about news stories in higher education. Only a few months later, an event involving another elite institution would grab even more headlines, and with more serious ramifications. Three Duke University men's lacrosse players were indicted on rape…

Jacob Zuma is the former Deputy President of South Africa who was suspended from office pending a court case on corruption charges but whose name has dominated the South Africa media over the last few months in relation to his prosecution for rape of a much younger woman who was HIV positive. The Jacob Zuma trial has produced powerful feelings for…

In this article, we draw on the example of the Friday Absenteeism Project, a photo voice project with sixth grade learners in a rural KwaZulu-Natal school, to interrogate the nature of participatory process and cultural production. In so doing, we explore a number of critical issues related to youth participation, including ethics, citizenship and…