South Africa

On a daily basis in schools across the nation, South African girls of every race and economic class encounter sexual violence and harassment at school that impedes their realization of the right to education. This report examines the barrier to equal educational opportunity posed by the South African government's failure to adequately address the gender violence prevalent in the South African school system. South Africa was selected for this study not only because of the scope of the problem but also because of the opportunities for change there, where educators both in and outside of government have shown increasing interest in finding solutions.

The aim of this study was to assess secondary school teachers' comfort in teaching adolescents about sexuality and HIV/AIDS, behavioral control and outcome beliefs about HIV/AIDS education and teacher knowledge about HIV/AIDS. The sample consisted of 54 male (35.6%) and 96 female (64.4%) secondary school teachers who were mostly life stkills teachers, from 150 schools across South Africa. Findings suggest that most secondary school teachers, are knowledgeable about AIDS, feel moderately comfortable teaching students about AIDS-related topics, have the knowledge and ability to teach about HIV/AIDS, but lack some material and community support. Teacher in-service training was found to have a significant impact on perceived behavioral control of HIV/AIDS education and HIV/AIDS knowledge.

Teenage pregnancy has militated against the educational success of girls in South Africa. Statistics show that four out of ten girls become pregnant overall at least once before age 20. Education is important for these girls in order to break the poverty cycle in which most of them are trapped. Though the girls are allowed to return to school after becoming mothers, they face many challenges in trying to balance motherhood and the demands of schooling. The aim of this study was to find out how teen mothers cope with schooling, hence how much support is rendered to them. A qualitative research approach was used to understand the social phenomena of teenage mothers as learners. The result of the research showed that teen mothers in Cape Town receive insufficient support (physically and emotionally) and the consequence in that many quit or do not succeed with schooling.

Regarding gender equity, higher education in South Africa is somewhat anomalous by international comparisons. Absolute gender parity in overall enrollments was reached by 1997. By 1999, women students were in the majority. At universities, women were already the majority in 1995. While still in the minority at technikons, there has been a very rapid increase in female enrollment, more than doubling from 42,000 to 86,000 from 1993-99. This signals a strong entry into vocational fields by women. However, these overall figures hide the fact that women remain underrepresented in certain fields, such a science and technology, and at the higher qualification levels, particularly at the master's and doctoral levels. Within some fields, such as business and commerce, women tend to be concentrated in "lower" programs such as public administration, rather than the "higher" ones such as business management. Conversely, women students tend to be concentrated in the traditional fields associated with females, such as teaching, social work, and the "lower" health and law programs, as well as at the lower certificate and diploma qualifications levels in all fields.

This policy seeks to contribute towards promoting effective prevention and care within the context of the public education system.It was developed by the South African Department of Education in August 1999.

This document was initiated by the Department of Health, and applies to the period 2000-2005. It is a broad national strategic plan designed to guide the country’s response as a whole tothe epidemic. It is not a plan for the health sector specifically, but a statement of intent for the country as a whole, both within and outside government. The plan has sinece been updated, with a new document covering 2005-2010.

This report comprises an overview of the South Africa YMCA Adolescent Reproductive Health Program, as well as key evaluation findings, a detailed narrative of the evaluation methodology, the achievements and challenges, and future directions of the program. CEDPA provided support to the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) of to implement adolescent reproductive health programs in Gauteng/North West, Kwa Zulu Natal, Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces. This was the first national program to be implemented by the YMCA in post-apartheid South Africa.

Cancer of the cervix is a very common malignant disease in South African women. This cancer can mostly be prevented by the early detection of cancer precursors using regular screening (Pap smear) and gynecological check-ups.  Cancer of the cervix is often associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV), which mostly is sexually transmitted. The most common symptom of cancer of the cervix is abnormal vaginal bleeding.

Whereas it is necessary to adopt legislation to facilitate the democratic transformation of the national system of education into one which serves the needs and interests of the people of South Africa and upholds their fundamental rights.