Gender Mainstreaming in HIV/AIDS

Seminar proceedings

Teenage Tata: Voices of young fathers in South Africa provides a fresh and in-depth portrait of impoverished young South African men who became fathers while teenagers. It provides space for their articulate and impassioned voices to be heard amidst the outcry against the absence of fathers, and offers insights into young fathers personal, emotional, financial and cultural struggles as they come to terms with fatherhood. The study highlights young fathers strong sense of responsibility; poignant accounts of emotional engagement with their children and the women in their lives; the motivating power of young fathers own absent fathers on their parenting intentions; their desire for sex- and relationship-education from male family members and their clear recognition of the help they need. Based on a multi-interview qualitative study in the informal settlements and townships around Cape Town and Durban, this monograph offers methodological innovations and showcases how social network interviews offer great potential for both research and intervention.

This seminal study provides a complex and historically informed view of how masculinity and gender power are articulated within the politics of nationalism and nation-building. The popular appeal of Zulu masculinity- with its martial reputation - makes Zulu nationalism a relevant case through which to explore these crucial critical questions.

The unprecedented United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, established in 2000, radically addressed what we knew about warfare – that civilians and especially women were increasingly targeted – and called for a sea change in the ways women should engage in any rebuilding processes – including conflict management, governance, and peacebuilding efforts. Deconstructing Women, Peace and Security offers a critical review and analysis of many gender-based efforts implemented since 2000, including empowerment policies, strategies, and an in-depth study of four particular cases. It calls out the need for conceptualizing gender as a social structure in policy construction. It assesses the ‘good intentions' of policies designed and implemented with core beliefs they will be good for women. Itprovides an important case-based analysis of what is (and is not) working.

This book presents a unique and innovative effort to examine what we know about homosexual transmission of HIV and AIDS in South Africa. It reverses the trend whereby categories of same sex sexual practice are almost always excluded from research of HIV and AIDS, as well as from care and intervention programmes. The varied contributors (academics, activists and programme planners) draw attention to the risk behaviours and treatment needs of people who engage in homosexual sex, and explain why same-sex sexuality has to be seen as key within South African efforts to study, test and prevent HIV infection. Relevant to scholarly debates about HIV and AIDS, it is also essential reading for anyone involved in research, policymaking, advocacy and community development.