Francien van Driel

Supporting Child-Headed Households in South Africa: Whose Best Interests?

This article examines assumptions about the provision of support for children and young people in child-headed households in sub-Saharan Africa. The South African example is used to assess appropriate family- and community-based support and assistance. The South African Childrens Act proposes that child-headed households should be supported by an adult mentor, who will act in the children and young peoples best interests. However, qualitative research among child-headed households in Port Elizabeth shows that so-called ‘adult support’ mostly does not contribute to children and young peoples well-being. Children and young people often are not consulted about care arrangements, are not taken seriously, or are even worse off after adult interventions, resulting in many having a sense of powerlessness over their situation. An emphasis on access to social grants increases the potential for abuse of these youngsters. The study reveals the value of taking generational constructions into account in assessing current practice and developing more appropriate support arrangements.This article examines assumptions about the provision of support for children and young people in child-headed households in sub-Saharan Africa. The South African example is used to assess appropriate family- and community-based support and assistance. The South African Childrens Act proposes that child-headed households should be supported by an adult mentor, who will act in the children and young peoples best interests. However, qualitative research among child-headed households in Port Elizabeth shows that so-called ‘adult support’ mostly does not contribute to children and young peoples well-being. Children and young people often are not consulted about care arrangements, are not taken seriously, or are even worse off after adult interventions, resulting in many having a sense of powerlessness over their situation. An emphasis on access to social grants increases the potential for abuse of these youngsters. The study reveals the value of taking generational constructions into account in assessing c...

Silencing women's sexuality: global AIDS policies and the case of the female condom

The female condom is the only evidence‐based AIDS prevention technology that has been designed for the female body; yet, most women do not have access to it. This is remarkable since women constitute the majority of all HIV‐positive people living in sub‐Saharan Africa, and gender inequality is seen as a driving force of the AIDS epidemic. In this study, we analyze how major actors in the AIDS prevention field frame the AIDS problem, in particular the female condom in comparison to other prevention technologies, in their discourse and policy formulations. Our aim is to gain insight into the discursive power mechanisms that underlie the thinking about AIDS prevention and women’s sexual agency.

Questioning the use-value of social relationships: care and support of youths affected by HIV in child-headed households in Port Elizabeth, South Africa

The opinion that the extended family can fulfil its supportive role in assisting child-headed households continues to exist. How these households encounter support, what this support entails, and how they experience this support is an under-researched subject. Most research literature on this topic emphasises child-headed households’ material and financial support. However, although financial support is vital, emotional support to cope with the loss of loved ones, or with loneliness and insecurity, is also much needed, as well as adult assistance in obtaining formal support, such as social welfare grants. Thus, to what extent are child-headed households capable of capitalising on existing (extended) family and community members’ care and support? This article addresses this question by exploring the ‘use-value’ of social relationships among child-headed households in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The coping strategies of the child-headed households are discussed and analysed, indicating the childrens int...The opinion that the extended family can fulfil its supportive role in assisting child-headed households continues to exist. How these households encounter support, what this support entails, and how they experience this support is an under-researched subject. Most research literature on this topic emphasises child-headed households’ material and financial support. However, although financial support is vital, emotional support to cope with the loss of loved ones, or with loneliness and insecurity, is also much needed, as well as adult assistance in obtaining formal support, such as social welfare grants. Thus, to what extent are child-headed households capable of capitalising on existing (extended) family and community members’ care and support? This article addresses this question by exploring the ‘use-value’ of social relationships among child-headed households in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The coping strategies of the child-headed households are discussed and analysed, indicating the childrens interpretations and valuation of social relationships and support, whether this increased their potential access to other resources, and whether this support could be considered sufficient. Despite some exceptions, we argue that support from relatives or neighbours is often ambiguous and of little use-value from the viewpoint of a child-headed household. Insights from these findings might be of interest to those involved in support programmes for these households, including the assignment of an adult mentor — which is based on the assumption that existing networks of extended family and community members will help orphaned and vulnerable children to cope.

Where does public funding for HIV prevention go to? The case of condoms versus microbicides and vaccines.

This study analyses the priorities of public donors in funding HIV prevention by either integrated condom programming or HIV preventive microbicides and vaccines in the period between 2000 and 2008. It further compares the public funding investments of the USA government and European governments, including the EU, as we expect the two groups to invest differently in HIV prevention options, because their policies on sexual and reproductive health and rights are different. We use two existing officially UN endorsed databases to compare the public donor funding streams for HIV prevention of these two distinct contributors. In the period 2000-2008, the relative share of public funding for integrated condom programming dropped significantly, while that for research on vaccines and microbicides increased. The European public donors gave a larger share to condom programming than the United States, but exhibited a similar downward trend in favour of funding research on vaccines and microbicides. Both public donor parties invested progressively more in research on vaccines and microbicides rather than addressing the shortage of condoms and improving access to integrated condom programming in developing countries.

Tuberculosis and the sexual and reproductive lives of women in Bangladesh

When they do not meet norms related to sexuality and reproduction, Bangladeshi women often face abandonment and are thus deprived of an active sexual life, a marital relationship, and motherhood. Little is known about how a stigmatised disease such as tuberculosis (TB) may constrain the reproductive health and sexual lives of women. This article, derived from a larger study on the impact of TB on women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights in Narsingdi district and Dhaka, Bangladesh, aims to fill this gap. Based on interviews with nine married women who have or had TB, four husbands, and two mothers-in-law, this article highlights that the ways in which TB impedes on the sexual and reproductive lives of women depends on the stigma within their family and community, their relationships with their husbands, motherhood, their living arrangements, their economic contribution to the family and/or their disclosure of their TB diagnosis. Women with children and supportive husbands retain a stronger position among their in-laws and are less likely to be isolated or rejected. The patients’ narratives revealed that the instructions of health workers influenced their decisions about intercourse or abstinence. Future studies should examine the instructions patients receive from health workers regarding their living and sleeping arrangements, sexual intercourse, and pregnancy, as well as policy documents on TB treatment and prevention.