ABSTRACT
The on-going criminalisation of sex work in South Africa; concurrent sexual partnerships; socio-economic vulnerability; migrant status and gender-based violence intensify sex workers' risk of contracting HIV. These factors combine to restrict the skills; ability and resources of sex workers to negotiate safer sex and to access HIV prevention; treatment and healthcare services. The paper situates the living and working conditions of sex workers in Hillbrow; an inner-city area of Johannesburg; within the South African legal context; especially in regard to current law reform initiatives regarding sex work; as well as the increasing anxiety about the influx of (sex) tourists during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In addition; the paper describes an intervention by the Reproductive Health et HIV Research Unit at the University of the Witwatersrand; Johannesburg; an innovator in providing mobile healthcare services and education to hotel-based sex workers in Hillbrow. The paper contends that a legal-rights-approach to HIV risk and vulnerability; together with powerful public health considerations; render decriminalisation an imperative response to sex workers' material conditions
Subject(s)
HIV , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome , Health Care Reform , Jurisprudence , Sex WorkABSTRACT
It is important to seek an understanding of teenagers' perceptions regarding teenage pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the perceptions of teenagers in Bushbuckridge district in the Limpopo Province; South Africa; towards teenage pregnancy. An explorative qualitative research design was used with convenience sampling to select participants. Thirty-two teenagers participated; 10 boys and 22 girls. Face-to-face interviews were conducted to collect data. Tesch's method of data analysis was used. Three main categories emerged from the analyses of the interviews: (1) teenagers' attitudes and perceptions of teenage pregnancy; (2) teenagers' level of knowledge of contraception; and also (3) their reasons for becoming pregnant. Teenage pregnancy poses significant social and health problems in the Bushbuckridge district and has implications for all health care professionals. Given the complexity of this problem; health care professionals working with this group should develop a wide range of practical and interpersonal skills