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In this report we compile the current status of policy and practice on migrant domestic workers in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. We take a holistic view, discussing the estimated numbers and demographics of... more
In this report we compile the current status of policy and practice on migrant domestic workers in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. We take a holistic view, discussing the estimated numbers and demographics of migrant domestic workers, the policy environment in terms of both labour law and migration policy, the level of implementation and enforcement, and the working and living conditions in practice. This report was commissioned by the ILO under the Southern African Migration Management (SAMM) Project, and targets the following sixteen countries: Angola, Botswana, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
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Información del artículo Entre un estado con fronteras y una sociedad fronteriza. El Gobierno local en los distritos fronterizos de Sudáfrica y Kenia.
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Zimbabwean migration into South Africa represents a challenge to standard global models for responding to large-scale migration flows. South... more
Zimbabwean migration into South Africa represents a challenge to standard global models for responding to large-scale migration flows. South Africa's existing legal and institutional infrastructure for migration management and refugee protection is not adequate for responding to this challenge and yet the country has not planned or implemented alternative responses. The paper outlines the complex ‘mixed’ nature of current Zimbabwean
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David Matsinhe's book is about 'Apartheid vertigo' in South Africa, 'the ghostly presence of a past we would rather repress', and indeed it evokes a feeling of vertigo in the reader. Not a feeling of dizzying insight... more
David Matsinhe's book is about 'Apartheid vertigo' in South Africa, 'the ghostly presence of a past we would rather repress', and indeed it evokes a feeling of vertigo in the reader. Not a feeling of dizzying insight reconfiguring the conceptual ground beneath one's feet, however, but rather one of disorienting wandering-in-circles.
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Conducting methodological defensible, logistically feasible and affordable large-scale national surveys of migrants is a serious challenge. Based on the experience of running a multi-year Migrant Rights Monitoring Project (MRMP) in South... more
Conducting methodological defensible, logistically feasible and affordable large-scale national surveys of migrants is a serious challenge. Based on the experience of running a multi-year Migrant Rights Monitoring Project (MRMP) in South Africa, this paper outlines the pros and cons ...
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The assumption that refugees would become integrated citizens of their host countries, once unquestioned with regard to European refugees after the Second World War, has today been replaced with the assumption that they should receive... more
The assumption that refugees would become integrated citizens of their host countries, once unquestioned with regard to European refugees after the Second World War, has today been replaced with the assumption that they should receive only temporary protection and assistance until they can return 'home'. Many refugees do desire to return to their countries of origin as soon as possible; but what of those who cannot due to protracted conflict, or those who do not wish to, having built new lives for themselves in the host country?
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IntroductionAdolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in sub‐Saharan Africa have emerged as a priority population in need of HIV prevention interventions. Secondary distribution of home‐based HIV self‐test kits by AGYW to male partners (MP)... more
IntroductionAdolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in sub‐Saharan Africa have emerged as a priority population in need of HIV prevention interventions. Secondary distribution of home‐based HIV self‐test kits by AGYW to male partners (MP) is a novel prevention strategy that complements pre‐exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a female‐controlled prevention intervention. The objective of this analysis was to qualitatively operationalize two HIV prevention cascades through the lens of relationship dynamics for secondary distribution of HIV self‐tests to MP and PrEP for AGYW.MethodsFrom April 2018 to December 2018, 2200 HIV‐negative AGYW aged 16‐24 years were enrolled into an HIV prevention intervention which involved secondary distribution of self‐tests to MP and PrEP for AGYW; of these women, 91 participants or MP were sampled for in‐depth interviews based on their degree of completion of the two HIV prevention cascades. A grounded theory approach was used to characterize participants’ relat...
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Abstract: This article examines the cycle of exploitability that keeps immigrants in labour sectors with lower labour standards. It is based on two sets of qualitative field work over the space of three years in Bushbuckridge District,... more
Abstract: This article examines the cycle of exploitability that keeps immigrants in labour sectors with lower labour standards. It is based on two sets of qualitative field work over the space of three years in Bushbuckridge District, South Africa, where there is a large resident ...
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The National Reading Barometer (NRB) is part of the National Reading Barometer project commissioned and managed by the Nal’ibali Trust in partnership with the National Library of South Africa, with additional support from the Zenex... more
The National Reading Barometer (NRB) is part of the National Reading Barometer project commissioned and managed by the Nal’ibali Trust in partnership with the National Library of South Africa, with additional support from the Zenex Foundation, DGMT and the National Education Collaboration Trust.
The National Reading Barometer maps the health of the South African reading ecosystem. It brings together findings from the 2023 National Reading Survey and published secondary data, including data on both adult and child reading, to provide a holistic view of what enables and constrains reading in South Africa. By drawing together new research and existing data, its intent is to spark debate and enable collective decision-making around shared priorities and collaborative action. This is the first time such a holistic view of what enables and constrains reading in South Africa has been compiled. The 2023 Barometer is the first iteration of the NRB, and it will be reproduced in 2026 and 2030 to track change over time in the national reading ecosystem.
The National Reading Barometer maps the health of the South African reading ecosystem. It brings together findings from the 2023 National Reading Survey and published secondary data, including data on both adult and child reading, to provide a holistic view of what enables and constrains reading in South Africa. By drawing together new research and existing data, its intent is to spark debate and enable collective decision-making around shared priorities and collaborative action. This is the first time such a holistic view of what enables and constrains reading in South Africa has been compiled. The 2023 Barometer is the first iteration of the NRB, and it will be reproduced in 2026 and 2030 to track change over time in the national reading ecosystem.
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The National Reading Survey (NRS) is part of the National Reading Barometer project commissioned and managed by the Nal’ibali Trust in partnership with the National Library of South Africa, with additional support from the Zenex... more
The National Reading Survey (NRS) is part of the National Reading Barometer project commissioned and managed by the Nal’ibali Trust in partnership with the National Library of South Africa, with additional support from the Zenex Foundation, DGMT and the National Education Collaboration Trust. The NRS is a nationally representative survey of 4,250 South African adults aged 16 and above. The NRS describes the reading practices, preferences and contexts of adults, both in terms of reading for themselves and reading with children in their household. In addition to covering information about frequency, depth and types of reading, access to and preferences regarding reading materials, and attitudes/motivations related to reading, the survey has focus areas relating to library use, digital reading, reading with children and reading language preferences. The results of the 2022/23 reading survey will be compared over time, beginning with the results of the National Reading Survey 2016 (conducted by the South African Book Development Council) and surveys to be conducted in 2026 and 2030. The findings from the National Reading Surveys will inform research, policy and practice related to reading in South Africa.
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Teachers Change Agent Network (Teachers CAN) is a DG Murray Trust (DGMT) initiative with a vision of seeing young teachers play a vital role in the education ecosystem. The network was established from the understanding that young... more
Teachers Change Agent Network (Teachers CAN) is a DG
Murray Trust (DGMT) initiative with a vision of seeing
young teachers play a vital role in the education ecosystem.
The network was established from the understanding that
young teachers often enter the profession with high levels of
motivation to enable every child in South Africa to reach their
full potential. However, they work in challenging environments,
where classrooms mirror South Africa’s broader inequalities.
This study sets out to explore how young teachers in South Africa understand their experiences, issues, challenges, and aspirations relative to each of the points in the Teachers CAN manifesto. Its ultimate aim is to bring together role players in the education sector to create a common understanding and base from which to work together with young teachers and co-create a new reality where teachers’ experiences are valued in building innovative solutions for the education crisis in South Africa. The
study engaged with 436 young teachers through a combination of online and telephonic surveys as well as conducting qualitative interviews and focus group discussions with 75 young teachers.
Murray Trust (DGMT) initiative with a vision of seeing
young teachers play a vital role in the education ecosystem.
The network was established from the understanding that
young teachers often enter the profession with high levels of
motivation to enable every child in South Africa to reach their
full potential. However, they work in challenging environments,
where classrooms mirror South Africa’s broader inequalities.
This study sets out to explore how young teachers in South Africa understand their experiences, issues, challenges, and aspirations relative to each of the points in the Teachers CAN manifesto. Its ultimate aim is to bring together role players in the education sector to create a common understanding and base from which to work together with young teachers and co-create a new reality where teachers’ experiences are valued in building innovative solutions for the education crisis in South Africa. The
study engaged with 436 young teachers through a combination of online and telephonic surveys as well as conducting qualitative interviews and focus group discussions with 75 young teachers.
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In this report we compile the current status of policy and practice on migrant domestic workers in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. We take a holistic view, discussing the estimated numbers and demographics of... more
In this report we compile the current status of policy and practice on migrant domestic
workers in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.
We take a holistic view, discussing the estimated numbers and demographics of migrant domestic workers, the policy environment in terms of both labour law and migration policy, the level of implementation and enforcement, and the working and living conditions in practice. This report was commissioned by the ILO under the Southern African Migration Management (SAMM) Project, and targets the following sixteen countries: Angola, Botswana, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe
workers in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.
We take a holistic view, discussing the estimated numbers and demographics of migrant domestic workers, the policy environment in terms of both labour law and migration policy, the level of implementation and enforcement, and the working and living conditions in practice. This report was commissioned by the ILO under the Southern African Migration Management (SAMM) Project, and targets the following sixteen countries: Angola, Botswana, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe
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"There is a surprising lack of attention to research dissemination in the social sciences, even in fields such as migration or development studies, which are explicitly policy-oriented. This is both in terms of actual practice, as... more
"There is a surprising lack of attention to research dissemination in the social sciences, even in fields such as migration or development studies, which are explicitly policy-oriented. This is both in terms of actual practice, as well as documentation and theoretical debate on the processes of dissemination and their meaning for academic research. This paper argues that social scientists and academic institutions should value dissemination and theorise it as an integral part of research methodology, that it fulfils a range of functions beyond the direct influencing of policy or practice, and that we need to question the effectiveness of standard ‘academic’ dissemination methods to fulfil these functions. I use as a case study the dissemination of research findings from a study on local government and migration management in a border area of South Africa. This illustrates several issues around research dissemination and suggests the value of tailored institutional visits as a dissemination method. Dissemination must be adapted for each kind of research, and the specific conditions of each individual project. The content of the research, its aims, and often the interests and capacities of the individual researchers, will determine what an appropriate and effective dissemination strategy will entail and who the appropriate target groups are. This discussion can therefore only flag some general issues concerning research dissemination which will apply to other projects in different ways. This is a small case study of research dissemination, illustrating a process and the immediate benefits of a process, rather than long-term outcomes. It also discusses some failures or omissions in the dissemination process. "
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... The introduction of the corruption focus into the 'good governance' debate is, on the one hand, a logical further step in the neo-liberal trend of de-politicising the state apparatus for the advancement of the market; on the... more
... The introduction of the corruption focus into the 'good governance' debate is, on the one hand, a logical further step in the neo-liberal trend of de-politicising the state apparatus for the advancement of the market; on the other hand ... Obi-Wan Kenobi in Return of the Jedi ...
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ABSTRACT There is limited information about the best strategy for adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) to negotiate HIV testing with their male partners. HIV self-testing as a strategy has the potential to overcome barriers to... more
ABSTRACT There is limited information about the best strategy for adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) to negotiate HIV testing with their male partners. HIV self-testing as a strategy has the potential to overcome barriers to traditional HIV testing among men. We conducted formative feasibility research on secondary distribution of HIV self-tests by HIV negative AGYW to their male partners in northern Johannesburg, South Africa. A total of 8 focus group discussions with AGYW and men and 20 key informant interviews with community stakeholders were conducted to determine the best approach to partner-initiated testing. This study suggested that AGYW-initiated secondary distribution of HIV self-testing to their male sexual partners is considered an acceptable strategy by AGYW, men, and the community at large. The benefits included empowerment of women, reduction in HIV-testing associated stigma, and increased privacy and confidentiality for the men who test. Major concerns were safety of the AGYW, safety of men testing positive at home, and the lack of pre- and post-test counseling. The outcomes of the formative research were used to refine strategies for a secondary distribution of HIV self-testing intervention.
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Zimbabwean migration into South Africa represents a challenge to standard global models for responding to large-scale migration flows. South... more
Zimbabwean migration into South Africa represents a challenge to standard global models for responding to large-scale migration flows. South Africa's existing legal and institutional infrastructure for migration management and refugee protection is not adequate for responding to this challenge and yet the country has not planned or implemented alternative responses. The paper outlines the complex ‘mixed’ nature of current Zimbabwean
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... as national practices.2 Local informality can be the kind of petty corruption that South ... Before proceeding to the case study, it should be noted that this analysis is based ... of continuous engagement with the legal and social... more
... as national practices.2 Local informality can be the kind of petty corruption that South ... Before proceeding to the case study, it should be noted that this analysis is based ... of continuous engagement with the legal and social conditions of Mozambican refugees in South Africa by ...
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In sub-Saharan Africa, women bear a disproportionate burden of HIV/AIDS while also facing economic and gender inequalities. To explore the association of women’s economic contribution and relationship status with risky sexual behaviour,... more
In sub-Saharan Africa, women bear a disproportionate burden of HIV/AIDS while also facing economic and gender inequalities. To explore the association of women’s economic contribution and relationship status with risky sexual behaviour, this study analysed cross-sectional data from 626 women aged 22 to 84 in rural South Africa. All women were enrolled in a microfinance plus gender training programme (Intervention with Microfinance for AIDS and Gender Equity (IMAGE)). We used univariable and multivariable logistic regression to explore the associations of relationship status and women’s household income contribution with inconsistent condom use, multiple sexual partners and transactional sex, respectively. We found that married, older women had the highest odds of inconsistent condom use, while those contributing all the household income had higher odds of multiple sexual partnerships, but lower odds of transactional sex compared to those with no contribution. Income contribution and...
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Advocacy campaigns against the warehousing of refu-gees in camps suggest the facilitation of local integration as a preferred policy option for states, international organ-izations, and non-governmental organizations . This paper argues... more
Advocacy campaigns against the warehousing of refu-gees in camps suggest the facilitation of local integration as a preferred policy option for states, international organ-izations, and non-governmental organizations . This paper argues that the institutions, ...
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A critical look at invisibility begs a series of questions. It asks not only who or what is invisible, but invisible to whom, in what ways, and why. The 'who or what' refers to various groups and processes that have long been... more
A critical look at invisibility begs a series of questions. It asks not only who or what is invisible, but invisible to whom, in what ways, and why. The 'who or what' refers to various groups and processes that have long been part of the experience of displacement, but which ...
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This study is about refugee integration: how refugees become citizens, and more generally how outsiders become insiders. More specifically, it is about an appropriate conceptual framework for studying and understanding refugee integration... more
This study is about refugee integration: how refugees become citizens, and more generally how outsiders become insiders. More specifically, it is about an appropriate conceptual framework for studying and understanding refugee integration processes. I propose that refugee integration be understood as local politics, and that, therefore, refugees and hosts negotiate their relationships with each other based on their respective interests and using a series of material and symbolic exchanges. While this conceptual approach to integration seems self- evident, this empirical, process-oriented, and spatially and temporally specific approach radically departs from the predominant normative assumptions in the policy and academic literature. The thesis sets out and develops how this simple framework, consistently applied, carries analytical correlates which stand in marked contrast to most analyses of refugee integration processes. My argument is supported empirically with a detailed case st...
David Matsinhe's book is about 'Apartheid vertigo' in South Africa, 'the ghostly presence of a past we would rather repress', and indeed it evokes a feeling of vertigo in the reader. Not a feeling of dizzying insight... more
David Matsinhe's book is about 'Apartheid vertigo' in South Africa, 'the ghostly presence of a past we would rather repress', and indeed it evokes a feeling of vertigo in the reader. Not a feeling of dizzying insight reconfiguring the conceptual ground beneath one's feet, however, but rather one of disorienting wandering-in-circles.
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here is limited information about the best strategy for adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) to negotiate HIV testing with their male partners. HIV self-testing as a strategy has the potential to overcome barriers to traditional HIV... more
here is limited information about the best strategy for adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) to negotiate HIV testing with their male partners. HIV self-testing as a strategy has the potential to overcome barriers to traditional HIV testing among men. We conducted formative feasibility research on secondary distribution of HIV self-tests by HIV negative AGYW to their male partners in northern Johannesburg, South Africa. A total of 8 focus group discussions with AGYW and men and 20 key informant interviews with community stakeholders were conducted to determine the best approach to partner-initiated testing. This study suggested that AGYW-initiated secondary distribution of HIV self-testing to their male sexual partners is considered an acceptable strategy by AGYW, men, and the community at large. The benefits included empowerment of women, reduction in HIV-testing associated stigma, and increased privacy and confidentiality for the men who test. Major concerns were safety of the ...
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Discourses on Immigration in South Africa: Managing Diversity in a New Nation Tara Polzer1 Abstract The new South Africa is shaped by a plurality of domestic and international actors, values and legitimising discourses. An analysis of... more
Discourses on Immigration in South Africa: Managing Diversity in a New Nation Tara Polzer1 Abstract The new South Africa is shaped by a plurality of domestic and international actors, values and legitimising discourses. An analysis of immigration discourses can illuminate ...
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IntroductionAs non-communicable disease (NCD) burden rises worldwide, community-based programmes are a promising strategy to bridge gaps in NCD care. The HealthRise programme sought to improve hypertension and diabetes management for... more
IntroductionAs non-communicable disease (NCD) burden rises worldwide, community-based programmes are a promising strategy to bridge gaps in NCD care. The HealthRise programme sought to improve hypertension and diabetes management for underserved communities in nine sites across Brazil, India, South Africa and the USA between 2016 and 2018. This study presents findings from the programme’s endline evaluation.MethodsThe evaluation utilises a mixed-methods quasi-experimental design. Process indicators assess programme implementation; quantitative data examine patients’ biometric measures and qualitative data characterise programme successes and challenges. Programme impact was assessed using the percentage of patients meeting blood pressure and A1c treatment targets and tracking changes in these measures over time.ResultsAlmost 60 000 screenings, most of them in India, resulted in 1464 new hypertension and 295 new diabetes cases across sites. In Brazil, patients exhibited statistically...
As global discussions of evaluation standards become more contextually nuanced, culturally responsive conceptions of ethics have not been sufficiently discussed. In academic social research, ethical clearance processes have been designed... more
As global discussions of evaluation standards become more contextually nuanced, culturally responsive conceptions of ethics have not been sufficiently discussed. In academic social research, ethical clearance processes have been designed to protect vulnerable people from harm related to participation in a research project. This article expands the ambit of ethical protection thinking and proposes a relational ethics approach for evaluation practitioners. This centers an analysis of power relations among and within all the different stakeholder groups in order to establish, in a context-specific manner, which stakeholders are vulnerable and in need of protection. The approach also contextualizes the nature of “the public good,” as part of an ethical consideration of interest trade-offs during evaluations. The discussion is informed by our experiences in African contexts and speaks to the “Made in Africa” research agenda but is also relevant to other global contexts where alternatives...
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Given the mixed evidence on whether women’s economic and social empowerment is beneficial or not for reducing intimate partner violence (IPV), we explored the relationship between women’s empowerment and IPV risk. We analyzed data from... more
Given the mixed evidence on whether women’s economic and social empowerment is beneficial or not for reducing intimate partner violence (IPV), we explored the relationship between women’s empowerment and IPV risk. We analyzed data from baseline interviews with married women ( n = 415) from the Intervention with Microfinance and Gender Equity (IMAGE) longitudinal study in rural South Africa. IMAGE combines a poverty-focused microfinance program with a gender-training curriculum. We fitted logistic regression models to explore associations between women’s economic situation/empowerment and IPV. For the multivariable logistic regression, we fitted three models that progressively included variables to explore these associations further. Women who reported “few to many times” for not earning enough to cover their business costs faced higher odds of past year physical and/or sexual violence (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 6.1, 1.7-22.3, p = .01). Those who received a new loan experienced hig...