Pregnancy among young women in South Africa
- Macleod, Catriona I, Tracey, Tiffany
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I , Tracey, Tiffany
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/434371 , vital:73052 , ISBN 978-1-4899-8025-0 , https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-8026-7
- Description: In 1994, South Africa witnessed its first democratic elections after centuries of colonial and then apartheid rule. As time passes since that euphoric moment in 1994, the difficulties of transformation have become evident. In terms of sexual and reproductive health, HIV/AIDS is acknowledged as one of the most significant challenges, with South Africa having one of the highest infection rates globally. Pregnancy among teenage women is receiving increasing attention as well. For example, public concern has been expressed that the recently introduced Child Support Grant (CSG) acts as a ‘perverse incentive’ for young women to bear children. This emotional claim was refuted by separately commissioned reviews of research on girls who received the grant. National statistics paint an interesting picture that negates the popular opinion in South Africa that rates of teenage pregnancy and childbearing are escalating. The 1998, the South African Demographic and Health Survey (SADHS) indicated that 35 % of women had had a child by the age of 19 years, while in the 2003 SADHS survey, this had decreased to 27 %. The rights-based approach adopted by the South African government to sexual and reproductive health enshrines a young woman’s right to prevent an unwanted pregnancy, to plan a pregnancy with her partner should they wish, to make an independent decision concerning the outcome of a pregnancy, to terminate that pregnancy safely should she wish, and to access non-discriminatory prenatal and postnatal care should she take the pregnancy to term. While there are still many obstacles and challenges associated with the issues of ‘adolescent pregnancy,’ it is important to remember the success represented by, and that arises from, this rights-based legislation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I , Tracey, Tiffany
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/434371 , vital:73052 , ISBN 978-1-4899-8025-0 , https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-8026-7
- Description: In 1994, South Africa witnessed its first democratic elections after centuries of colonial and then apartheid rule. As time passes since that euphoric moment in 1994, the difficulties of transformation have become evident. In terms of sexual and reproductive health, HIV/AIDS is acknowledged as one of the most significant challenges, with South Africa having one of the highest infection rates globally. Pregnancy among teenage women is receiving increasing attention as well. For example, public concern has been expressed that the recently introduced Child Support Grant (CSG) acts as a ‘perverse incentive’ for young women to bear children. This emotional claim was refuted by separately commissioned reviews of research on girls who received the grant. National statistics paint an interesting picture that negates the popular opinion in South Africa that rates of teenage pregnancy and childbearing are escalating. The 1998, the South African Demographic and Health Survey (SADHS) indicated that 35 % of women had had a child by the age of 19 years, while in the 2003 SADHS survey, this had decreased to 27 %. The rights-based approach adopted by the South African government to sexual and reproductive health enshrines a young woman’s right to prevent an unwanted pregnancy, to plan a pregnancy with her partner should they wish, to make an independent decision concerning the outcome of a pregnancy, to terminate that pregnancy safely should she wish, and to access non-discriminatory prenatal and postnatal care should she take the pregnancy to term. While there are still many obstacles and challenges associated with the issues of ‘adolescent pregnancy,’ it is important to remember the success represented by, and that arises from, this rights-based legislation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
A decade later: follow-up review of South African research on the consequences of and contributory factors in teen-aged pregnancy
- Macleod, Catriona I, Tracey, Tiffany
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I , Tracey, Tiffany
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6276 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008276 , http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/008124631004000103
- Description: In this paper, we review South African research conducted in the last 10 years on the consequences of and contributory factors in teen-aged pregnancy. We discuss research into the rates of teen-aged pregnancy, the intentionality and wantedness of pregnancy, the disruption of schooling, health issues, consequences for the children, welfare concerns, knowledge and use of contraception, timing of sexual debut, age of partner, coercive sexual relations, cultural factors and health service provision. We compare this discussion to the reviews on the same topic appearing in the South African Journal of Psychology a decade ago. We find that there are several changes in focus in the research on pregnancy amongst young women. We conclude that, in general, there has been an improvement in the breadth of data available, mostly as a result of representative national and local surveys. A better teasing out of nuances around particular issues and a grappling with theoretical issues are also evident in recent research.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I , Tracey, Tiffany
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6276 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008276 , http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/008124631004000103
- Description: In this paper, we review South African research conducted in the last 10 years on the consequences of and contributory factors in teen-aged pregnancy. We discuss research into the rates of teen-aged pregnancy, the intentionality and wantedness of pregnancy, the disruption of schooling, health issues, consequences for the children, welfare concerns, knowledge and use of contraception, timing of sexual debut, age of partner, coercive sexual relations, cultural factors and health service provision. We compare this discussion to the reviews on the same topic appearing in the South African Journal of Psychology a decade ago. We find that there are several changes in focus in the research on pregnancy amongst young women. We conclude that, in general, there has been an improvement in the breadth of data available, mostly as a result of representative national and local surveys. A better teasing out of nuances around particular issues and a grappling with theoretical issues are also evident in recent research.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Review of South African research and interventions in the development of a policy strategy on teen-aged pregnancy
- Macleod, Catriona I, Tracey, Tiffany
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I , Tracey, Tiffany
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , review
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/434425 , vital:73058 , ISBN review , https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Catriona-Macleod-3/publication/43108043_Review_of_South_African_Research_and_Interventions_in_the_Development_of_a_Policy_Strategy_on_Teen-Aged_Pregnancy/links/0c960539ff3f3595e6000000/Review-of-South-African-Research-and-Interventions-in-the-Development-of-a-Policy-Strategy-on-Teen-Aged-Pregnancy.pdf
- Description: In line with international trends, current South African policy and plans identify sexual and reproductive health as a key priority area for health intervention. Both the prevention of unwanted pregnancies amongst teenagers and the provision of support to those who do conceive contribute to the overall aim of enhancing reproductive health. This report represents a first step in the review of youth and adolescent health policy with regards to pregnancy amongst teenagers. It consists of a review of the scientific literature published in the last 10 years supplemented by information gathered in interviews with key informants from a range of key directorates and organisations. Two broad principles frame this report. The first is the adoption of a nuanced and criti cal approach to understanding ‘adolescent pregnancy’ in context. The second is the adoption of a human rights based perspective that underlies much of South Africa’s legislation and policy with respect to youth sexuality and reproduction.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I , Tracey, Tiffany
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , review
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/434425 , vital:73058 , ISBN review , https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Catriona-Macleod-3/publication/43108043_Review_of_South_African_Research_and_Interventions_in_the_Development_of_a_Policy_Strategy_on_Teen-Aged_Pregnancy/links/0c960539ff3f3595e6000000/Review-of-South-African-Research-and-Interventions-in-the-Development-of-a-Policy-Strategy-on-Teen-Aged-Pregnancy.pdf
- Description: In line with international trends, current South African policy and plans identify sexual and reproductive health as a key priority area for health intervention. Both the prevention of unwanted pregnancies amongst teenagers and the provision of support to those who do conceive contribute to the overall aim of enhancing reproductive health. This report represents a first step in the review of youth and adolescent health policy with regards to pregnancy amongst teenagers. It consists of a review of the scientific literature published in the last 10 years supplemented by information gathered in interviews with key informants from a range of key directorates and organisations. Two broad principles frame this report. The first is the adoption of a nuanced and criti cal approach to understanding ‘adolescent pregnancy’ in context. The second is the adoption of a human rights based perspective that underlies much of South Africa’s legislation and policy with respect to youth sexuality and reproduction.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
Narratives of South African heteroseual relationships: understanding masculine and feminine togetherness
- Authors: Tracey, Tiffany
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Heterosexuality , Heterosexism , Homosexuality , Gender identity
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , D Soc Sc (Psych)
- Identifier: vital:11601 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/176 , Heterosexuality , Heterosexism , Homosexuality , Gender identity
- Description: Heterosexuality often appears as a monolithic way of being that has been disciplinarily defined as right and natural for all sexual subjects (Foucault, 1979). However, it may also be viewed as a social construction, subject to alteration and variation according to social and historical context. In the following research, the stories of ten couples and from the South African soap opera Isidingo reveal the ways that heteronorms shape togetherness between men and women. In the research a queer stance is used to interrogate the ways that togetherness appears as natural and normal, such that the contingency of such togetherness is revealed. The queer stance was used to unsettle the unquestioned assumption of heteronormativity by interrogating the construction from a political position not included by the norm (Stein & Plummer, 1994). Within the general queer stance the concept of performance has been used to account for the ways in which subjects are able to unsettle normative constraints: Butler’s (1993) conception of repetition, Holzman’s (1991) account of the revolutionary developmental potential of performance, Billig’s (1991) understanding of the rhetorical constructions of everyday philosophers. Further Bakhtin’s (1994) dialogic ontology suggests that utterances, performances and/or narratives Using these theoretical underpinnings, the narratives show how stories of togetherness collude with heteronorms while at the same time existing alongside alternative forms of togetherness. Possibly because norms are broad, overarching constructions, they do not define the entirety of the couples’ tales. Rather moments of resistance and alteration are interwoven with normative themes. This unpredictable ambivalence appears in the couples narratives as the assertion that all relationships are the same, and that all relationships are unique. Couples position themselves within a social network, and this network instructs the couple on heteronormative ways of being together. They also witness normative performances in a way that is similar to the observation of disciplines, suggested by Foucault (1979). Although couples often go with their social network’s observations, the manner in which couples position themselves within this network assists them in arguing for alternatives to heteronorms. Spatial expressions also at times serve to fix togetherness. Homes are structured in line with social constructions of heteronorms. However, couples can and do mould their understandings of their homes, such space is reveal as an intersection between social and individual concerns. Narratives of work again reveal that heteronorms structure but can also be ignored within heterosexual relationships. Couples tell of receiving particular benefits from normative performances, and it is likely that these dividends make it difficult to opt for an altered version of togetherness. At the same time, the gender dualism of a heteronormative division of labour inserts oppression into togetherness, and this may lead couples to seek an unusual way of being together. In these ways, heterosexuality can be read as a multiple and contingent performance, rather than an immovable, unchangeable imperative.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2007
- Authors: Tracey, Tiffany
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Heterosexuality , Heterosexism , Homosexuality , Gender identity
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , D Soc Sc (Psych)
- Identifier: vital:11601 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/176 , Heterosexuality , Heterosexism , Homosexuality , Gender identity
- Description: Heterosexuality often appears as a monolithic way of being that has been disciplinarily defined as right and natural for all sexual subjects (Foucault, 1979). However, it may also be viewed as a social construction, subject to alteration and variation according to social and historical context. In the following research, the stories of ten couples and from the South African soap opera Isidingo reveal the ways that heteronorms shape togetherness between men and women. In the research a queer stance is used to interrogate the ways that togetherness appears as natural and normal, such that the contingency of such togetherness is revealed. The queer stance was used to unsettle the unquestioned assumption of heteronormativity by interrogating the construction from a political position not included by the norm (Stein & Plummer, 1994). Within the general queer stance the concept of performance has been used to account for the ways in which subjects are able to unsettle normative constraints: Butler’s (1993) conception of repetition, Holzman’s (1991) account of the revolutionary developmental potential of performance, Billig’s (1991) understanding of the rhetorical constructions of everyday philosophers. Further Bakhtin’s (1994) dialogic ontology suggests that utterances, performances and/or narratives Using these theoretical underpinnings, the narratives show how stories of togetherness collude with heteronorms while at the same time existing alongside alternative forms of togetherness. Possibly because norms are broad, overarching constructions, they do not define the entirety of the couples’ tales. Rather moments of resistance and alteration are interwoven with normative themes. This unpredictable ambivalence appears in the couples narratives as the assertion that all relationships are the same, and that all relationships are unique. Couples position themselves within a social network, and this network instructs the couple on heteronormative ways of being together. They also witness normative performances in a way that is similar to the observation of disciplines, suggested by Foucault (1979). Although couples often go with their social network’s observations, the manner in which couples position themselves within this network assists them in arguing for alternatives to heteronorms. Spatial expressions also at times serve to fix togetherness. Homes are structured in line with social constructions of heteronorms. However, couples can and do mould their understandings of their homes, such space is reveal as an intersection between social and individual concerns. Narratives of work again reveal that heteronorms structure but can also be ignored within heterosexual relationships. Couples tell of receiving particular benefits from normative performances, and it is likely that these dividends make it difficult to opt for an altered version of togetherness. At the same time, the gender dualism of a heteronormative division of labour inserts oppression into togetherness, and this may lead couples to seek an unusual way of being together. In these ways, heterosexuality can be read as a multiple and contingent performance, rather than an immovable, unchangeable imperative.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2007
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