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School of Applied Human Sciences

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://hdl.handle.net/10413/6451

The School of Applied Human Sciences (SAHS) consists of Criminology and Forensic Studies, Psychology, The Centre for Communication, Media and Society (CCMS), and Social Work.

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Browsing School of Applied Human Sciences by SDG "SDG5"

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    A critical thematic analysis of discourses of gender, sexuality, and relationships at play in the South African grade 9 sexual education life orientation.
    (2023) Michaelides, Julia.; Frizelle, Kerry Lyn.; Reuben, Shanya.
    The need for thorough and effective sexuality education for youth in South Africa is necessitated owing to the disproportionate rate at which the youth is affected by human immunodeficiency virus, sexually transmitted infections, and the high teenage pregnancy rate. The primary aim of comprehensive sexuality education and the scripted lesson plans (curriculum) provided by the Department of Basic Education is to assist learners in understanding concepts, content, and values around healthy sexual behaviour and sexuality. However, the fundamental discourses are not always understood in the same way by all learners. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the discourses and how they are constructed relating to gender, sexuality, and relationships featured in the Sexual Education Life Orientation curriculum for Grade 9 learners in South Africa. The study explored the discourses through a critical thematic analysis. After a critical analysis of the curriculum, four main themes emerged in the data. The themes illustrate the potential for improvement in sexuality education to be more inclusive of non-normative genders, sexualities, and relationships and to consider the lack of information on sexual pleasure and desire.
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    An exploration of young women’s menstrual experiences in the African context: a scoping review.
    (2023) Pillay, Lorelle.; Valjee, Sachet Rabindranath.
    Introduction: Limited research has been conducted on menstrual experiences and the impact of menstrual experiences on young women in the African context. Growing bodies of research show that young women experience menstruation negatively due to lack of knowledge and adequate resources within low- and middle-income countries. The research that currently exists around the topic of menstruation is mostly quantitative and the in-depth narratives of young women’s menstrual experiences are only minutely explored. It was found that socio-cultural beliefs and practices play a role in influencing certain negative menstrual experiences and perceptions of menstruation. This study aims to examine and map the impact of menstrual experiences on young women in Africa as well as the socio-cultural influences on menstrual experiences. Method and analysis: This study was conducted by means of a scoping review. Data was extracted from multiple databases on EBSCOHost. The process of data extraction was presented in the form of a PRISMA Flow diagram. A total of 15 articles were included in the present study. Results and Discussion: It was found that young women’s experiences of menstruation in Africa have mostly been negative and that these experiences were attributed to a lack of adequate water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in their respective environments, the misinformation about menstruation and menstruating females portrayed by cultural norms and the lack of education around menstruation and menstrual processes. The major themes identified from the thematic analysis were 1) The impact of menstrual experiences amongst young women in Africa and 2) The socio-cultural influences on menstrual experiences. The sub-themes identified in relation to the impact of menstrual experiences included 1) Attendance, 2) Mental distress, and 3) Lack of sanitary facilities. The sub-themes identified in relation to socio-cultural influences on menstrual experiences included 1) Lack of menstrual knowledge, and 2) Concealment. Conclusion and recommendations: Two overarching themes were identified during the process of analysis and were divided into a total of 5 sub4 themes. There exists a need for future research to focus on intervention, exploring qualitative research and expanding research in different countries within the African context.
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    Exploring the psychosocial and socioeconomic experiences of single-female parent eMbumbulu.
    (2023) Shezi, Philile Sinegugu.; Hlengwa, Wellington Mthokozisi.
    The study explored social and economic experiences of single mothers in Umbumbulu, which followed a qualitative methodology enquiry. Results of the study show that single mothers in uMbumbulu are faced with the daunting task of providing for their children, which therefore, carries psycho-social and economic experiences which they have to overcome. Financial challenges as well as community stereotyping coupled with difficulties in balancing social life and providing for the family are some of the challenges‘ single mothers in uMbumbulu face. This study therefore recommends that Single-parents must participate in support groups led by social workers and support one another in light of their shared circumstances. There is also need for increased social workers in uMbumbulu to conduct programs which help single mothers with information and space to freely express themselves so as to become better and cope with responsibilities of providing for their children.