Period-shaming must fall
Ufrieda Ho, Spotlight Statistics about menstruation and girls’ missed school days in South Africa have been guesstimates at best, and range wildly – between two and seven million girls affected.…
The cost of liberation
A moment of true liberation came for Thembi Mahlathi when she was standing at a supermarket check-out queue. In her shopping basket, for the first time, were sanitary pads that she could afford.
DREAMS and She Conquers
An estimated 2 000 new HIV infections occur in young women and girls every week in South Africa. Two high-profile programmes are aiming to address this crisis. In this joint Spotlight/Health-e News Service special investigation, we go beyond the bells and whistles and ask what difference these programmes are really making.
Improving SRHR access for queers in South Africa
Melusi Dlamini shares his take on the state of play when it comes to the Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) of the LGBTQIA+ community.
UNAIDS must Address Culture of Impunity, Michel Sidibé Must Go!
[caption id="attachment_6210" align="alignright" width="300"] Michel Sidibe at the civil society march held at Durban 2016.[/caption] By 23 leading women activists Note: This op-ed is adapted from a letter sent by…
The needs of queer folk in SA
by Thuthukile Mbatha, Spotlight June 2017 saw the launch of South Africa’s first Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Intersex Asexual Plus (LGBTQIA+) HIV Plan 2017-2022. [caption id="attachment_6205" align="alignright" width="191"] Luckyboy…
Cutting-edge youth services
The Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation (DTHF) is implementing a number of innovative youth-focused health services around Cape Town. Others could learn from their approach and successes.
Bill would roll back right to choose
Thabang Pooe, SECTION27 A new Bill threatens the very essence of a woman’s right to bodily integrity and reproductive decision-making, as well as the right to dignity. Wednesday 31…
Contraception: DBE Draft Policy on the Prevention and Management of Learner Pregnancy
Thabang Pooe, SECTION27 The results of the last Annual School Survey, released in 2017, sent shock waves through the country. According to the survey, an estimated 15 740 learners fell…
We are failing young women in South Africa
Thuthukile Mbatha, Guest Editor, Spotlight Note: This is the editorial from a special print edition of Spotlight guest-edited by young people. Every week in South Africa, around two thousand young…
Young women: Seven myths about menstruation and reproductive health
Sexual and reproductive health education being taught in South African schools has left some female learners and young women feeling less confident about the right time to engage in sexual activity, about what to do when their menstrual cycle comes, and even about understanding how contraceptives should be used.
Ambulance bases of shame
An ambulance base has to comply with a certain set of minimum requirements contained in among others the National Health Act. At the end of last year, the Department of…