The Motherhood Experiences of Women Incarcerated at the Johannesburg Maximum Correctional Facility, in the Gauteng Province, South Africa.

The percentage of female offenders who are single mothers of minor children is a growing concern among the total incarcerated population in South Africa and globally. This study aimed to explore how expectations about mothering manifest for incarcerated mothers who are physically separated from their children. The experience of motherhood was captured using face-to-face interviews with a guide of semi-structured questions with eight (8) incarcerated mothers at Johannesburg correctional facility, Gauteng province, South Africa. The data were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) couched with Social Identity Theory (SIT) and revealed that circumstances that led to maternal pathways differed from the literature. The findings of this study provided a foundation of how the social context, together with maternal obligation, influences behaviors that women internalize, and which lead to offending behaviors. This warrants further research in an effort to curb and prevent maternal incarceration.

Incarceration, menstruation and COVID-19: a viewpoint of the exacerbated inequalities and health disparities in South African correctional facilities.

PURPOSE: The menstrual health and menstrual hygiene management (MHM) of incarcerated women remains relatively low on the agenda of public health interventions globally, widening the inequitable access of incarcerated women to safe and readily available menstrual health products (MHP). The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted on the MHM gains made in various development sectors in the global North and South, through its amplification of vulnerability for already at-risk populations. This is especially significant to developing countries such as South Africa where the incarcerated female population are an often-forgotten minority. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: This viewpoint highlights the ignominious silence of research and policy attention within the South African carceral context in addressing MHM. The ethical and political implications of such silences are unpacked by reviewing international and local literature that confront issues of inequality and equitable access to MHP and MHM resources within incarcerated contexts. FINDINGS: Structural inequalities in various contexts around the world have exacerbated COVID-19 and MHM. Within the prison context in South Africa, women face multiple layers of discrimination and punishment that draw attention to the historical discourses of correctional facilities as a site of surveillance and discipline. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: This study acknowledges that while this viewpoint is essential in rising awareness about gaps in literature, it is not empirical in nature. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The authors believe that this viewpoint is essential in raising critical awareness on MHM in carceral facilities in South Africa. The authors hope to use this publication as the theoretical argument to pursue empirical research on MHM within carceral facilities in South Africa. The authors hope that this publication would provide the context for international and local funders, to assist in the empirical research, which aims to roll out sustainable MHP to incarcerated women in South Africa. SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS: The authors believe that this viewpoint is the starting point in accelerating the roll out of sustainable MHP to incarcerated females in South Africa. These are females who are on the periphery of society that are in need of practical interventions. Publishing this viewpoint would provide the team with the credibility to apply for international and national funding to roll out sustainable solutions. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: It is hoped that the gaps in literature and nodes for social and human rights activism highlighted within this viewpoint establish the need for further participatory research, human rights advocacy and informed civic engagement to ensure the voices of these women and their basic human rights are upheld.

The shadow pandemic: Inequitable gendered impacts of COVID-19 in South Africa.

On March 11, 2020, the outbreak of Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) Disease, or COVID-19, was officially declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). As its effects roll through societies and economies across the globe, women are expected to bear the heaviest impact. Unfortunately, despite gender-focused reporting on the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis, few government policies and public health efforts have explicitly addressed the gendered impacts of the pandemic. This academic review paper presents literature, from both academic and media sources, on the early effects of the COVID-19 crisis on women, specifically within the South African context. Preliminary research and reporting of the effects of COVID-19 on the South African population indicate that inequitable gendered practices negatively impact women in the general economy, the workplace, and the home. These settings are discussed in this article, along with recommendations to ameliorate the lived experiences of South African women.