ARSRC Articles



			Zimbabwe: The slang of sexual networks 9-7-09 Risky sexual behaviour has a language of its own on the University of Zimbabwe's (UZ) campus in the capital, Harare. When female students arrive, they join an informal sorority known as the "university spinster association", or USA, while their male counterparts are inducted into the "university bachelor association", or UBA. Full article »

			Benin-Nigeria: Learning English to enter the sex industry 9-5-09 Many young people in French-speaking Benin are learning English to adapt to globalization, but some young women have another goal: to enter the thriving sex industry in neighboring Nigeria , where the market is considered more lucrative. Full article »

			Real men don't cry – or do they? 4-25-09 Men don't cry. Men take risks. Men don't ask for help. Men are strong. Men have many sexual partners. These stereotypes of masculinity are contributing to the spread of HIV throughout the world, experts warned at a recent symposium on men and boys. Full article »

			Sexuality Education Approaches: What Would Be Applicable to North of Africa and Middle East? 4-5-09 In this paper, Middle East and North of Africa are not presented from demographic dimension, rather from cultural one, where the most dominant religion is Islam. Consequently, the paper will discuss applicability of sex education approaches from Islamic perspectives but within the Middle East and North of Africa context. Full article »

			South African Lessons Learned on Abortion Law Reform 31-1-09 Full article »

			Masculinities, Maleness And Illusive Pleasure 7-12-08 A consideration of the relationship between masculinities, maleness and pleasure (or lack thereof), reveals three things. A Social Power gap i.e. Male sexual pleasure is influenced by dominance motivation, Female subjection to male pleasure i.e. where the ruling form of masculinity supports the idea of females being subjected to males , there is also support of female sexuality and pleasure to be subservient to male sexual pleasure, Tyranny i.e. Focus on intimacy happiness shows that exclusive attention on attaining sexual; pleasure can be tyrannical more. Full article »

			Doing Research on Sexuality in Africa: Ethical Dilemmas and the Positioning of the Researcher 2-11-08 The process of knowledge production involves a series of steps and is influenced by several factors which impact upon the end result of the research in various ways. When the topic of research is sexuality such conditions and influences become surrounded by a greater number of implications, some with far-reaching consequences. Full article »

			Sexual Revelations of Male Inmates: Negotiating Sexual Experiences within the Confines of a Prison 27-09-08 Since 2004, the Themba HIV & AIDS Organisation (a non-profit public benefit organisation in South Africa) has been working in prisons. This work has involved equipping peer educators, all inmates, with the skills and knowledge necessary to educate other inmates about HIV, AIDS, sexually transmitted illnesses, Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT), relationships, and dominant cultural norms and traditions which pressurise people into risky sexual behaviours. Full article »

			Body Images, Beauty Culture and Language in the Nigeria, African Context 20-08-08 A presentation made at the 2007 Understanding Human Sexuality Seminar, the paper examines perceptions of body and beauty in traditional and contemporary Nigeria African context as reflected in the relevant language and literature and against the background of Western perceptions and formulations. Full article »

			Men, Sexuality and Health in the Context of HIV and AIDS 12-07-08 It is common knowledge among researchers and other interest groups that HIV infection and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) are on the rise among men in Sub -Saharan Africa, yet the reason for this increase still remains blurred. Full article »

			Femininity, Sexuality and Culture: Patriarchy and Female Subordination in Zimbabwe 17-05-08 This paper discusses how patriarchy is bred through socialization in the home and the society, and the how these practices lead to control of female sexuality. The paper argues that patriarchy leads to gender inequality and subordination of women to the extent that females do not have control over their sexuality. Full article »

			HIV-positive and Bringing Sexy Back 27-11-07 People tend to think that contracting HIV can spell the end of their sex lives, but HIV-positive Africans of all ages are now being urged to reclaim their sexuality and live healthy, normal lives. "I got this [HIV] through sex, so [I thought] my sexuality was gone and I felt I needed to stop dressing attractively and wait to die," Florence Anam , 28, an information officer at the Kenya Network of Women with AIDS, told IRIN/PlusNews. Full article »


	Regaining Control: realising women's rights to control their own sexuality, well-being and reproductive health in Africa 29-09-06 These commitments provide a comprehensive package for addressing the challenges of maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS, violence and disease. However, the urgent action needed to address what African Governments have described as a “continental state of emergency” can only be achieved by ensuring firm policy and programme linkages between Sexual and Reproductive Health, HIV/AIDS and Gender Based Violence. Full article »

			Sexuality, African religio-cultural traditions and modernity: expanding the lens 04-03-06 This essay takes a critical look at the normative as well as counter normative alternatives to sexuality both in Africa and in other cultures as they relate to gender concepts and practices that address the problem of inequality and state patriarchy. Full article »

	Engendering sexuality: human rights issues in reproductive and sexual health 26-07-06 Until quite recently most Africans, especially in the sub Saharan region, considered reproductive and sexual rights as issues for discussion only by 'queers' and liberal feminist groups. Full article »

			Gender and the political economy of sex tourism in Kenya's coastal resorts 17-06-06 This paper discusses gender and the political economy of sex tourism on the Kenyan coast, its health and socioeconomic impact, and the government's policy on sex work. Full article »

			Muslims’ perspectives on key reproductive and sexual health issues 29-03-06 Reproductive health strategies are built around a core belief that women as full, thinking, feeling personalities, shaped by the particular social, economic, and cultural conditions in which each of them lives, are central to their own reproduction. Full article »

			Contradictions in constructions of African masculinities 15-03-06 Rather than the yearned for comforts, the advent of a democratic dispensation in South Africa has thrown up many uncomfortable questions. Focusing on the sex/sexuality/gender of African males is a deliberate move of disturbing the taken-for-granted nature of African-ness, and of such objects as ' African culture', 'African masculinity', 'African womanhood' and 'African sexuality'. Full article »

			Silence, AIDS and sexual culture in Africa 02-03-06 There is a mystery at the heart of the AIDS epidemic in Africa that scholars have explored but have been unable to explain. The mystery has to do with the denial that has consistently characterised the AIDS pandemic in Africa. The silence has to do with that much used and abused, dearly beloved sacred cow called culture. Full article »

			Sexuality: you must start with yourself 20-02-06 Sexuality: a very loaded word. Seemingly, a very personal matter, yet, in many ways it defines and dictates much of what goes on in society. Thinking about sexuality inevitably starts from the subjective before it moves to the objective, so to understand how and why we all deal with sexuality we must start with ourselves. Full article »

			Research and capacity-building for the promotion of sexual health and well-being in the West Africa region 04-05-05 Despite three decades of capacity building, there is still little research on the health problems of the poor. This is even more acute regarding sexual health of people in West Africa. Research is essential in improving the status of sexual health in any community. Full article »

			Sex work and the politics of researching gender and culture 17-05-05 Sex work, a critical subject in advancing knowledge on gender and work, has a troubled position in the African academy. In 2000, at the center for Basic Research in Uganda, we sat as a scientific committee to select abstracts submitted by 160 prospective researchers in the Eastern and Southern African region on the subject of gender and work. There was not one single abstract on sex work. So I asked the committee, "What about sex work?" Full article »

			Demography, sexuality and sexual behavior research in Nigeria 04-06-05 When HIV was first reported in1967, there was very little concern that the disease will spread to Nigeria. Nevertheless, there have been apprehensions about the incidence and prevalence of sexually transmitted disease long before the advent of HIV/AIDS. Full article »

			When culture harms the girls - the globalisation of female genital mutilation 25-06-05 Among communities that practise FGM, the procedure is a highly valued ritual, whose purpose is to mark the transition from childhood to womanhood. In these traditional societies, FGM represents part of the rites of passage or initiation ceremonies intended to impart the skills and information a woman will need to fulfil her duties as a wife and mother. Full article »

			Decisions regarding harmful practices and the role of husbands 11-07-05 This paper examines the role of husbands in decisions related to some of the harmful practices that influence the reproductive health and quality of life of women in Egypt. The paper focuses on two main practices, the female genital cutting and the traditional hand defloration at the time of wedding. Full article »