‘If the doctors see that they don't know how to cure the disease, they say it's AIDS’: How older women in rural South Africa make sense of the HIV/AIDS epidemic

2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enid Schatz ◽  
Leah Gilbert ◽  
Courtney McDonald
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Older Women ◽  
Rural South ◽  
Know How ◽  
Aids Epidemic ◽  
Rural South Africa ◽  
Hiv Aids

scholarly journals Coping with change: Household structure and composition in rural South Africa, 1992 — 20031

2007 ◽  
Vol 35 (69_suppl) ◽  
pp. 85-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sangeetha Madhavan ◽  
Enid J. Schatz
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Household Structure ◽  
Rural South ◽  
Dependency Ratios ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Notable Increase ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Rural South Africa ◽  
Hiv Aids

Aim: To describe household change over a 10-year period of tremendous social, political, economic and health transformation in South Africa using data from the Agincourt health and demographic surveillance system in the rural northeast of South Africa. Methods: Examination of household structure and composition at three points: 1992, 1997, and 2003. These three years loosely represent conditions immediately before the elections (1992), short term post-elections (1997), and longer term (2003), and span a period of notable increase in HIV prevalence. Results: Average household size decreased and the proportion headed by females increased. The within-household dependency ratios for children and elders both decreased, as did the proportion of households containing foster children. The proportion with at least one maternal orphan doubled, but was still relatively small at 5.5%. Conclusions: This analysis is a starting point for future investigations aimed at explaining how HIV/AIDS and other sociocultural changes post-apartheid have impacted on household organization. The analysis shows both consistency and change in measures of household structure and composition between 1992 and 2003. The changes do not include an increase in various types of ``fragile families'', such as child-headed or skipped-generation households that might be expected due to HIV/AIDS.

scholarly journals Older Female Caregivers and HIV/AIDS-Related Secondary Stigma in Rural South Africa

2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Ogunmefun ◽  
Leah Gilbert ◽  
Enid Schatz
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Rural South ◽  
Rural South Africa ◽  
Hiv Aids

scholarly journals Household transitions in rural South Africa, 1996—2003

2007 ◽  
Vol 35 (69_suppl) ◽  
pp. 130-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Wittenberg ◽  
Mark A. Collinson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Surveillance System ◽  
Transition Probabilities ◽  
Rural South ◽  
Single Person ◽  
The Social ◽  
System Data ◽  
Rural South Africa ◽  
Hiv Aids

Aims: To investigate changes in household structure in rural South Africa over the period 1996—2003, a period marked by politico-structural change and an escalating HIV/AIDS epidemic. In particular, the authors examine whether there is dissolution of extended family living arrangements. Methods: Data from the Agincourt demographic surveillance system, in rural north-eastern South Africa, and the rural sub-samples of selected nationally representative data sets were used to compare changes in the cross-sectional distribution of household types. Surveillance system data were further analysed to estimate the transition probabilities between household types. The latent pressures for change within the Agincourt area were analysed by projecting the household transition probabilities forward and comparing the projected steady-state distributions to the current distributions. Results: The national surveys show dramatic changes in the social structure in rural areas, particularly an increase in the importance of single person households. These trends are not confirmed in the surveillance system data. The national ``changes'' can possibly be ascribed to changes in sampling frames or household definitions. The transition probabilities within the Agincourt area show considerable changes between household types, despite a slower change in the aggregate distributions. The most important projected long-run changes are an increase in the proportion of three-generation linear households. ``Simpler'' household types such as single person households and nuclear households will become relatively less common. Conclusions: The structure of households is evolving under the pressure of social change and increased mortality due to HIV/AIDS. There is no evidence, however, that the social fabric is unravelling or that individuals are becoming increasingly isolated residentially.

Seven ‘deadly’ assumptions: unravelling the implications of HIV/AIDS among grandmothers in South Africa and beyond

2008 ◽  
Vol 28 (7) ◽  
pp. 935-958 ◽  
Author(s):  
MAY CHAZAN
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Older Women ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
The Past ◽  
Aids Epidemic ◽  
Funding Agencies ◽  
Hiv Aids

ABSTRACTOver the past few years, the pivotal roles older women play in responding to the unprecedented HIV/AIDS epidemic in southern Africa has received increasing recognition by academics, governments, funding agencies, non-governmental organisations, and citizens around the world. Yet, discourses surrounding AIDS and ‘grandmotherhood’ are laden with a number of ungrounded assumptions that have important implications for researchers, advocates and decision-makers. Drawing on ethnographic and survey data predominantly from South Africa, this paper challenges seven such assumptions. The paper illustrates how certain prevailing ‘wisdoms’ about grandmothers and AIDS in southern Africa are not entirely accurate and may mask many women's struggles and vulnerabilities, perpetuate stereotypes and misguide well-meaning policies. It also suggests that the societal impacts of AIDS in the region are, at present, not as dramatic as often portrayed, largely because the strength and resilience of many older women have cushioned some of the negative consequences. The paper thus calls for more nuanced and forward-looking analyses and interventions – ones that recognise grandmothers as central to the society's thin safety net and that grapple with older women's complex and diverse vulnerabilities.

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