Homophobic Bullying in South African Schools

2022 ◽  
pp. 113-129
Author(s):  
Johannes Ntshilagane Mampane

Homophobic bullying in schools is a global phenomenon. However, on the African continent, the phenomenon is rife because homosexuality is regarded to be un-African and is often linked to Western culture and colonial influence. These misconceptions about homosexuality have resulted in a culture of homophobia being inculcated into major structures of the society including schools. In this regard, this chapter aims to explore and describe the problem of homophobic bullying in South African schools. Particular attention is paid to cases of school-based homophobic bullying as primary sources of data as well as secondary sources of data from extant literature, textbooks, and journals articles. The chapter employs the Epstein Theory of Overlapping Spheres of Influence to proffer practical solutions and recommendations to address the problem of homophobic bullying in South African schools. These are school-, family-, and community-based solutions and recommendations based on the principles of social justice, inclusion, diversity, and equality.

Author(s):  
Johannes Ntshilagane Mampane

Homophobic bullying in schools is a global phenomenon. However, on the African continent, the phenomenon is rife because homosexuality is regarded to be un-African and is often linked to Western culture and colonial influence. These misconceptions about homosexuality have resulted in a culture of homophobia being inculcated into major structures of the society including schools. In this regard, this chapter aims to explore and describe the problem of homophobic bullying in South African schools. Particular attention is paid to cases of school-based homophobic bullying as primary sources of data as well as secondary sources of data from extant literature, textbooks, and journals articles. The chapter employs the Epstein Theory of Overlapping Spheres of Influence to proffer practical solutions and recommendations to address the problem of homophobic bullying in South African schools. These are school-, family-, and community-based solutions and recommendations based on the principles of social justice, inclusion, diversity, and equality.


Author(s):  
Pacifique Manirakiza

A matter raised consistently by eminent personalities asked to report on atrocities in Africa, such as former South African President Thabo Mbeki, is the utilization of traditional justice mechanisms known to Africans. Their use has been limited to Gacaca courts in Rwanda, set up in haste and subject to much criticism. However, there exist several types and models of traditional justice mechanisms at the African level. The contribution of these sui generis mechanisms towards accountability for heinous crimes is largely unaddressed in academic literature. This chapter intends to fill this gap by exploring their potential contribution towards accountability for heinous crimes, alongside the International Criminal Court (ICC). In short, the chapter explores how community-based judicial mechanisms and the ICC, two types of accountability mechanisms with different methodologies and approaches, can work side by side to eradicate impunity regarding, and also to prevent, mass atrocities on the African continent.


2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 1001-1019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phumlani Erasmus Myende

Globally, there is agreement that school–community partnerships are one of the mechanisms to address challenges that schools cannot address alone. However, evidence suggests that where school–community partnerships have been initiated, their functionality and continuity is not always easy to achieve, and research locally and internationally has not sufficiently addressed this concern. To bridge this gap, guided by Epstein’s theory of overlapping spheres of influence, this paper examined what makes school–community partnerships functional and sustainable. The research used a qualitative case study and employed discursive oriented interviews (both individual and focus group), a researcher’s reflective journal, and document reviews to generate the data. Participants were principals, teachers, and academics from two universities. It was found that for partnerships to be functional and sustainable there is a need to ensure that there is collaborative planning and decision-making, effective two-way communication, eagerness to address power issues, and the creation of a culture that promotes participative leadership. From these findings, the paper concludes that principal’s leadership is only critical at the beginning stage of partnerships, and teacher leadership is central in the functionality and continuity of partnerships. In relation to the theoretical framework, it is further concluded that power is an important element to consider, which either brings partners together or pushes them apart.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 270
Author(s):  
Dhikru Adewale Yagboyaju

This paper analyzes the relationships between selected aspects of human security-poverty and health security, social justice and sustainable development in Nigeria, representing the African continent. Human security, an emerging paradigm for understanding global vulnerabilities, is widely defined as consisting of seven key areas. However, the aspects of poverty and health security are selected for this study because of the overlapping effects on all the other aspects. Data for the conceptual and theoretical section of the paper are drawn from secondary sources and complimented by data from primary sources. These include events analyses by the author and content analyses of documents such as United Nations (UN) Human Development Index (HDI), Legatum Prosperity Index and Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) for a selected period. Research methodology is case study based.The paper’s main finding centres on the levels of poverty and threats to health security that have confronted majority of ordinary Nigerians in the past two decades despite the country’s huge material endowments. In the light of this, the focus of knowledge in the country’s immediate and distant future should be human security and not state-centric security.


Author(s):  
Modupeolu Faseke

The Commonwealth is a global organisation with some unique and important characteristics that complement other global multilateral organizations. Its peculiarities, most especially its networking and informal qualities, have endeared the organization until recently to her members.  In this age of internet in which smartness and alertness are highly valued, some of its traits are now becoming a thing of an anathema, regarded as a cog in the wheel of progress. African continent alone has over thirty percent of Commonwealth membership.  This paper examines Commonwealth relations with Africa since 1994 when apartheid ended in South Africa and Africans had a renewed relationship with the organization after both parties had endured a tenuous relationship in the preceding years. The study has the objective of assessing the economic and political gains Africa has derived from membership of the Commonwealth as well as to ascertain whether or not the relationship is mutually beneficial. The essay is qualitative and adopts the historical research methodology, detailing the evolution and progression in Commonwealth’s relationship with Africa during the period of study. The essay complements the use of secondary sources with primary sources. Data was therefore composed of official documents from the |Commonwealth Secretariat as well as documents from some African countries. The study concludes that Africa has benefitted immensely from the Commonwealth since 1994, despite some aspects of its relationship needing improvements. It recommends, therefore, that both parties will have to work towards a symbiotic relationship in order to enjoy a more robust partnership that is effective and impactful in the interest of all.


2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thabang Mofokeng ◽  
Mokhele Madise

The Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) of South Africa, a Pentecostal denomination founded in 1908 by an American missionary, John G Lake, attracted a large following of blacks in South Africa from its inception. This denomination contributed a large body of Zionist churches to the African Independent Church movement. Among its black members before and during the 1940s, it was Zionist-like—only undergoing changes between 1943 and 1975 resulting in it becoming outright evangelical. This was a turning point in the history of the AFM and black Pentecostals specifically, as it brought this large body of followers culturally closer to the dominant evangelical expression of Pentecostalism in the denomination. This article looks into reasons behind the changes as well as how they were carried out. Primary sources, available at the AFM archives, and secondary sources such as theses, articles and books with a bearing on the topic have been consulted. The article contributes to the growing body of South African Pentecostal history.


2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tania Israel ◽  
Alise Cogger ◽  
Kristin Conover ◽  
Audrey R. Harkness ◽  
Jay N. Ledbetter

2016 ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Mariana Giaretto ◽  
Victoria Naffa

ResumenEn este trabajo analizamos las relaciones entre tomas de tierras y Estado, en elAlto Valle de Río Negro en Argentina. En un contexto general de especulacióninmobiliaria, por la que se encarecen los precios de alquileres y terrenos, y depolíticas de vivienda selectivas y acotadas, los sectores populares acceden aun espacio en la ciudad mediante tomas de tierras. Frente a estos conflictos,el Estado, en sus diferentes niveles y poderes, despliega una forma deintervención basada en la criminalización de las luchas por tierra y vivienda.Al mismo tiempo, el poder ejecutivo nacional crea la Secretaría de Acceso alHábitat, para posibilitar la intervención política orientada a la regularizaciónde los asentamientos. Sin embargo, esta intervención tiende a reinscribir laproblemática habitacional en el campo político, para reducirla a un conflicto“entre partes”, eludiendo la responsabilidad estatal.Desde un enfoque metodológico cualitativo, seleccionamos como referenteempírico el caso del asentamiento de Villa Obrera en Fiske, Menuco (Gral.Roca), y las técnicas de recolección de datos se basan en fuentes secundarias,como expedientes judiciales y normativa, y en fuentes primarias como son losrelatos de los protagonistas mediante entrevistas individuales y colectivas.Palabras clave: tomas de tierras, Estado, criminalización de los conflictos.Conflicts caused by land occupation and modesof State intervention: analysis of an experience ofAlto Valle in Río Negro (Argentina)AbstractThis paper analyzes the relationship between State and land occupation,at Alto Valle in Río Negro, Argentina. In a general context of real estatespeculation, where rents and land prices are expensive, and a policy ofselective and limited housing, popular sectors can have access to a spacein the city through land occupation. In front of these conflicts, the Statein its different levels and powers, displays a form of intervention basedon the criminalization of struggles for land and housing. At the sametime, the national executive creates the Secretariat of Access to Habitat,oriented to allow political intervention for the regularization of settlements.However, this intervention tends to re-register the housing problems in thepolitical arena, reducing it to a conflict “between parties” and eluding theresponsibility of the State.From a qualitative methodological approach, we selected as empirical referencethe case of the settlement of Villa Obrera in Fiske, Menuco (GeneralRoca). The techniques of data collection are based on secondary sources, suchas policy and legal records, and primary sources as the stories of protagoniststhrough individual and collective interviews.Keywords: land occupation, State, criminalization of conflicts.Conflitos sobre ocupações de terras e modos deintervenção do estado: análise de uma experiênciado Alto Valle do Rio Preto (Argentina)ResumoEste trabalho analisa as relações entre a posse de terra e o Estado, no AltoValle do Rio Preto, na Argentina. Num contexto geral da especulaçãoimobiliária, por qual se encarecem os preços do aluguel e das terras, e depolíticas de habitação seletivas e limitadas, os setores populares acedem aum espaço na cidade através de ocupações de terras. Frente a estes conflitos,o Estado, em seus diferentes níveis e poderes, desenvolve uma forma deintervenção com base na criminalização das lutas pela terra e vivenda. Aomesmo tempo, o poder executivo nacional cria a Secretaria de Acesso àHabitat para possibilitar à intervenção política orientada a regularização dosassentamentos. No entanto, esta intervenção tende a registrar os problemasde habitação no campo político, para reduzi-la a um conflito “entre aspartes”, iludindo a responsabilidade do Estado.A partir de uma abordagem metodológica qualitativa, foi selecionado comoreferência empírica o caso do Assentamento de Villa Obrera em Fiske,Menuco (Gral. Roca), e as técnicas de recolecção de dados são baseados emfontes secundárias, como expedientes judiciais e normativos, e em fontes primárias como são as histórias dos protagonistas através de entrevistasindividuais e coletivas.Palavras-chave: tomada de terras, Estado, criminalização dos conflitos.


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