Open AccessCultural Practices and HIV in South Africa: A Legal Perspective
Author(s) -
Maureen Mswela
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
per
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.204
H-Index - 6
ISSN - 1727-3781
DOI - 10.17159/1727-3781/2009/v12i4a2743
Subject(s) - subordination (linguistics) , inequality , human rights , perspective (graphical) , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , social issues , gender studies , sociology , domestic violence , political science , development economics , economic growth , socioeconomics , criminology , law , poison control , suicide prevention , medicine , virology , economics , environmental health , philosophy , artificial intelligence , computer science , mathematical analysis , linguistics , mathematics
South Africa has not escaped the rising prevalence and severe impact of HIV/AIDS in relation to women. From an economic and social vantage point, the HIV/AIDS epidemic effects women the hardest, with underprivileged black women the most susceptible to the virus. The theoretical framework of this paper focuses on the intersection between HIV/AIDS, gender inequality and gender violence, and more specifically on certain cultural practices and customs that contribute towards and exacerbate women’s subordination and inequality, which in turn increase women’s exposure to HIV infection. Relevant to this focus is inevitably an analysis of the perceived threats to specific fundamental human rights as a result of some of the entrenched practices that continue to reinforce women’s subordinate position in society, aggravated by the high incidence of gender violence.