A human security analysis of the situation of girls and young women in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Population studies
31
Issue: 1
(02 - 2017)
Background: This paper is a product of a study which emanated from the need to get a nuanced
understanding of the situation of young women in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) in South Africa to inform
evidence-based planning and programming. It aimed to analyse the lived experiences of girls and young
women in the province focusing on broad questions around the challenges they face daily and
interventions required to change their life circumstances in light of the socio-economic profile of the
province. Conceptual themes were developed around the Human Security framework to contextualise
the analysis.
Data and Methods: The study adopted a mixed methods approach in which qualitative and
quantitative methods were combined for data collection and analysis. Quantitative data was collected
from a randomly selected sample of 229 girls (aged 9-17 years) and young women (aged |8 - 35) from
four District Municipalities in KZN. The dataset was statistically analysed using the Statistical Package
for Social Sciences (SPSS). Qualitative data was generated through in-depth interviews, involvng key
stakeholders (16); and focus group discussions (nine sessions). The qualitative dataset was thematically
and hermeneutically analysed to generate insights into the lived experiences of the target population
and policy implementation and outcomes.
Results and conclusion: The findings show that majority of the respondents have difficulty accessing
reproductive health services available in the province. Also, they did not feel safe in their communities;
there was also evidence in support of the abolition of harmful cultural practices such as Ukuthwala
(forced marriage) and Ukuphelwa (female circumcision) which affect them. The paper concludes that it
will be self-destructive for the provincial government to ignore the lived experiences of the
respondents, which other studies show are not different from the lived experiences of girls and young
women in the province who, alongside boys and young men of similar age cohort, constitute over 70%
of the provincial population.
Key words: Girls, Young women; KwaZulu-Natal; Human Security; South Africa
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