Globally there has been a rise in the population of incarcerated women over recent decades. Yet, despite this increase, female offenders only represent about 5% of the total incarcerated population. South Africa is no different – female offenders on average total less than 3% of the incarcerated population in South Africa, one of the ten largest correctional systems in the world.

Background: The poor mental health and psychological wellbeing of drug addicts, especially users of Nyaope, have continued to raise serious concerns among psychologists, health experts and stakeholders in South Africa. Nyaope has contributed to the development of different psychopathologies among young adolescents, which invariably have negative implications for the general and mental health of many South Africans.

That consciousness is ubiquitous, and relevant to autopoietic self-organisation and embodiment within every living being and/or organism, is a prevalent idea in contemporary consciousness research. However, because „consciousness‟ as a word is derived from con or cum, meaning „with‟ or „together‟ and scire, „to know‟ or „to see‟ it infers the experience of knowing with an „other‟ and/or „others‟.

The study examines how the family, peers, and sociocultural environment at school in primary schools in South Africa perpetuated divergent gendered experiences among immigrant learners. A qualitative narrative inquiry was used during the study.

This study was motivated by the fact that young adults living with Williams syndrome in South Africa do not have access to post-secondary institutions capable of addressing their distinctive educational needs. I was further driven to conduct this study due to the lack of support in the South African post-secondary educational system for young adults with Williams syndrome.

In the thesis, I critically examine the art acquisition policy of the Unisa Art Gallery (UAG) during and after apartheid in South Africa. The Unisa Art Gallery acquisition policy (UAGAP) is investigated against the transformation imperatives as informed by national policies on arts and culture. I take the view that the process of art acquisition does not exist outside of the sociopolitical discourse.

In South Africa and many other countries worldwide, sex work is criminalised. This invariably seems to lead to back-door prostitution - an unregulated industry where sex workers are vulnerable to being exploited by pimps, brothel owners and law enforcement officers. In discussions about sex work and sex workers, two dominant views are evident: a) Sex workers freely choose to sell sex as a good way of earning an income; or b) sex workers are victims of their circumstances who are driven into the industry through direct coercion or as a result of dire poverty.

Gender-based violence is one of the major social problems that affects the quality of life and social functioning of many people, including women and girls globally. It contributes negatively to the physical, social, emotional and psychological well-being of any individual. While research on gender-based violence against women is documented, the scarcity of evaluation research focusing on social work interventions and programmes in rendering services to victims of GBV in South Africa is sparse.

English proficiency is regarded important for economic empowerment in South Africa, since English is the official business language of the country. South Africa is, however, a multilingual country, with 11 official languages. The majority of South African learners do not speak English as first language, but study English as an additional language in school.

Adolescence is widely accepted as one the most difficult periods in one’s life-span and is characterised by significant life events, health risks and maturational challenges. Teenagers globally and most notably within South Africa, have a range of age-specific health risks that include an increased risk of being a victim of violence, increased risk of suicide, increased risk of accidental death and an increased risk of unplanned pregnancy for female adolescent girls. On average, within South Africa, up to 11% of teenagers have an unplanned pregnancy and this is inspite of the number of national interventions that have been implemented over the last 20 years.