2009: Men and HIV

Pieter van Zyl

Summary of research:

For his HIV/AIDS & the Media Fellowship in 2009, Pieter researched and wrote a number of articles on gay men and HIV, in particular the lives of men who have sex with men who live in the townships of Cape Town.

Biography:

Pieter van Zyl is a senior writer for Media24’s Family Magazines: Huisgenoot, YOU and Drum. He previously held a Rosalyn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Reporting in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2007 and 2008. During this fellowship he developed a manual and workshop for journalists writing about trauma.

Mthetho Tshemese

Summary of research:

Mthetho’s focus for his fellowship has been on traditional circumcision as part of traditional initiation of boys in the Eastern Cape, including how the ritual may be able to play a role in the reduction of HIV, as part of a broader medical male circumcision programme.

Biography:

Mthetho Tshemese is a Clinical Psychologist, with specific interest in community psychology. A 2003 Clinton Democracy Fellow and former lecturer at the Wits School of Human and Community Development, Mthetho’s research interests include masculinity, discrimination and prejudice, music and youth identity, politics, and traditional male circumcision. He is currently working for the Media Unit at Soul City Institute.

Thabisile Dlamini

Summary of research:

During her fellowship Thabisile interviewed three very different fathers living with HIV – an “absent” father, an “involved” father and one with different children with different mothers. Her articles explore the role of fatherhood in the HIV epidemic in South Africa and how different men embrace this role.