This research explored the reproductive needs of people of low socio-economic standing living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and attending public health facilities in South Africa. A qualitative research design based on the theoretical framework of critical realism using grounded theory was employed in revealing the dominant unobserved underlying mechanisms, powers and structures that influence their reproductive decision-making. HIV-positive men, HIV positive pregnant women and HIV positive non-pregnant women were recruited by HIV counsellors from the Ante-Natal Clinic and the Voluntary Counselling and Testing Clinic at the Kalafong Hospital. Individual interviews were used to explore participants’ reproductive needs. Focus group discussions were employed to holistically explore the HIV counsellors’ attitudes and perceptions regarding their clients’ reproductive needs and future family planning. Parenthood was an important factor to all participants in establishing their gender identities. Different cultural norms existed for men and women realising their reproductive needs. Society expects of women to be mothers, yet at the same time negatively judges HIV-positive women who choose to become pregnant or refuse to abort an existing pregnancy. Consequently, most women choose not to disclose their status and continue to live as if they are not HIV-positive. Having children is so important to these reproductive-aged PLWHA that they will risk their own health, the health of their partners and their babies. Emancipatory transformation of current HIV counselling services is needed and can be established by improving counsellor knowledge through training as well as giving PLWHA access to accredited HIV risk reducing services. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / lk2014 / Psychology / PhD / unrestricted

Polisens brottsförebyggande arbete mot våld i nära relation har tidigare främst varit riktat mot den brottsutsatta. Under 2018 initierades dock metoden riskreducerande insatser som istället skiftade fokuset mot gärningspersonen. Riskreducerande insatser består av tre komponenter i form av riskreducerande samtal med gärningspersonen, coachande samtal med brottsoffret och samverkan med förundersökningsledare. Rådande studie har genom fem semistrukturerade intervjuer undersökt hur verksamma inom polismyndighetens brottsoffer- och personsäkerhetsverksamhet och förhandlarenhet upplever användningen av riskreducerande insatser i det brottsförebyggande arbetet mot våld i nära relation. Av resultatet framgick att riskreducerande samtal med gärningspersonen prioriteras i arbetet och upplevs ge goda resultat. Rutinen för de coachande samtalen med den brottsutsatta upplevdes inte vara lika etablerad men beskrevs oavsett kunna komplettera de riskreducerande samtalen. Därutöver upplevdes genomförandet av coachande samtal som meningsfullt. Det framkom dock utmaningar vid både riskreducerande och coachande samtal i att uppnå goda resultat då mottagligheten hos individen är låg. En förutsättning för att kunna genomföra framförallt riskreducerande samtal är ett godkännande från förundersökningsledaren. Samverkan med förundersökningsledaren bedömdes vara god och resultaten visade dessutom att det finns ett mervärde i att samverka med fler aktörer både internt och externt. Sammantaget upplevdes det brottsförebyggande arbetet med riskreducerande insatser fungera bra. Därtill återfanns en gemensam vilja bland deltagarna att fortsätta arbeta med och utveckla metoden. / The police have previously directed their crime prevention efforts towards the victim. In 2018, a new method called risk reducing interventions was initiated that instead shifted the focus towards the perpetrator. Risk reducing interventions consists of three components including risk reducing conversations, coaching conversations with the victim and cooperation with the person in charge of the investigation. The present study has, through five semi-structured interviews, examined how professionals active in the crime victims and personal security unit and personal security operations within the police authority experience the method in relation to crime prevention directed to intimate partner violence. Results showed that risk reducing conversations with the perpetrator was prioritized and was perceived to show good results. As for routines for the coaching conversations with the victim, they were not as established but they were described as a good compliment to the risk reducing conversations. However, there were challenges for the risk reducing conversations and coaching conversations in achieving good results when the responsivity of the individual was low. Implementing the risk reducing conversations requires an approval from the person in charge of the investigation. Cooperation with the person in charge of the investigation was assessed to be good and the results showed that internal and external cooperations give an added value. Overall, using risk reducing interventions in the crime prevention work against intimate partner violence was perceived as working well. In addition, there is a common will to continue working with the method and develop it further.