South Africa's Abortion Values Clarification Workshops - An Opportunity to Deepen Democratic Communication Missed
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2308100 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Louise Vincent (Rhodes University) |
| Year | 2011 |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 264-277 |
| Publication date | 2011-06-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Asian and African Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-9096 • E-ISSN: 1745-2538 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0021909610396161 |
| PMID | 21966711 |
| OpenAlex | W2085978263 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 16 |
A rich literature exists on local democracy and participation in South Africa. While the importance of participation is routinely built into the rhetoric of government, debate has increasingly focused on the dysfunctionality of participatory mechanisms and institutions in post-apartheid South Africa. Processes aimed ostensibly at empowering citizens, act in practice as instruments of social control, disempowerment and cooptation. The present article contributes to these debates by way of a critique of the approach used by the South African state, in partnership with the non-governmental sector, in what are called abortion 'values clarification' (VC) workshops. This article examines the workshop materials, methodology and pedagogical tools employed in South African abortion VC workshops which emanate from the organization Ipas - a global body working to enhance women's sexual and reproductive rights and to reduce abortion-related deaths and injuries. VC workshops represent an instance of a more general trend in which participation is seen as a tool for generating legitimacy and 'buy-in' for central state directives rather than as a means for genuinely deepening democratic communication. The manipulation of participation by elites may serve as a means to achieve socially desirable goals in the short term but the long-term outlook for a vibrant democracy invigorated by a knowledgeable, active and engaged citizenry that is accustomed to being required to exercise careful reflection and to its views being respected, is undermined. Alternative models of democratic communication, because they are based on the important democratic principles of inclusivity and equality, have the potential both to be more legitimate and more effective in overcoming difficult social challenges in ways that promote justice
Abortion · Citizen journalism · Democracy · Economic growth · Economics · General partnership · Government (linguistics · Legitimacy · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Rhetoric · Sociology · State (computer science · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · Legal Issues in South Africa · South African History and Culture · Gender Studies · Law · Public Administration
Scenario workshops and consensus conferences
Birth or Abortion
Abortion, moral maturity and civic journalism
Health care providers' attitudes towards termination of pregnancy
Barriers to implementing South Africa's Termination of Pregnancy Act in rural KwaZulu/Natal
Consensus Conferences as Deliberative Democracy
Evaluating the First U.S. Consensus Conference
Considered Opinions
Moving the State
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |