This review article offers a synthesis of published studies on students with disabilities' experience in South African higher education since 1994, when a democratically elected government took office. The article presents a review of published studies describing the experiences of students with disabilities in South African higher education (SAHE) in the period 1994-2017. A synthesis of the findings and implications of South African studies relating to students with disabilities in SAHE is provided. Three aspects will be discussed: (a) conceptualisation of disability; (b) access, inclusion and participation in higher education; and (c) supporting mechanisms for students with disabilities. Challenges, areas needing further study, lessons learnt, approaches and policy implications for policy-practitioners and institutions are suggested.

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BackgroundA decade has passed since South Africa signed and ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, a human rights treaty that protects the rights and dignity of people with disabilities. However, not much have changed for students with disabilities.ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to explore lecturers’ experiences with, and perspectives on, disability as well as with students with disabilities. It was hoped that this would contribute to the ongoing policy debates about diversity, inclusion and support for students with disabilities at universities.MethodsIn an effort to understand the lives of students with disabilities better, a study which included students with disabilities, lecturers and disability supporting staff was conducted at two South African universities – University of the Free State and University of Venda. The paper takes a snapshot view of four lecturers and their perceptions of the lives of students with disabilities at their respective universities.Results and ConclusionAlthough most disability literature report students with disabilities blaming lecturers for their failure to advance their needs, this paper highlights that the education system needs to be supportive to lecturers for the inclusive agenda to be realised. An argument is made for a more comprehensive approach towards a national disability policy in higher education involving many stakeholders. Without a broader understanding of disability, it will be difficult to engage with the complex ways in which inequalities emerge and are sustained.

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This paper describes experiences of sexuality stigma among same-sex attracted men in Zimbabwe and analyses the consequences of such experiences for healthcare seeking. It draws on qualitative research carried out in Harare in 2017, which included in-depth interviews with sixteen gay and bisexual men, and key informant interviews with three representatives of organisations that work with gay men. There were numerous stories about sexuality stigma in the study participants_ social environments, including at home, in local communities and in healthcare facilities. We first offer a description of these and then go on to trace the implications of stigma on the relations between men who have sex with men on the one hand and the healthcare sector on the other. We conceive of stigma as a pushing force that exerts pressure on and in these relations, and identify five types of consequences of this. Stigma works to (1) produce geographical shifts in healthcare, (2) promote private over public care, (3) compartmentalise healthcare (with dedicated providers for queer persons), (4) deprofessionalise care, and (5) block access to appropriate healthcare altogether for some same-sex attracted men. Most of these consequences have negative implications for preventive or treatment-focused HIV programming.