While international guidelines are currently being drawn up about HIV and infant feeding practices, and national and regional guidelines are under discussion in South Africa, there have been remarkably few studies that have sought to elicit HIV-positive mothers' experiences of breastfeeding and of paediatric infection. There is an urgent need to document this 'grass roots' knowledge in different sites, and for this data to be used to inform policy development, and for advocacy and counselling purposes. This qualitative investigation reports on the experiences and decisions taken around breastfeeding by a peer support group of 13 HIV-positive mothers meeting at King Edward VIII Hospital, Durban. In this study, the particular focus of information-giving and decision-making as to breast or formula feed is concerned with the impact on individual HIV-positive women and their babies. The most significant finding is that at no stage during their pregnancy were any of these mothers given information about the risks of HIV transmission through breastmilk. The study data were elicited in an in-depth group discussion, and individual women were invited to re-enact their stories in a follow-up discussion for clarification purposes. The women also discussed how they dealt with problems surrounding confidentiality in cases where few have been able to disclose their status to the extended family. There have been renewed calls for further investment in counsellors, with an enhanced role for community activists as peer educators. While there are severe resource constraints and low morale among many overworked nurses, one of the general problems in hospital settings remains the vertical health paradigm. This does not accommodate women's experiences, preferences, social networks and lay knowledge, and inhibits many women from becoming full participants in decisions affecting their own and their family's health.

The choices made by Nelson Mandela for forgiveness, peaceful reconciliation and democracy contributed to a remarkable political transition in South Africa, which have important lessons for social work. Unfortunately, Mandela's ethical political leadership remains an exception rather than the rule. While social work does have its shadow side, it has always had an emancipatory thrust, with a commitment to doing no harm, social justice and human rights. By making the being for the Other principle the normative in social work, the profession can contribute to an ethical politics and be constructed as politics with soul.South Africa is the embodiment of the best and worst of politics, with the latter exemplified in the atrocities inflicted by the apartheid government and the latter by the gifts of humanity offered by Nelson Mandela. Barnard (2014) in a recent anthology, theorizing the life of Mandela, asserted that Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was one of the most revered figures of our time, and rightly so … He emerged from prison unbowed and, despite impossibly high expectations, did not disappoint. Gracious but steely, he steered a country in turmoil toward a negotiated settlement … He endorsed national reconciliation, an idea he did not merely foster in the abstract, but performed with panache and conviction … He initiated an era of hope. (p. 1)The world's political leaders, and social work as a profession, have much to benefit from the ethical leadership of Nelson Mandela. Unfortunately, Mandela's moral impulse and statesmanship are the exceptions rather than the rule in politics, which is often characterized by corruption, corrosive power, party political electioneering and failed promises.

This article is based on a qualitative study on sexuality, identity and relationships among female and male youth living on the streets. Data were obtained from approximately 50 focus groups and individual interviews with 37 youth, of which 17 were female. There were several themes with regard to masculinity and femininity and constructions of motherhood and fatherhood that emerged from the study. In this article we focus on the following broad theme: men as providers, violence, sex, and sexuality. Recommendations are made regarding consciousness raising, therapeutic intervention, transforming gendered relationships and working towards socio-economic equality.

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