Gender and Health Research Unit
(Pretoria Office)
Tel: +27 (0) 12 339-8586
Fax: +27 (0) 12 339-8582
Postal address:
Medical Research Council
Private Bag X385
Pretoria 0001
South Africa

Gender and Health Research Unit
(Cape Town Office)
Tel: +27 (0) 21 938-0445
Fax: +27 (0) 21 938-0310
Postal address:
Medical Research Council
Private Bag 19070
Tygerberg 7505
South Africa

Professor Rachel Jewkes
Unit Director
Tel: +27 (0)12 339-8525
E-mail: rjewkes@mrc.ac.za

Rachel is the Director of the MRC Gender & Health Research Unit and a NRF A rated scientist. She is based in Pretoria. She trained as a medical doctor and is a specialist in Public Health Medicine. She has a Masters in Community Medicine and Doctorate of Medicine (MD) from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London. She has spent most of the last 20 years researching intersections of gender-based violence, particularly intimate partner violence and sexual violence (including child sexual abuse), and gender inequity and health in South Africa using methods drawn from epidemiology, anthropology and health systems research. She has authored over one hundred and fifty publications in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters and reports. She has worked closely with the South African Government over many years on sexual violence policy in the health sector. She is the Secretary of the Sexual Violence Research Initiative.  She is the lead technical advisor on the CHANGE Project,  a collaborative research project on gender-based violence violence prevention and masculinities that is being conducted in the Asia Pacific region for by Partners For Prevention.  She was a member of the steering committee of the WHO multi-country study on violence against women. She is a member of the WHO Expert Advisory Panel on Injury and Violence Prevention and Control, a member of the PEPFAR Scientific Advisory Board and of the  WHO's Strategic and Technical Advisory Committee for HIV-AIDS (STAC-HIV).  Her other research interests include sexuality, evaluation of behavioural interventions for HIV prevention, termination of pregnancy and community participation. Most importantly she has been working to ensure that these research findings are translated into interventions within society to improve the lives of women. She was a co-founder and is an active lecturer on the annual four week short course on Reproductive Health Research Methods which is in its 15th year. She has a very active programme of PhD supervision and is also an Honorary Professor in the School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand.

Professor Naeemah Abrahams
Deputy Unit Director
Tel: +21 (0) 21 938 0445
E-mail: naeema.abrahams@mrc.ac.za

Naeemah is the Unit’s Deputy Director and a Senior-Specialist Scientist. She has a PhD and MPhil in Public Health and started her career as a nurse. She has worked in the area of gender based violence for the last 18 years. She has a two honorary appointments:  as a Honorary Associated Professor with UCT Faculty of Health Sciences in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, as well as Extraordinary Professor with UWC Faculty of Community Health Sciences in the School of Public Health. She provides teaching, post graduate supervision and research support at both universities. Her special interests are health sector responses to gender-based violence, including the interface between GBV and HIV. Her research skills are in both epidemiological and qualitative methods. Her current research activities include sexual assault services - particular adherence to post exposure prophylaxis after rape to prevent HIV, mental health services for rape survivors, social responses to HIV and rape, developing and testing gender-based HIV and AIDS risk reduction skills interventions and femicide-Female homicide, including intimate femicide. She is also involved in the Global Burden of Disease study in collaboration with WHO and the London School of Health and Tropical Medicine. She is also a foreign faculty member of the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing.

Dr Shanaaz Mathews
Specialist Scientist
Tel: +27 (0) 21 938 0448
E-mail: shanaaz.mathews@mrc.ac.za

Shanaaz is a specialist scientist and has a PhD and Masters in Public Health. She has been with the MRC for the past 10 years. She started her career as a Clinical Social Worker, with a focus on child sexual abuse. She also worked in the NGO sector and has been involved in advocacy and lobbying for gender sensitive policy development. She is a founder member of the Western Cape Network on Violence against Women and was Chair of the Network 1999- 2000, Vice-Chair from 2000 - 2002 and is currently still an active member. Her research interests include both epidemiological and qualitative research methods. Current research activities include the Epidemiology of Female and Child Homicide in South Africa, Understanding the socio-cultural context of intimate femicide in South Africa and exploring the psycho-social needs of children and carers post sexual assault. She has also been involved in building the capacity of NGO’s, CBO’s and researchers in East and Southern Africa to integrate Gender Based Violence research into programming through a training and mentorship programme in partnership with GBV Prevent Network, PATH and ICRW.

Yandisa Sikweyiya
Senior Scientist
Tel: +27 (0) 12 3398553
E-mail: yandisa.sikweyiya@mrc.ac.za

Yandisa is a Senior Scientist and has Masters in Public Health. He is currently working on a PhD in Public Health (Research Ethics). In 2006, he was a fellow on the South African Research Ethics Training Initiative. Since 2008 he has been a member of the University of Pretoria, Faculty of Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee. He has special interest in Ethics, Philosophy and Hegemonic Masculinities. His current research activities include being a co-investigator in the following projects: an ethnographic study of ethical issues in conducting gender-based violence research in community based studies in South Africa, a pilot study to evaluate the combined curriculum of Stepping Stones and a Livelihood Strengthening intervention with out-of-school youth in informal settlements in Durban, a formative research to develop a gender and behaviour change intervention for Medical Male Circumcision settings in South Africa, and a study that aims to develop and pilot test a gender-based HIV AIDS risk reduction and coping skills intervention for HIV positive men in South Africa.

Liz Dartnall
SVRI Programme Officer/Snr Research Manager
Tel: +27 12 338 8527
E-mail: liz.dartnall@mrc.ac.za or svri@mrc.ac.za

Elizabeth (Liz) is a health policy specialist with research, public policy and project management experience. Liz manages the Sexual Violence Research Initiative, a global project hosted by the South African Medical Research Council. The SVRI aims to promote priority driven, good quality research in the area of sexual violence, particularly in developing countries. The SVRI is building an experienced and committed network of researchers, policy makers, activists and donors to ensure that the many aspects of sexual violence are addressed from the perspective of different disciplines and cultures. Liz has a Post-graduate Degree in Psychology from Curtin University in Australia and a Masters in Science (Medicine) from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Previous work experience includes working as a researcher at the Centre for Health Policy, University of the Witwatersrand; working in policy and research development for the Department of Health in Western Australia and in South Africa; and was Senior Programme Manager for AMREF South Africa. Liz is particularly interested in gaining a better understanding of how early experiences of violence may influence future perpetration and victimisation and how this can be used to inform the development of prevention programmes. She is also interested in the area of vicarious trauma and doing research on sexual violence, and how to prevent it.

Anik Gevers
Senior Scientist
Tel: +27 (0)21 938 0414
E-mail: anik.gevers@mrc.ac.za

Aník is a clinical psychologist and researcher specialising in child and adolescent mental health and well-being, and trauma-related mental health issues. Aník is completing doctoral work at the University of Cape Town under the supervision of Cathy Mathews and Rachel Jewkes, and formerly Alan Flisher. Aník’s current research in the Gender and Health Research Unit at the MRC focuses on programme and intervention development and evaluation in the field of health promotion, violence prevention and response, and the mental health impact of sexual violence.

Nwabisa Jama Shai
Senior Scientist
Tel: +27 (0) 12 339 8528
Email: nwabisa.shai@mrc.ac.za

Nwabisa is currently a Senior Researcher at the Gender and Health Research Unit of the Medical Research Council, South Africa. She is doing her doctoral studies, has an MPH, and began her career as a gender violence and HIV trainer. Her major research contribution and management include qualitative research on femininities in the Eastern Cape; the household survey on gender based violence in Gauteng Province, and the pilot and evaluation of a HIV and gender violence prevention intervention, Stepping Stones. Her experience spans both quantitative and qualitative methods, and her special interests are in HIV prevention and developing gender equity/HIV prevention interventions for research evaluation.

Ingrid Van Der Heijden
Senior Scientist/Anthropologist
Tel: +27 (0) 21 938 0514
Email: iheidjen@mrc.ac.za

Ingrid is a Senior Scientist who is based in Cape Town and has a Masters in Social Anthropology. She is currently involved in research on developing and piloting interventions for HIV positive women in South Africa. She has a special interest in developing and evaluating psychosocial support groups for vulnerable groups affected and infected by HIVAIDS.  She has assessed the efficacy of numerous peer education HIV prevention interventions for vulnerable children and adolescents in South Africa and is currently working towards a PhD on gender-based violence among women and girls with disabilities

Bongwekazi Rapiya
Research Technologist
El: +27 (0) 21 9380329
E-mail: Bongwekazi.Rapiya@mrc.ac.za

Bongwekazi is a Research Technologist at the Gender and Health Research Unit, based in Cape Town. She started at MRC in 2002 as a fieldworker working for the Stepping Stones project in Mthatha, In 2007, she moved to Cape Town where she worked with Prof Naeema Abrahams on the PEP/RCT a study looking at Post Exposure Prophylaxis adherence, subsequently she worked with Dr Shanaaz Mathews on the Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) study and also the FEMICIDE study. Currently she is working with Ingrid Van Der Heijden on a study that is looking at an intervention for HIV positive women to help them adjust and cope with living positively. She is also responsible for the administration and daily operations of the Cape Town office.

Monalisa Hela
Senior Administrator  
Senior administrative assistant
Tel: +27 (0) 12 339-8526
E-mail: monalisa.hela@mrc.ac.za

Monalisa Hela is the administrative assistant to the Gender & Health Research Unit’s Director in Pretoria and Cape Town Office and also the administrator responsible for the daily operations.

Lizle Loots
Senior Scientist
Tel: +27 (0) 21 339 8548
E-mail: lizle.loots@mrc.ac.za

Lizle is based in Pretoria and works as a researcher at the Sexual Violence Research Initiative, hosted by the South African Medical Research Council. She holds a Masters Degree in Sociology with Specialization in Gender Studies. Lizle has been with the MRC since 2007 and has a special interest in information and communications technology and the role of social media in engaging and mobilizing the field for violence prevention. She is currently supporting the SVRI in its primary prevention projects with particular focus on the development of national rape prevention policies globally.