HSF Briefs

It is widely accepted that education plays a vital role in lifting people out of poverty, empowering women and children, and promoting human rights and democracy. This brief aims to define the right to basic education in South Africa

In this brief the concept of increasing social security is looked at as being complimentary rather than opposed to economic growth. The author argues that in order for social security to become more comprehensive in South Africa, it needs to be made more sustainable through increasing economic opportunity so that people may become less dependent on the State for their micro-economic security.

This article presents some information on the problem of sexual offences, particularly against women, in South Africa. It also outlines government’s response to this problem. This brief represents preliminary research in the HSF’s broader project: Women in Society.

Discussions about electoral reform in South Africa have again come to the forefront over the last few weeks. This brief succinctly discusses the attitudes of four political parties towards electoral reform and how reform may or may not effect change to accountability and representation.

This brief raises issues around the JSC methodology.

In this Brief (‘Public Interest Litigation Threatened by Legal Practice Bill’), Kameel Premhid, HSF Intern, examines proposed changes to fee structures in the legal profession and what negative implications this could mean for the work conducted by NGOs like the HSF.

This brief aims to explain the key differences between medical schemes and health insurance and why demarcation between the two is important. Medical schemes, under the protection of the regulation of the Medical Schemes Act, have a large part to play in ensuring the right of access to healthcare. Similar protection is not afforded to other health insurance products. The right to healthcare may, therefore, be watered down if insurance companies, which are not governed by the Medical Schemes Act, are permitted to provide health insurance products similar to those provided by medical schemes.

Inclusive growth is a term which has been and continues to be applied to describe the way forward for the South African economy. This Brief aims to interpret inclusive growth in conjunction with our future aims as stated in the National Development Plan (NDP) and the current growth path experienced.