Gavin George

Getting a “blesser” is an opportunity to gain access to a new social level. Ernesto r. Ageitos/Getty Images

November 5, 2025

Sex for money: South African study reveals the harm that ‘blessers’ can do to young women

Gavin George, University of KwaZulu-Natal

Far from being simply glamorous or transactional, relationships with a “blesser” expose young women to risks.

A nurse demonstrates how to perform a swab test in Johannesburg, South Africa. Michele Spatari / AFP via Getty Images

July 22, 2020

Kaymarlin Govender, University of KwaZulu-Natal; Gavin George, University of KwaZulu-Natal; Sean Beckett, University of KwaZulu-Natal, and Tim Quinlan, University of KwaZulu-Natal

Healthcare workers bear the extraordinary practical and psychological challenges of working daily with the threat of infection and for many months.

South Africa moved into level three of a five-tier lockdown on June 1, 2020. Michele Spatari / AFP via Getty Images

June 8, 2020

Kaymarlin Govender, University of KwaZulu-Natal; Ayesha BM Kharsany, University of KwaZulu-Natal; Gavin George, University of KwaZulu-Natal, and Sean Beckett, University of KwaZulu-Natal

Local participation and ownership of the response to COVID-19 is the only sustainable option.