Overview
The Social Intervention Research Unit (SIRU) is an an multi-disciplinary research and social intervention unit housed within the Centre for Social Sciences Research at UCT. Our research agenda is situated within the Department of Social Work & Social Development and covers a wide variety of topics aligned to the research expertise and interest of our academic staff, postgraduate students and stakeholders.
Our vision
To conduct and disseminate evidence-based research, knowledge and expertise that informs interventions, programmes and policies to address social problems at micro, mezzo and macro levels.
Our values:
- Facilitate excellent research in areas of strategic relevance to foster innovation in the field of Social Intervention;
- Facilitate research excellence by enabling high quality, innovative - research and research-based services to be carried out by collaborative teams of researchers;
- Provide a supportive research environment for the development of research capabilities by emerging scholars and postgraduate students;
- Support world-leading research, facilitate and promote multi-disciplinary research, enhance research collaboration, provide visibility and raise the profile of the unit’s research and scholarship.
- Disseminate evidence-based interventions that inform proactive responses at micro, mezzo and macro levels.
- Provide expertise and knowledge that unleashes human potential to create a just and fair societies.
Meet our team!
Khosi Kubeka, PhD
Khosi Kubeka Is a senior lecturer in the Department of Social Work and Social Developmnet and the current director of SIRU. Her area of research is in Youth Developmental Well-Being, with a special focus on Youth Exclusion, Inclusion and Participation in Health, Education and Employment. Her current work focuses on unearthing the systemic barriers that Black youth from poor urban communities face as they navigate schooling, healthcare systems and the labour market. She in the process of conceptualising a mixed methods study, in collaboration with Dr Emma Campbell and the BSW and Honours cohorts for 2025, that will focus on Youth Resilience and Participation. She I also one of the co-investigators in the Khanyisa Ngemfundo study that falls under the Adolescent Accelerate Hub unit of the CSSR. We used participatory research methods to collect data and developed a toolkit for the School Based Support Teams Supporting return to school amongst pregnant and mothering adolescents.
Leon Holtzhausen, PhD
Associate Professor Leon Holtzhausen is the Head of Department of Social Work and Social Development, University of Cape Town, South Africa. He holds a PhD (With specialisation in Criminal Justice) as well as a MSW (Master of Social Work with specialisation in Community Development). His research focus is broadly situated in the field of social justice, crime and violence. His scholarship involves various specialisations like Forensic Social Work, Prison Social Work and Substance Use Disorders. More recently he’s been researching and publishing on the associations between adverse childhood, trauma and adolescent experiences, the development of psychopathy, antisocial behaviour, and deviance.
Somaya Abdullah, PhD
Somaya Abdullah is an Associate Professor in the Department of Social work and Social Development. She holds two PhDs: one in the study of religion and the other in social work. Her research focuses on providing religiously and culturally relevant social welfare services to Muslim communities. Currently, she is expanding her work to include research on social development and the care of older adults, specifically exploring intergenerational family life and kinship care to enhance support services for this population.
Shanaaz Hoosain, PhD
Shanaaz Hoosain is a senior lecturer in the Department of Social Work and Social Development. She holds a PhD (Social Work). Dr Hoosain is a Bristol University and University of Cape Town research fellow for 2023 to 2026 focusing on co-creating knowledge with communities who have a hidden heritage of slavery. Her areas of teaching and research is interdisciplinary in the field of social work, focusing on intergenerational trauma, family violence and decoloniality. She represents higher education on the Western Cape’s Provincial Forum for Victim Empowerment.
Fatima Williams, PhD
Fatima Williams is a lecturer in the Department of Social Work and Social Development. Here recent research focused on Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and social work education. This stems from my role as the convenor of the Bachelor of Social Work as she was responsible for introducing alternative access points into the department at undergraduate level using RPL. She has a keen interest in higher education and curriculum development and several of my postgraduate students have done research in these areas.
Ronald Addinall (He/Him/They/Them)
Ronald Addinall (He/Him/They/Them) is a lecturer in the Department of Social Work and Social Development, University of Cape Town. He convenes the MSocSc specialising in Clinical Social Work programme and holds a MSocSc degree specialising in Clinical Social Work and is a PhD candidate. Their areas of research interests are Sexology and Sex Therapy, Sexual Health and Wellbeing and Sexual Disorders, Sexual Justice and Gender Rights, Gender Identity, Transgender and Gender Diverse Psychosocial Healthcare, Mental Health & Psychiatric Disorders, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy and Couple Therapy. Their recent work involved contributing to the publication of the Gender Affirming Healthcare Guidelines for South Africa and the topic of his PhD is The Psychosocial Lived Experiences and Healthcare Needs of the Transgender and Gender Diverse Persons in South Africa: A Phenomenological Exploration
Amanda Manqoyi-Ouamba
Amanda Manqoyi-Ouamba is a lecturer in the Department of Social Work and Social Development. She holds a MSocSc - Social Work. Her research is broadly situated in substance abuse management and prevention with a strong focus on schools, families, and communities. She brings a strong background and experience having worked as a research assistant in various projects with the Health Economics Unit School of Public Health and Family Medicine here at UCT.
Emma Campbell, PhD
Emma Campbell is a lecturer in the Department of Social Work and Social Development. Her previous research has been in developmental and life-course pathways for antisocial behaviour among young adults. She has a strong interest in the developmental, multi-systemic approach to understanding human behaviour. Recently her research interest has shifted towards environmental social work and climate change, specifically considering how to foster adaptive resilience among those most affected by climate change. As the convenor of the final-year Social Work research project, she is in the process of conceptualising a mixed methods study, in collaboration with Dr Khosi Kubeka and the BSW and Honours cohorts for 2025, that will focus on Youth Resilience and Participation.
Memory Munodawafa, PhD
Memory Munodawafa is a lecturer in the Department of Social Work and Social Development. Her research interests include the development of psycho-social interventions, mental health and psycho-oncology research. She also has a special interest in trauma and grief, palliative care, couples and family research. I am currently working on a Cape Higher Education Consortium (CHEC) – City of Cape Town (COCT) collaborative research project focusing on exploring the mental health benefits of running for at risk youth in Gugulethu. This study will be a mixed methods study that explores how running contributes towards positive mental health outcomes for youth.
Cindee Bruyns
Cindee Bruyns is a lecturer in the Department of Social Work and Social Development at UCT. She is currently serving as a Principal Investigator on the SWIFT (Supporting Wellness through Integrated Family Training) Study within the Global Parenting Initiative where she is a LEGO Playful Parenting Research Fellow. The SWIFT study aims to establish an optimal and cost-effective system of delivery of the Parenting for Lifelong Health (PLH) human-digital parenting package within the health sector in South Africa. Cindee is an experienced social worker with more than a decade of work within the community with a specialisation in child protection (alternative care and child sexual abuse), behaviour management and parenting. She worked directly with the children and their families as well as managing and training other professionals and a local and national level.
Lauren-Jayne van Niekerk
Lauren-Jayne van Niekerk is a Lecturer in the Department of Social Work & Social Development and serves as the Male Engagement and Gender Transformative Research Fellow within the Global Parenting Initiative (GPI). Passionate about early childhood development, father involvement, and gender transformation, Lauren’s work is deeply embedded in the South African context, where she has led programmes designed to improve access to quality early education nationwide. Currently pursuing a PhD, Lauren’s research explores how South African fathers perceive and engage with their roles in their children’s early learning and development. This work is essential for reshaping the narrative around fatherhood in South Africa, aiming to foster more inclusive and supportive parenting environments.