Dr Nontokozo Langwenya is a Research Affiliate at the Department of Social Policy and Intervention (DSPI) at the University of Oxford and a Nuffield Postdoctoral Prize Research Fellow in Sociology (2025–2028). She specialises in sexual and reproductive health and rights research, with a focus on gender-based violence, HIV, and access to contraception among women and adolescents in Southern Africa. Her work draws on experience across randomized controlled trials, longitudinal cohort studies, and implementation research, including large-scale studies such as the SAFE Generation study in Eswatini and the HEY BABY study in South Africa. More recently, she has led data collection for implementation-focused research at the University of Eswatini that is grounded in local knowledge and priorities, working alongside community and NGO partners to support peer-led clubs and student networks advancing gender-transformative norms and collective action.Â
Her current research interests focus on using longitudinal data with consistent measurement tools to examine trends in violence outcomes across the life course, including intergenerational pathways linking maternal exposure to intimate partner violence with children’s wellbeing. She is particularly interested in integrating repeated-measures analysis with evidence on service uptake, case management, and system responsiveness in conflict-affected and humanitarian settings. Alongside this work, she examines how histories of gender formation and the adaptation of sexual violence legislation shape population-level trends in sexual violence, using repeated cross-sectional (DHS/VACS) and pseudo-panel approaches to compare countries with similar reforms but divergent outcomes. Through this work, she aims to strengthen the value of longitudinal evidence for informing responsive systems of care and violence prevention policy across Uganda, Kenya, Eswatini, and South Africa.Â
