Aphiwe Mhlangulana Headshot

Aphiwe Mhlangulana is a PhD candidate in Psychology at the University of Cape Town (UCT), based in the Hub for Decolonial Feminist Psychologies in Africa. Her research explores Black African women journalists’ and bloggers’ experiences of technology facilitated gender based violence (TFGBV), examining how online forms of abuse intersect with the structural realities of racism, sexism, and colonial histories.

Her doctoral study seeks to foreground the voices of Black African women by documenting their narratives and experiences of digital violence. Through a decolonial feminist and intersectional lens, her work challenges dominant understandings of online safety and aims to contribute to more inclusive frameworks for gender and digital justice in Africa.

Aphiwe is a Next Gen Social Sciences in Africa Fellow and a Fellow at HUMA  Institute for Humanities in Africa. She has extensive experience in research development, qualitative research, and academic supervision. Beyond academia, her work engages public scholarship, centering African women’s lived experiences and advocating for safer, more equitable digital spaces across the continent.

• Technology-Facilitated Gender Based Violence (TFGBV)
• Black Feminist and Decolonial Psychologies
• Intersectionality, Race, and Gender in Digital Spaces
• African Women’s Narratives and Media Studies
• Feminist Knowledge Production in the Global South

• Ph.D. in Research Psychology – University of Cape Town (2024 – Present)
  Thesis: “Black African Women Journalists and Bloggers’ Experiences of Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV)”
• Master’s in Research Psychology – University of Cape Town (2020 – 2022)
  Dissertation: “Protesting Against Gender-Based Violence: Narratives on The Silent Protest and #RUReferenceList”
• B.A. (Hons) in Counselling Psychology – University of South Africa (2018 – 2019)
• Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology and Sociology) – Rhodes University (2013 – 2016)

• Next Gen Social Sciences in Africa Fellow (SSRC)
• Fellow, HUMA – Institute for Humanities in Africa
• Member, Hub for Decolonial Feminist Psychologies in Africa