No description available.

No description available.

M.A. / Wife abuse as a social construct had no reality until 1970 and as a result violence against women remained invisible and seemingly non-existent. When wife abuse was named, a new reality was created and for the first time women's experiences were acknowledged and validated. The process of naming, largely as a result of the efforts of many active feminists, generated an alternative reality providing the space for many new narratives to emerge. Research has shown that wife abuse is not a rare phenomenon. Conservative estimates suggest that at least one in four women in South Africa have experienced wife abuse at some point in their lives. This research. using a social constructionist perspective which adheres to feminist principles, will explore the multiple realities of wife abuse. It will thus continue the dialogue regarding wife abuse, generating new narratives and alternative meanings that will hopefully contribute toward a greater understanding of it. Chapter one discusses the prevalence of wife abuse within South Africa as well as the resultant effects. Chapter two attempts to document the long and insidious history of wife abuse that was legitimised within the law until the rise of feminism. The importance of feminism is discussed as part of the context. Chapter three discusses the "tools" to be used in this dissertation and explores the way in which wife abuse has emerged as a social construct. Chapter four reflects that the way in which wife abuse is meaningful to the participants is to a large extent shaped by the collective representations thereof, which are then considered. Chapter five discusses the social, psychological and legal response that has emerged because wife abuse was named. Chapter six charts the way in which wife abuse is understood and explicated through a feminist lens. Chapter seven is dedicated to the research methodology adopted in this dissertation. The tenets of a social constructionist post-modern framework an; explained, facilitating the ensuing discussion pertaining to the research design. Chapter eight illuminates the themes that evolved in discussion with participants reflecting that the way in which wife abuse is seen, perceived, experienced and understood is largely shaped by the various roles of the participants. Chapter nine looks specifically at how each participant constructs wife abuse. Chapter ten considers the way in which wife abuse is seen through the lens of a survivor and the way in which she perceives the role of alternative systems. Finally consideration is given to the absence of the "batterer''. Chapter eleven marks the last part of the dissertation in which the research process and themes are reflected upon and conclusions are drawn. finally chapter twelve critiques the research and makes recommendations for the future Concluding thoughts are verbalised regarding the journey that was taken and the journey that lies ahead.

The aim of this research was to achieve a better understanding of ways to support the safety of women who have experienced violence by their domestic partners. This descriptive study focused on seven cases handled by a mid-island child protection team who had recently been introducing a number of new practice approaches. Case files and interviews from child protection worker/former clients were used as the basis for this case study‘s analysis. The results offer a detailed glimpse into how child protection workers employ a variety of safety inviting practices and how women who have experienced violence perceive these practices. Three overlapping themes represent ways that child protection workers invited greater safety: validation, responding to mother‘s relational needs, and creating space for the mother to take the lead. The impacts of these practices are discussed and recommendations are offered for policy and procedural changes and training and supervision. / Graduate

No abstract available. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / gm2014 / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

No description available.

This thesis examines the experiences and perceptions that Aboriginal and white women have about abusive relationships and about the police responses to these situations. Differences and similarities between these two groups of women will further highlight the need for resources and policing which are sensitive to the different needs of both groups. Assessments of the cultural differences between Aboriginal and white inner city women are particularly important as women seek to develop more and better alternatives to living in abusive relationships.<p>Theoretically, an examination of gender oppression through patriarchy and its effect on male violence towards women is provided. Understanding the influence of patriarchal social relations on the subordination of women in society is helpful in explaining the similarities in perceptions and experiences of male violence between Aboriginal and white inner city women. The subculture of violence theory is also examined and is used to help understand the differences in perceptions and experiences of these two groups of women. The argument is made that Aboriginal women have qualitatively different perceptions of both battery and the police response to their calls of battery due to the historical legacy of colonization of Aboriginal people in Canada.<p>The data were gathered via a questionnaire and in-person interviews which asked women respondents a wide variety of questions pertaining to their perceptions and experiences with battery, and any police involvement. The questionnaires obtained background information about respondents, responses to a 5 point Likert scale of attitudinal statements pertaining to battery and policing, and responses to specific questions which requested written responses. <p>Analysis of the quantitative data involved descriptive presentation examining relationships between the independent variable ethnic background and dependent variables, as indicated by the 25 questionnaire items, using bivariate distributions. The qualitative data were thematically coded and examined.<p>Importantly, the study revealed that there are significant differences between the perceptions of Aboriginal and white inner-city women. Aboriginal women were found to much more tolerant of abuse from their male partners, and were less likely to call the police in a time of crisis. It was also found that many Aboriginal women had very negative experiences with the police which further disadvantaged them when dealing with battery situations.

This thesis examines the experiences and perceptions that Aboriginal and white women have about abusive relationships and about the police responses to these situations. Differences and similarities between these two groups of women will further highlight the need for resources and policing which are sensitive to the different needs of both groups. Assessments of the cultural differences between Aboriginal and white inner city women are particularly important as women seek to develop more and better alternatives to living in abusive relationships.<p>Theoretically, an examination of gender oppression through patriarchy and its effect on male violence towards women is provided. Understanding the influence of patriarchal social relations on the subordination of women in society is helpful in explaining the similarities in perceptions and experiences of male violence between Aboriginal and white inner city women. The subculture of violence theory is also examined and is used to help understand the differences in perceptions and experiences of these two groups of women. The argument is made that Aboriginal women have qualitatively different perceptions of both battery and the police response to their calls of battery due to the historical legacy of colonization of Aboriginal people in Canada.<p>The data were gathered via a questionnaire and in-person interviews which asked women respondents a wide variety of questions pertaining to their perceptions and experiences with battery, and any police involvement. The questionnaires obtained background information about respondents, responses to a 5 point Likert scale of attitudinal statements pertaining to battery and policing, and responses to specific questions which requested written responses. <p>Analysis of the quantitative data involved descriptive presentation examining relationships between the independent variable ethnic background and dependent variables, as indicated by the 25 questionnaire items, using bivariate distributions. The qualitative data were thematically coded and examined.<p>Importantly, the study revealed that there are significant differences between the perceptions of Aboriginal and white inner-city women. Aboriginal women were found to much more tolerant of abuse from their male partners, and were less likely to call the police in a time of crisis. It was also found that many Aboriginal women had very negative experiences with the police which further disadvantaged them when dealing with battery situations.

Investigar a questão da violência, particularizando para a chamada de violência doméstica contra a mulher, implica, inicialmente, em identificar como ela é definida e o que se observa, a começar pelo que traz o dicionário, que salienta três aspectos, falando da qualidade do que é violento, do ato violento em si, e do ato de violentar, que são muitos os ângulos pelos quais ela pode ser visualizada. É possível adotar como siginificado mais geral do termo que se trata de uma ação que evidencia brutalidade, abuso, agressão, constrangimento e desrespeito para com uma outra pessoa. De outro lado, por se ter um objetivo de pesquisa empírica, torna-se necessário que se contextualize e delimite a abordagem do estudo. A literatura tem mostrado que são muitas as transformações ocorridas na estrutura das relações familiares, no vínculo conjugal, nos padrões de comportamentos e relacionamento entre os sexos; contudo, essas mudanças parecem ter alterado pouco o problema da violência doméstica contra a mulher, que dispõe, na atualidade, de maior visibilidade, mas que ainda está longe de uma compreensão mais clara e aprofundada da questão, o que justifica sejam feitas novas investigações. Essa pesquisa tem, assim, como objetivo geral, analisar desde a frequência de ocorrência de denúncia de violência contra a mulher, em Delegacia de Defesa da Mulher (DDM), em dois anos seguidos, em cidade de grande porte, até as variáveis relacionadas ao perfil da vítima, do agressor, do relacionamento mantido pelos casais, razões do não seguimento do processo; esta é, portanto, quantitativa e de cunho descritivo, tem por base documentos em que está registrada a visão das mulheres que vivenciaram violência doméstica por parte de seu marido/companheiro e a registraram na DDM de Goiânia, noa anos de 1999 e 2000. Os dados mostram que é alta a frequência tanto da Lesão Corporal quanto da Ameaça (1999 = 885; 2000 = 1833), bem como que há um aumento siginificativo de um ano para outro, o que corrobora com o encontrado na literatura. Os resultados mostram que as vítimas têm idade que varia de 15 a 55 anos, estão em união consensual (57,6%) ou legal (42,4%), cerca de 60% exerce atividade remunerada e na maioria das vezes é ela própria quem faz a denúncia; por outro lado, há um número elevado de mulheres que relatam que a violência ocorre há bastante tempo, bem como de que já denunciaram em outros momentos, voltanto atrás por razões avariadas, que incluem até promessas de mudança de comportamento do marido/companheiro A discussão dos dados centra-se no levantamento de possíveis interpretações quer para o aumento da violência doméstica, salientando as questões ligadas à ampla distribuição etária das vítimas, indicando um fenômeno que perdura, às diferenças na educação do homem e da mulher e o poder que é, em geral, atribuído a ele, à escolaridade e à oportunidade de obtenção de trabalho para cada um dos sexos e finalmente, quais fatores poderiam ser os responsáveis pelo fato de que a grande maioria das mulheres vítimas de violência doméstica, que fazem a denúncia, logo a seguir desistem dela, retirando sua queixa, voltando para a casa e vendo, depois de algum tempo, a situação de violência ser reiniciada, o que levanta a pergunta sobre qual seria, em verdade, a sua expectativa em relação à atuação da DDM. / This research has as objectives investigate the issue of violence, specifically the domestic violence against women. This investigation implies in identifying how violence is defined and what is observed, beginning with what is mentioned in the dictionary, which emphasizes three aspects: the quality of what is violent, the violent act itself and the act of violating - many are the point of views it is possible to glance from. It is possible to adopt the more general meaning of this concept, which is about an action that makes visible brutality, abuse, aggression, constraint and disrespect to another person. On the other hand, by having an objective of empirical research, it becomes necessary to bring into context and delimit the approach of this study. Literature has shown that many are the transformations that took place in the structure of the relations inside the family, in the conjugal bound, in the patterns of behavior and relationship between the genders. Although, all this changes seem to have altered very little the problem of domestic violence against women - which has more visibility nowadays, but still far from a clearer and deeper comprehension of this issue - what justifies that more investigations to be done. This research has as general objective analyze since the frequency of denounces of violence against women registered in police station specialized in defense of women (DDM) in the period of two years in a city of big size, until the variables connected to the features of the victims, the aggressor, the relation kept between the couples, the reasons of not following the lawsuit. The present research has a qualitative and descriptive approach, is based documents in which is registered the point of view of women who have gone through domestic violence perpetrated by husband/mate and pressed charges in the DDM of Goiânia in the years of 1999 and 2000. Data show that the frequency is high both for Corporal Damage and Threaten (1999 - 885; 2000 - 1833) and that there is an expressive increase from the first year to the following - which corroborates what, was found in the literature. Results show that the victims has age from 15 to 55 years, being in non-legalized unions (57,6%) ou civil marriage (42,4%), nearly 60% work in paid activities, and in most of times it is the woman herself who makes the denounce. On the other hand, there are a high number of women who mention that the violence has been occurring for a long time, and the they had already denounced in the past, changing their minds for various reasons, including until promises of change of behavior made by the husband/mate. The discussion of the data collected focuses in the survey of possible interpretations for the increase of domestic violence, emphasizing the issues connected to the wide age distribution of the victims, pointing to a phenomena that remains, despite the differences in the education of man and woman and the power which is imputed to him, the scholarship and opportunity of getting a job for each gender and finally, which factors may be the reasons of the fact that most part of women, who are victim of domestic violence, that press charges, in little time give up and quit it, going back home and seeing, in little time, the situation of violence begin once again, what makes the question of what would be the true expectation towards the actuation of the DDM.

Estudo das crenças integrantes do Argumento de Vida de mulheres que sofreram agressão de seus maridos ou companhei ros. Trata-se de uma pesquisa \"ex-post facto\" realizada com populações atendidas na 2ª Delegacia de Polícia de Defesa da Mulher e no Centro de Saúde Dr. Rubens Monteiro Arruda, no bairro de Santo Amaro, na cidade de são Paulo (SP), Brasil. Na forma como é apresentada, esta pesquisa pode ser considerada inédita na área de Análise Transacional. Com ela procurou-se conhecer as crenças resultantes das experiências de vida com que cada mulher respondente construiu seu modelo de mundo. Reconhece-se que tal comportamento, por mais incongruente que seja, possui um sentido quando é analisado dentro do contexto limitado de escolhas geradas pelo próprio modelo. A interpretação dos resultados permitiu concluir que as mulheres da 2ª Delegacia de Polícia de Defesa de Mulheres e as do Centro de Saúde Rubens Monteiro Arruda, diferem em relação a maioria das crenças. As do primeiro grupo tendem a ter crenças de baixa autovalorização e de supervalorização do parceiro e, por isso, tendem a ser ,agredidas. / Study of believes integrating life script of women that suffered agression from their husbands or companions. It is an \"ex-post facto\" research done with the population attended by the Second Police District of Women Defense and Health Center Doctor Rubens Monteiro Arruda, in the district of Santo Amaro, in the city of São Paulo (SP), Brazil. In the form that it is presented, this research can be considered unheard in the area of Transactional Analysis. With it one tried to get to know the believes resulting from life experiences with which every respondent woman built their life model. It is recognized that every behaviour, the more incongruent it is, owns a sense, when analysed inside the limited context of choices generated by the own model. The interpretation of results permitted to conclude that, those women from the Second Police District and those from the Health Center Rubens Monteiro Arruda, differ in relation to the majority of the believes. The ones from the first group tend to have, believes of low self-value and super valorization of the companion and, for this reason, they tend to be victims of agression.